Just had house survey done

[AuntieMarys]

We have offered on a house ...15% above asking which is fine as that was within our budget and ticks virtually every box.
Can I pick your brains about what the survey highlighted? Nothing on the urgent scale.
It's a 1935 house.
Roof fine apart from some chimney stack repainting
Some damp under bay window as mastic joint has cracked
Brickwork on side elevation spalling
One side needs re rendering ( it's just the top half of house)
Cracking above front door to mortar joints...possible deflection of lintel
No vents on chimney breast
Height of balustrade is below legal height ( new staircase) and spindles wide
Lead water pipe

Obviously some is general maintenance but is there room for negotiation with the vendors?

I think you can maybe negotiate about the staircase as that wouldn't have been obvious to you and it is new. Maybe the rendering? The other stuff all sounds like general maintaninence stuff.

Hmmmm I think that’s probably expected on a house that age. As PP says, maybe the render cost could be negotiated.

There's nothing which is stopping it being livable and old houses usually come the off feature which isn't up to current regulations.

Tbh there's nothing in that report which would induce me to reduce the sale price. It's mostly cosmetic/general wear and tear.

Sounds like it’s in excellent condition to me if that’s all they could find, you’re not buying a new build op.

Yes I'm aware it's not new build...I currently live in a house the same age!

Yes I'm thinking that the rendering is the outstanding issue. I've sorted a builder to check it out.

I would definitely get an indicative price for the rendering and use it to negotiate - the rest looks fine. We have one wall of our Edwardian house rendered (not sure why the previous occupants did that) and the quotes to replace it were eyewatering, and that was some years ago.

Yes I've been looking!

You might get a reduction for the render.

Height of balustrade is below legal height ( new staircase) and spindles wide
You need to ask about the balustrade/spindles. They should be able to go back to the company and get it fixed since it's illegal. They might have been conned by a dodgy builder and not realise. But don't ask for a discount, ask them to fix it.

Brickwork on side elevation spalling
No idea what that is or whether it affects the weatherproofing of the house. Needs researching a lot more about whether it affects dampness plus cost to fix. How many bricks are affected for instance?

Is the lead water pipe from boundary to house but internally they've been replaced? Or do they all need ripping out?

Did they suggest a possible cause of the spalling?

Is it definitely chimney stack repainting and not repointing?

It's repointing! Bloody autocorrect

I think the internal pipes are copper as they had a new kitchen 2 years ago. So it's from boundary to house.

No. I'll be calling surveyor tomorrow to clarify