Water water everywhere … it seems !

[Rockschooldropout]

Ok slight exaggeration ..however our structural survey (full level 3 survey ) has just come back on a 1930s bungalow we are buying .
first context we are cash buyers as using my inheritance and it’s no chain due to the owner being elderly and passing away , its being sold by his brother . House hasn’t been touched for years bar windows , doors and boiler and we knew we were looking at new kitchen , bathroom wiring .
When we went to view for the second time , the vendor had replaced the bathroom flooring and living room bedroom and hall carpets , the estate agent said there had been a leak but no further info .

so survey comes back , external walls are damp , lots of mould and damp caused by condensation station ,floor joists are possibly rotten guttering needs replacing , there is an issue with the under felt in the roof ….. and .. the water pipe from house to stop cock has a large leak .. surveyor suspects it’s the cause of a big house leak as the water is turned off . House has been empty for a year. He’s advised a specialist damp survey which we’ll get but DH thinks the house is going to be a box of problems and wants to walk away .. the sake is going through quickly too as no chain/cash buyers and we had to wait a month for the survey .
Would you get the damp survey then renegotiate?I suspect they’ll refuse a lower price as they’d refused a lower offer before ours . It had previously sold before us but the buyers couldn’t get a mortgage .

What you do next all depends on how long you intend to stay in the house. If you are planning a refurb and resale in a few years, then back out now. If it’s longer term then get the damp survey done. Get a builder in to quote for the remedial work as a result of the leak. Deduct this from your offer. If they don’t accept then walk away.

For context we had a similar situation (although from the other side - selling house after death of relative) & after finding 4 leaks, when we turned the water back on there were 3 more leaks. Also damage caused by the leak may well have been covered by insurance (ours was) and the executor has already received money for the damage.

Personally I'd walk away, we almost completed on a bungalow in Hampshire, our plan was to flatten and rebuild, luckily the family got greedy pulled out and subsequently the whole place flooded from surface and ground waters.

It's been an absolute nightmare for them as the £750k house with land had fallen to a £460 plot. But I'm so so grateful we don't process.

Any issues walk away, we are now in a bloody fab renovation project which we would have never found.

Thank you - I’ve just finished chemotherapy for BC so the plan was to renovate at our leisure before moving in as my overall treatment lasts another year . Then relocate closer to my mum and grown up children and grandson . I originally moved away to be close to my father as his health failed . However , I don’t think it’s a forever house although in a lovely area , we would definitely not proceed without a damp survey . I must admit the water pipe worries me as I think it was a very spectacular leak !

@MrsEMR I wouldn’t be surprised if they hadn’t claimed for the damage given all the new carpets .

@rivalsbinge It’s a shame as it ticked the boxes area wise and price but it’s not like we need to move gently so we can continue to look casually .

Was the property occupied within the last 2 yrs? If not, there is a little know scheme to get homes back into occupancy where you only pay 5% VAT on things to get it back to a livable state. 0%VAT if not lived in for 10yrs or more.

We bought a 1930's property which had been unoccupied 7yrs, so I know ALL about this! Ours needed complete renovations though- from the roof, to rewiring , plumbing, insulation, flooring, bathrooms, kitchen, everything really. The costs will be steep OP! Its our forever house, we love the area and will live here many years we hope, but the costs have been double those initially quoted/estimated!

@Rockschooldropout I described ours as Niagara falls coming through the ceiling & that was just the first 2 leaks!

In your health situation I would definitely think twice about this one. Hope your treatment goes well.

Ahh yes I knew about that , fab you were able to get that reduction on your refurb ! it was occupied within the last two years by the owner

Oh god !!! That sounds like the one I had in my existing house I had to have the kitchen ceiling replaced !
we weren’t planning on living in it until it was ready and renting our existing house out .. but it feels like it’s just a whole heap of problems

No, I wouldn't because the words 'damp' and 'leak' would put me right off. A damp survey will tell you what you already know: the house has been neglected. A leaking roof, guttering not fit for purpose, a major leak on the stopcock pipe, possible rotten floorboard joists, it sounds like a nightmare. They'll probably recommend a damp proof course and running dehumidifiers 24/7 for the foreseeable.

I'm living in my 3rd purchased house, all have been old houses (built 1880s) and all have been as dry as a bone. There is no reason why a house should have damp issues unless the basics (roof, guttering, pipework, pointing) have been neglected and long term neglect can lead to structural damage. Did you notice any cracks in the ceilings or on the walls? It's likely these have been filled and painted over. I'd also be very suspicious about all the flooring that has been replaced, that was some 'leak.' What condition are the electrics in with all this water getting in to the property? They need checking urgently, there's a potential fire hazard there. Ugh. Not for me I'm afraid.

Interestingly the roof appears to have been replaced but he says there is an issue with the underfelt and there’s condensation in the roof .

the main issue is that there’s clearly been a flood at floor level from the leaking mains pipe . Electrics are prehistoric anyway so they need replacing as it is but a whole ground floor of floor joists etc is costly and I think vendor has tried to cover it up.
the keys had a fob on saying “don’t walk on bathroom floor !”
the agent pointed out the two external walls had been badly dry lined about forty years ago so damp /cold on that wall was an issue but he probably made the problem worse .
i did have a full level 3 structural survey and he didn’t identify any structural issues

'Condensation in the roof' Aaagh!

Sounds like the roof needs to come off so the underfelt can be dealt with. More expense.

"Don't walk on the bathroom floor", WTH!
The rotten floor joists are a concern too: there must have been a hell of a lot of water to cause that.
Honestly you're cash buyers, you're in a very strong position. You could get a dry house and have some relatively straight forward work done if required: new kitchen, bathroom, that type of thing.

It's up to you but I wouldn't touch it. Good luck with whatever you decide to do.

Yes I must admit I raised my eyebrows when I saw the roof condensation ! Although in fairness it’s quite common but could be a sign of more severe issues
The house has clearly been lived in by the same person for decades and they’ve only had essentials done and on the cheap I think .. it still had the original 1930s tiling in the bathroom! There is little kitchen to speak of .. the house has so much potential but I think that it’s been bodged and just limped along by its elderly owner

You can try to renegotiate after a damp survey.

But quite honestly, I would walk away from this one.

I would run away. Your dh is right. You need to enjoy your home now and recover your health.

I don’t think the vendor will accept a lower offer anyway tbh

Yes it’s turning into a mammoth task from what we initially thought and we don’t have that never ending pot of money

Personally, I'd get the damp survey and renegotiate. If most of the problem comes back to the leaking mains pipe and you were buying as a renovation project anyway, it could be one of those problems that sort of goes away once you've fixed the root problem. If they weren't willing to renegotiate, i'd walk away though. It sounds like even if it is just a leak, there's a lot of knock-on damage and issues that need resolving, so that needs to be reflected.

It’s a combination of things , the external
wall damp isn’t related to the leak as it looks like there’s been an ongoing issue for donkeys years hence some bodged dry lining . He’s suggested that the external walls may need surface insulating as the property has no cavities (built in 1930s)

I think the leaking pipe is worrying me more as vendor clearly has no intention of sorting it

I've bought and done up lots of houses but I'd never touch a damp one. Way too much trouble.

Walk away.

It sounds like the house has been neglected for years and has now reached a point where there are issues everywhere that would cost you a fortune and a lot of stress to fix.

Your DH is spot on here @Rockschooldropout
It's the sort of house where you would uncover more and more expensive problems once you started living there. It has obviously been neglected for years, as others have said. At some point, money needs to be spent. Don't waste yours on it. The sellers needs a reality check if he won't negotiate. Apart from this, with your breast cancer, you really don't need the additional stress. Better to choose somewhere that you can live in comfortably immediately.

Of course DM is putting pressure on , saying surveyor will tell me the worst and that I should get a damp survey and renegotiate…. I’ve said I’m not wasting my time as the vendor had already made it clear they wanted the asking price .. they refused a lower offer and the house had been reduced since it went on the market

I think this is the right decision. Let it be the seller's problem. It sounds as if he has been sneaky, attempting to cover things up by just replacing flooring and carpets.

The thing I noted which was odd , was during the second viewing the estate agent actually drew my attention to the dry lining on the walls .. I almost got the vibe he was trying to put me off! He also said the house had previously sold but sale fell through as Buyers couldn’t get the mortgage