Am I being unreasonable?

[Eli19]

I have a level 3 survey done on a house I'm interested in buying. The survey came back with an urgent advisory. Apparently the patio at the rear of the property was laid on top on another, and is now above the Damp Proof Course. It is causing a damp issue in the kitchen. Cabinets will have to be replaced.
In addition the lintel above the front door need replacing but it is a joint lintel with the neighbour's (also in bad shape).
As a background, I know it is a property previously rented, and middle budget. I was prepared to renovate the bathroom, the stairs (the tread need extending), the back fence, garden, front step, etc. The seller wanted £5k over the asking price, and said she would not accept any less. I agreed in principle, but the property report is worrying because it calls for a much larger budget I had planned. It means potentially having to remove the layers of old patio and lay a new one. The lintel has to be done in agreement with the neighbour, to replace the joint lintel.
I forgot to mention the garage has wood worm .
I feel I need to walk away because even if the seller agrees to knock £5k off the asking price this will not cover all the remedial work needed.
Am I being unreasonable?

I would walk away op

Go with you gut

Thank you. To be honest I didn't sleep last night thinking about the extra costs involved.

I'd pull out. Depending on the asking price, they'd have to knock a huge amount off to want to get into a property like that.

run away

As I notice Eli19 has already said, and I cannot stress this enough, you need to WALK AWAY.
For background, my partner is a builder, having had his own business for over 40 years. I worked with him for 9 years on jobs and then just running the office, ordering supplies, dealing with clients, assessing prospective jobs etc. The number of clients he has worked for, who have just brought properties and who have realised afterwards that the property needs a lot of work they were previously unaware of, is significant, not to mention an absolute nightmare as much of it involves undoing the shoddy work of absolute “cowboys”. Including my own son. Bought a house previously owned by a “builder” which appeared to be perfect, but had numerous issues. Vendors can be great at covering up hidden horrors, and estate agents….? What can I say? It’s in their interest to get you to pay over the odds because they get a commission on the sale.
To address the reasons you should walk away from this:
1 - Kitchen and patio: You already know that this patio may be (I stress “may be”) the cause of damp issue in the kitchen. Nobody should ever lay a patio directly on top of an existing one. You will have to have the entire patio removed and a new damp course installed before a new patio can be laid. The kitchen cabinets having to be replaced is the very least you’ll have to consider. Whether or not the damp is indeed due to the patio, which honestly might not be the case, you’ll need to rip the entire kitchen out, including the flooring, the whole thing will need to be assessed and treated for damp before you can install a new kitchen.
The garage: You can’t just treat wood which has woodworm. All the wood will have to be removed and replaced. As the timber is likely to be supporting the roof this means you’ll need a new roof. These are expensive. I’ve personally worked with my partner on several garage renovations and they take a lot longer than the clients imagine and materials are very costly. In the worst case scenario you’ll need to have the garage demolished and a new one built.
Lintel: Again, more costly than most people realise. It’s time consuming, some properties more than others. Lintels are load-bearing, so you have to remove the surrounding brick/stone, take the lintel out, replace temporarily with something to take the load, rebuild, plus the cost of scaffolding (unless you’re lucky enough to employ a builder with their own scaffolding). Scaffolding is charged by the day and is expensive.
The fact it has been a “middle budget” rental previously and, despite charging people rent to live there, the owner has clearly not really spent any money on it tells you everything you need to know. Namely, the property is in a poor state of repair, and the vendor is greedy.
Please just forget about this property.

Namely, the property is in a poor state of repair, and the vendor is greedy.

This is the worst combo

Walk away. I’m watching my new neighbour make repairs to her house, it’s so expensive- nothing is simple, she has had to demolish more than she expected just to repair before even starting to update.

No you’re not being unreasonable to walk away.

The seller sounds unreasonable not you.

Do you have a picture of the lintel area and the patio/wall?
As per PP, replacing some cabinets may only be scratching the surface. It could end up a big job, replastering, flooring etc. Also anything damp takes months to dry out.
The lintel may not be as bad as it sounds, but the fact you have to get your neighbour involved is a massive red flag.
At a wild guess, you’d want a minimum 25k discount on the agreed price to even consider it.

Don’t buy it. As has been said above, greedy unrealistic sellers and lots of unexpected repairs are a bad combo.

Offer much less then walk away.

Thank you for your detailed response. Yes. I was not planning to do the kitchen up for a few years. Never mind the patio which looked ok to me. I had no idea about the lintel which is joint with the neighbours (another rental property). It's too much. The seller already asked for £5k above asking price (wanted offers between 120k-130k).
When I spoke with the surveyor about all the issues my heart sank.

Thank you. The EA kept telling "Well, what do you expect for a cheap house?" Which I think it's rude. I told him I expected normal tear and wear, and outdated fixtures. I did not expect issues affecting the integrity of the building.

I expect he is going to throw a tantrum when I tell him I'm pulling out.

Thank you all for your responses. Unless buyer is willing to know down £15-£20k off - which I doubt. And even so I am worried about other cowboy work on the property. I mean the loft was painted shut and therefore could not be inspected.
It's just too much.

Good decision. You could easily spend 20%+ of the purchase price on these renovations, then add in the unknown, the time, the disruption and getting trades in to do the work.

That was rude of the EA. He can throw his toys out of the pram but who cares? He’s just upset at the thought of not getting his commission.

I agree with other PP's, walk away. I purchased my home, also an ex rental, in 2023 and even with level 3 survey, which luckily gave minimal issues, I've already spent plus £35k. Yes this included a new heating system and double glazing but the problem with an ex rental is they are not always looked after very well and you may find things after that you weren't expecting!

Yes. And at the end of the day it wouldn't add value to the property because these are things that should be in good nick to begin with. It's not like adding a nice kitchen, or flooring.

K was expecting the normal amount of neglect: dated bathroom and kitchen. Horrid paint and maybe an old boiler. I was prepared to tackle that. I wasn't ready for demolition lol. I'm 60yo and on my own.