Scary surveyors report

[FeltCarrot]

DD is looking to buy her first home, not much in her budget where we live so we were all excited when she finally had an offer accepted,

House looked a little unloved but we planned for new windows, bathroom and possibly a kitchen extension in the offer to bring it in to line with other houses on the street as well as general decorating.

Just had the survey done and there are red flags everywhere. Main ones being, - no breathable membrane in the roof, twisted purling,broken tiles, Shreider damp proof course which apparently fails and will need redoing, and artex paint eveywhere which could contain asbestos as well as the usual window problems etc.

We did wonder why the kitchen diner had recently been replastered and we now think it could have been to cover up damp before selling.

What would you do? We want to her to pull out as this now seems more of a doer upper than we had first anticipated and have no idea how much these jobs will cost (small terraced Edwardian house).

It’s not that bad tbh. Likely needs the roof repointing and repairing, maybe a new roof in 10 years. Damp proof course is a few grand. Artex can be skimmed over to seal it.

So maybe £10k of work. Ask the seller to knock it off the price?

You could also get a builder to do a walk round with you and quote before she settles on it.

If you were planning a kitchen extension, then you'll have a good chunk of money to sort these types of problems? In which case, the only thing you need to make sure is v that you're not overpaying for the state it's in - what have the bank valued it at, and is the price in line with other properties on the street?

We have been told if the roof membrane is not breathable it will all have to come off and the whole roof re done. The damp proof means all the plaster downstairs will need to be removed.
Asbestos could be a huge problem.

From thinking we would just need to give it a lick of paint this is now looking like a reno project!

If she really likes it and tge extra work doesn't worry her, she could go back with a reduced offer based on the fact these things have unexpectedly come up on survey and she hadn't budgeted for them.

What age is the property?

It’s an Edwardian mid terrace so around 1910.

Going to pass concerns to EA and see if vendors will get some asbestos/structural/damp proof surveys done before we proceed.

We viewed a similar house on the same street that was stunning and offered £40k less than that sold for as we had banked on new windows, bathroom, kitchen extension to bring up to similar standard.

Good idea on getting a builder to do a walk round, but the rooms really need proper testing for asbestos.
Our neighbour has done Reno projects in our local area and he had a nightmare with one house that had asbestos in the artex which was quite common in the 1970’s

It's hard to know. Some surveyors like to cover their arses so they will point out everything and it often sounds scarier than it is. I'd get a second opinion.

Honestly, some surveyors are full of doom and gloom.

We had two full structural surveys done on our house that we were selling. There was not one single issue that appeared on both surveys. Not one thing.

Our first buyer pulled out because of the issues in her survey ( eg surveyor said that the brand new solid wood kitchen would need to be replaced as it was 'only just fit for purpose' and 'dated'. We'd just paid £30k for it and it was perfect)

Get a builder to have a look and give you quotes.

Also do some research about asbestos in Artex. It's not as scary as it sounds. It can be plastered over. We have it and as long as it's not disturbed it's OK.

In your position (unless you and DH are very experienced renovators and available to help) I would advise a young adult first time buyer to pull out, for three main reasons:
Costs - of doing necessary work when budget stretched to pay mortgage
Time - work hours (and commuting if relevant) take up most of the week, and young adults want/need to socialise in free time not spend it doing major DIY
Mess - never underestimate the mess and dust from work, especially removing artex

An Edwardian property is not going to have a breathable roofing membrane unless the whole roof was replaced. Older houses perform perfectly well with sarking felt. This is what ours has.

The surveyor is not doing a good job if they didn’t observe any resultant issues. Was there evidence of condensation, dampness, mould, or decay? Were the roof timbers dry and in good condition?

Just having sarking felt is not a red flag.