Pull out after survey?

[Greenestofbeans]

I posted a couple of months ago (www.mumsnet.com/talk/property/5542376-mad-to-buy-a-two-bed-bungalow?reply=152920629) about a two bed bungalow we were considering. Well, we made the offer and it was accepted. I have now (finally after nearly 7 weeks of waiting!) had the level 3 survey report back.

There are a few main issues:

The roof: The original roof was built without sarking felt. A previous owner added a layer of cardboard and plastic/bitumen from inside the loft, which has led to trapped moisture. They also found signs of active woodworm. The roof timbers were dry when tested and there was no significant decay. The cardboard layer needs moving and woodworm treated. Surveyor recommends taking out the cardboard and plastic, treating woodworm, and within 10 years reroofing with proper felting.

Electrics: The electrical installation is quite old. The consumer unit appears to date from around the 1950s/60s, although some parts have been upgraded. The surveyor recommends a full electrical inspection. There isn't currently evidence that the electrics are unsafe, as far as I understand it. If a rewire was needed we could potentially do this before moving in.

Bamboo: One length of the garden is planting with bamboo for screening. The surveyor says there is a possibility it is running bamboo. It comes right up to a large garden shed which I would want to rip out and replace with a proper cabin, but are we going to run into issues with this plan?

Our original plan was to extend, but if I am honest I am falling out of love with the idea of forking out 100k (probably more given the increasing costs of building works) and the stress of it all. In which case we'd outgrow the house in five years or so.

The house is also 200m away from a golf course and I have this week been reading about the link between golf course pesticides and Parkinson's and worrying myself silly about it. I fully admit my anxiety is probably out of proportion - I am six months postpartum and a v anxious mum. The research is US based and UK regulations are a lot stricter, but even so I can't help but worry about it.

We can afford the work needed, but I am concerned we are going to be spending the next five years pouring money into a house that isn't even a long term home for us and won't be able to fully enjoy it because I'll constantly be dealing with bamboo sprouting up everywhere and worried about pesticide exposure!

Would this combination of issues make you walk away from a house? It's a great location and a wonderful town, and to be frank our current living situation is wearing very thin. We are living with my MIL (who is fantastic, but we are craving our own space), living in limbo for the last nine months in a town we dislike. We also really need to be settled by January as I have to register my 3yo for school by then.

I don't want to miss out on a great house just because of my stupid anxious postpartum brain! Am I worrying about nothing? DH says he could go either way, so basically it's up to me!

If I liked the location and the house, had secured it for a reasonable price, had the money to do the necessary work, and could imagine the house after the works had been completed, I'd go ahead, especially as you can have the work done before moving in. Does the situation with the roof and electrics give you any scope for negotiating with the vendor? It sounds like a bit of a risk, but not a huge one, because the roof works in particular may expose more that needs addressing.

The pesticide issue is a bit of a red herring. It makes me think of a mother at my DD's school who was anxious about a school trip to a city 30 miles north of where we live because 'the coach might crash'. I thought 'well, it might, but in all probability, it won't'. (It didn't.)

Cardboard - the timber is dry so I wouldn't be worried but would do the work asap.

Woodworm - run.

Electrics - they always, always, say get it checked. They can't be bothered to actually check it themselves. Same with gas supplies. My last house had 1940s wiring, nothing went wrong. But if you are planning on replastering or doing a new kitchen etc then definitely upgrade at the same time.

Bamboo - there's running and there's clumping. Can you see shoots coming up elsewhere? If yes, especially several feet away then run away, but they might have done a root barrier. Definitely worth looking into more.

Pesticides - don't look at US studies as most of their allowed pesticides are banned in Europe. It would be like you looking into US studies around bleached chicken. It won't mean anything.

Hopefully that helps with your thinking.

Agree about the pesticides and those used elsewhere being banned in the UK and Europe.

I don't much like the woodworm problem.

If you love it and can cover the basic work then go ahead.

as others have said re golf course don’t concerned yourself with something that random. Its an asset for your property to be not a negative.
bamboo- no idea on that one, sorry.

electrics, they always advise a specialist survey. I wouldn’t. You know they are older and will need updating.

roof, woodworm is only active in damp, so get the cardboard off, get some ventilation to the area and get the space dry.

Jesus. I’d be pulling out quicker than I could post this reply

Woodworm - every house I've ever bought had woodworm, just treat all woodwork the day before you move in and then forget about it.

Most old houses need work on roof & wiring, and extending is a short-term hassle but if you like the location, then it would be worth it.

The real question is do you want to move into a perfect clean finished house or can you copy with dirt, dust, builders, scaffolding and council planning hassle for a year because that is what an extension involves? And yes, the cost is likely to be higher. I paid for a single storey extension in 2015 with a Wickes kitchen, and that cost £60k then. Building costs have risen significantly since then.

negotiate the price down by the price of professional woodworm treatment or ask them to do a (certified) treatment before completion. If the surveyor says the timbers have no significant decay they won't have because they tend to overstate everything, and treated woodworm is not an issue - you just need to get rid of the active.

Electrics - I think if you buy an older house you would expect that. It was pretty much the only thing not highlighted on our survey and then we later found it was really

the rest of it is something only you know how you feel about.

How many times have you bought houses? What the OP has quoted from the survey is some of the least concerning I've seen! Wouldn't put me off.

Negotiate on the works needed and get them done asap. The seller will likley be expecting you to do that.
Golf course would be a non issue for me but the rest needs costing and accounting for in your revised offer.

This ^

We've bought and lived in eight old houses, the oldest being Tudor, the newest Victorian. They've all had evidence of woodworm in greater or lesser degrees and it's never been an issue because a) it's usually been old and b) we've treated it ASAP. When selling we've never had a buyer pull out because of woodworm (actually, we've never had a buyer pull out post survey).

I'd agree that survey would give me absolutely no reason to walk away @Greenestofbeans, but if you've just changed your mind, then now's the time to do it...before it's too late. If the cost of extending is prohibitive, that's probably a good reason to move on - however, unless you can find somewhere else that doesn't need extending, you'll just be back to square one!

I'd be more worried about the bamboo than some woodworm. Bamboo of the wrong sort ie running can be a nightmare.
What's so nice about the property?

Yes, plenty more houses, let them sell to a developer or something at a knock down price.

I wouldn't be concerned about any of this, including the bamboo. I've had that in a previous property and I just used to go out every couple of weeks and hack off the runners (coming under the fence from a neighbouring property).
My mum's 1950s house that she's lived in for forty years has no roof felt, never had any issues with damp.
Woodworm is easily treated. And US pesticides are mostly not legal in the UK, so this is a complete non issue.
If you don't love the location, or think you can do better for your money, then pull out.

The location and setting. It's right at the edge of town with woodland views and has a lovely rural feel (partly because of the golf course I've been worrying about!) and yet 20 mins walk to town. Garage has been partly converted to soundproof music studio/office. Large garden. A bungalow would be great with two small children. We were in a flat before we moved in with MIL and I didn't appreciate at the time just how much easier life was living on one storey!
We have been told the bamboo is the clumping sort so I am less worried about that now.

No, that's not a bad survey at all imo, all very resolvable and the electrics aren't necessarily even urgent, they're likely being cautious.

Good to know. The bamboo is clumping apparently so hopefully wouldn't be a problem. Yes, I have read quite a few people saying the felt layer is not strictly necessary. I just worry that we have no way of knowing why the previous owner decided to put up the makeshift plastic and cardboard layer in the first place.

I would go and visit said golf course and ask about their policies. You may be surprised.

As part of a farming visit, we had a tour of a golf course a few years ago, and there were many many areas that were absolute wildlife sanctuaries. It's very expensive to weed kill /pest kill to the nth degree, and so they'd got areas of sympathetic planting to encourage wildlife that killed off the pests as opposed to spraying with chemicals. They also mowed with specialist mowers that took certain areas really low for hitting the ball and there only specific grasses were grown that tolerated a low mow, meant any weed showing its head got chopped off!

I thought woodworm was fairly easily treated from what I've read, but we have been advised by family to pull out because of it!

I would walk away - there is something better out there for you.

I think the only thing you need to think through carefully is whether or not you want to live through the extending process. I wouldn't buy a house that I intend to leave in 5 years.
The rest of the issues are no big deals, no houses are perfect.

The things that have come up in your survey will have to be disclosed to any future buyers if you pull out, so definitely use that as a bargaining tool if you decide to go ahead. Houses that need work are less attractive nowadays due to rising costs, but it sounds like this one has some great features so it might be worth the punt.

@Windswept1 No they don’t. The survey belongs to the op, not the vendor. The electrics are safe so there’s no issue. The roof is the bigger issue. If it’s not breathing, there will probably be water vapour trapped in the loft and woodworm can be treated. Plastic does not breathe and it’s not acceptable in a roof.

@MeetMeOnTheCorner I never said they have to disclose the survey, only the information. If you tell an estate agent why you are pulling out that information should be disclosed to any potential future purchasers. Estate agents are legally obligated to disclose that information under consumer law.

The only thing that would really alarm me is the bamboo, but that would depend on the type.

We have no felt on our 1920’s roof and it’s fine apart from lots of dust and dirt getting in. That might be why they’ve put plastic/cardboard up.