feeling really down - surveyors report in and there's a lot they didn't tell me on phone

[dilemma456]

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OK don't panic. Not all those things will need doing immediately, and some of them might be "nice to have's".

Damp proofing you need to do and that includes re plastering and re skirting the ground floor. You might have rotten joists in the floor (if you do the floors will bounce) but it's not the end of the world.

They always say drainage survey. Is there any reason to suspect a blockage? (mind the one time I did witness one a broken pipe was found, sorry)

Walls, floors and ceilings, is it just a dilapidated old place with some crumbly old plaster. I'll tell you a secret, you can live with that! You just need thick wallpaper and to be circumspect about where you put up shelves. Are they assuming they'd need replacing for cosmetic reasons?

Look on the bright side: is the roof sound? Is there any subsidence? If the worst of it is damp proofing and cosmetic updating then it shouldn't be too bad. Old houses are notorious for unpleasant surprises but you don't want those biggies.

BTW about rotten floor joists, I meant it shoudn't be too expensive to repair, not that it didn't matter!

Some things in a surveyors report have to be done or you won't get your mortgage. there's a technical term for this, but I don't know what it is. The rest of the stuff is a wishlist of DIY you should really get around to over the next few years.

We were told we needed a new roof and should knock the garage down and start again - that was ten years ago. We still haven't sorted it. They weren't items that the mortgage company required to be done - ie it didn't affect the value of the property.

So find out what's essential before you panic.

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We were told that - we moved in, whacked the heating on constant for 6 months and dried the place out. We then had another survey done, and the damp had gone.

Ours is an old house (1835) and the previous owners hadn't heated it properly. The tenants are now in the process of undoing all our good work 17 years on.

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What age is the house?

Like ScaryTeacher, I have 'fixed' our damp by taking the rotting skirting boards off the walls, lowering the ground levels outside the house, having the windows open throughout a large chunk of the summer, and installing improved heating controls. Oh look, the house is drying out.

There is always a reason for the damp and once you sort that its re-decoration that costs the most. If you were planning to do that anyway then the extra cost might not be as much as you imagined. There are lots of rogue damp proofing companies out there and their costs vary wildly.

Much worse to buy a perfectly done house, then discover you have damp etc etc.

We are buying a house with dry rot which fills most people with horror but it sounds much worse than it is and we have to rip the kitchen out anyway so it makes very little difference to the overall price of the works.

Also - bear in mind the surveyors report always sounds awful, they have to cover themselves as you could sue if they did not highlight potential problems or make them seem serious enough

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Surveys on older houses always look awful! I found the one on our first house the other day, and I'm amazed we bought it!!

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Depending upon the age and construction of the property a DPC may be no use. My house is built of stone and bloody great thick walls and when constructed a DPC hadn't yet been invented. I was told for a house like mine there is no point putting one in.

As I said, we whacked the heating on, put a dehumdifier in the cellar, opened windows where necessary, ensured that air bricks weren't blocked, and had a couple of new ones put in, and the house was fine. I now have tenants in that don't heat it properly, and have just had a report saying that it will cost me £5k to sort the damp, and I need walls tanked etc. Bollocks to that. It needs heating. The tenants refuse to use the oil fired range which does cooking/heating and hot water; neither will they use the woodburning stove which when going puts out so much heat, I have to strip down to a t-shirt (and I'm a cold mortal). I shall have to resort to buying then the oil to heat the place, or kick them out. Stupid thing is, they can pay for the oil monthly, it's not like Total wants the cost of a tank upfront.

I'd heat it for 6 months and then have another survey done and see what needs doing. The house has stood for over a century I presume, so will not fall down any time soon.

If you have all the wok done at once, and don't live in it you should be able to get an exemption from CTAX for up to 12 months, under the major repairs exemption.

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Our surveyors report was like War and Peace but the surveyor said that the house wasn't going to fall down and was 500 years old and was just what he would expect!

It really doesn't sound like a deal breaker to me if you love the house - go for it - rescue it and love it!!

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Have a good look at the info on the SPAB site - they always sterss that huge amounts of damp problems are caused by ludicrous things like blocked gutters, lack of heating, lack of ventilation, etc etc.

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I missed this yesterday dilemma. What a dilemma! I think surveyors's reports always exagerate. Remember mine? "There are bats in the roof and their droppings are all over the floor." When I actually spoke to the surveyor he said he might have seen ONE bat but when he looked again it wasn't there and might have been a mark on the wall!

If I were you I would get a few quotes/opinions and maybe another survey to see if it is the same. Then bite the bullet and go for it! The house sounds fab and as you say is perfect for you in all other aspects.

Can't help about the kitchen I'm afraid. Hopefully someone who can will be along.

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We must indeed be mad!

Talking to DP with wine sounds like a plan. Wine always helps!