Concerned With Recent Surveyors Report

Basically, you've paid a thousand for someone to say: get an electrician to check the electrics, gas safe and check t gas. and a builder to check the chimney....

I like the bit about getting your leg advisor to check whether electrical and complies with building regs: doesn't help you if it doesn't

And the other about "you must have a 12 month safety test and inspection" on gas appliances.". That is scaremongering, you should or you are recommended but you "must"

So what to do? Get quotes, knock the vendor down as much as you can on price.

 

Surveyors are always going to be pessimistic as noted by OP. There is nothing too outrageous in this report: just a whole load of standard phrases trotted out ad nauseam.

You can call BC and check if they have a record of the wall removal, that's the only real worry.

Why not take friendly builder round for a second opinion?

 

The only thing of intrest is in 'Wall & Partition' a internal wall in kitchen remove, was it load bearing? nothing serious, only minor things leaking gutter will make walls damp, as will no vent in fireplace, & not capping chimmey with vent, easily sorted.
Overall pretty good, just check kitchen wall removal.

If you bought the place, would have combi serviced/check & electrics tested, as you don't whether work was done by a spark, or a diy job.

 

Was multi trade.

 

Thanks for the report, TWO - I'm going to print it orf and use it now, since it applies to well over 80% of perfectly normal homes in this country

As said above, it is 'normal' in that it says you need to check this and need to check that - nothing unusual. It is very much a 'worse case scenario' for a couple of reasons (1) they need to cover their own assis so that no-one can come back and say "Hey! It cost us £x to cap that chimney!". And (2), a lot of words helps to justify their £1k price tag.

But, there are a couple of things that need to be looked at - one is easy; the chimney. This needs a 'pepperpot' or similar on t'top to stop rain getting in, and it also should have a vent fitted at the bottom where it was sealed orf. Almost certainly these two things will stop that recorded damp in the loft space. Yes, that will need someone to go up a ladder to pop the thingy on top, but hardly a great expense. As for the vent, they are ugly things so if you fancy opening up the fireplace to make it a feature, then you'd stick a trickle vent grill in the 'roof' of this opening, out of sight.

The most important issue is the removed wall, and this is something you should ask your solicitor to ask their solicitor about - when was it done, who dun it, was it BCO approved. If the answer is 'No idea...", then you need to take the potential cost into account with your offer. Really, tho', to stick in a beam/lintel is an easy job, and should be well under £1k cost. And might not even need doing at all (essentially, if it been like that for many years and there are no signs of movement cracks in the walls, or sticking doors upstairs, and if the upstairs floors don;t have noticeable 'spring' in them, then almost certainly it ain't an issue. But, it does need checking out.

Happy New House

 

Open up the fire place, stick a multi fuel fire in there.

 

Personally, when you're paying that sort of money for a survey, it's sad that the surveyor who should be highly competent isn't required to say ' this requires urgent attention and at the current going rate in this area the remedial work is likely to cost in the order of' or for example 'we are drawing this to your attention but this work would be ubdertaken as part of routine house maintenance' They usually say couldnt inspect the drains, pay someone else to do that, couldnt access the loft pay someone else to do that, pay for electrical inspection, pay for gas inspection... has as already been said above.
In my opinion having read the clauses, go for it.

 

Um...er...uh...

I know! An 'amateur builder'

Ok, a glorified DIYer, but have in my time dun everything that can be done to a hoosie - from digging and laying foundations, block/brickwork, roofing, plastering, gas, leccy, chippiework - it all.

The houses we have bought have all required extensive work - that was the whole idea - but I've never had a full survey carried out (only the basic one which was required for the mortgage). The reason for this is (a) if it's an old house (always has been) and it's still standing, then it ain't going to fall down now, and (b) if there is something amiss, then it's usually pretty obvious - as will be the solution (which I can almost always sort myself). That applies to your house too.

(My first experience of these sorts of reports was when I sold my fist place - a top floor flat in an old Edwardian house in Guildford. It needed extensive renovation but I knew that - so I only had the most basic 'mortgage' survey carried out. When I came to sell it 5 years on, it was fully renovated - but our potential buyer's 'full' report was a bit like yours; "The roof tiles are original and has a finite lifespan - you should budget for...". "The plasterwork is original and has a finite..." you get the idea. Basically, is was all ok, but - yes - it would all need doing in the unknown future - noshhhhsherlock. So that buyer pulled out and a less scared one bought it. Bought the flat for £51k, sold it for £140k, it sold again 10 years later for just under £300k and again after that for well over £400k )

 

TWO - how much spare cash will you have to carry out these jobs?

The boiler, for example, could be an expensive issue (I notice they haven't tested it...) at £2k+. But if you were to tell us the make and model, then good chance we can tell you how antiquated it is.

And, if it's relatively ok, then there are a few simple things you should do as soon as you move in to ensure it stays that way for as longer as possible - draining down, fitting a filter, adding cleaning chemicals, etc.

 

Just a comment on surveys.

I might be right or wrong.

But if the mortgage company are prepared to lend the money against the survey, then it is basically ok.

If they insist on a full survey or remedial work to be done as a condition of the mortgage offer, then be lot more wary.

 

What a load of absolute c rap. As others have said, this rip off report has basically stated the current condition of most of the homes in the country! Far too many 'could, should, and may's' when there's nothing definitive to speak of.

Which is the same as saying that if I fitted a window for you, it 'could' fall out if hit by a typhoon and crush you to death, which 'may' be dangerous to you and 'should' be issued with the required paperwork 'proving' it's not a hazard to you. See my point?

As KIAB stated earlier, the only real thing to raise an eyebrow would be the removal of a previous wall, just in case against the odds it was loadbearing and no beam was put in, but I doubt it. Check which way the floorboards upstairs are running, if they are square to where the old wall would have been then it's highly unlikely you have any issues.

I'd be looking for part of my £1000 back if it was me! Best of luck.

 

WelshOne

You ask for background. I'm a chartered civil engineer, ex lecturer in building and civil engineering (including C&G AutoCAD & Concrete Technology). Done 2 self build extensions and a loft conversion, currently doing architectural design and engineering (particularly loft conversions) and work part time for a builder.

Your comment of £1000 on fees includes other things I assume as £1000 for a homebuyer survey (even a decent one) is daylight robbery

 

As above, lots of comments in the report are just standard blurb and are ar$s covering. I would ask a local builder to take a look at the various things to understand the "risk" or at least have some sense of priority, and for the high priority aspects (like the wall and chimney) what it will cost to remedy it. Then you have a bargaining chip to go back to the Agents asking for a some money off the house price.

In the end, you need to understand what you are buying, what its gonna cost you to get the place into the state you want and whether you can afford this or are prepared to pay it. And the alternative to not buying this place is what...?