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Our survey (on a 150-year-old three-bed in Hither Green) came back over the weekend. Generally, as expected, the house is in very good nick. But here are the things that a naturally cautious surveyor identified as "needing urgent repair"
- External walls rendered to the ground, therefore probably negating the original slate DPC
- Parapet walls at roof level require re-rendering
- Moss on tiled roof needs removing ("needing urgent repair" — really?!)
- Two rainwater downpipes in bad order
- High damp readings on ground-floor walls indicate possible, ahem, "rising damp"
- Wooden staircase needs strengthening
- Combi boiler should never have been installed in the bathroom
We have had an offer accepted at £5k under asking price. We have since had two valuations done.
- Mortgage lender (without even visiting — not really credible): £33k under our offer
- Surveyor: £7k under our offer
So I think we're justified in asking the vendors to lower the price — but by how much? And how do I broach the subject without turning the whole thing sour?
- External walls rendered to the ground, therefore probably negating the original slate DPC
Diamond_Supercool-
Probably the best thing to do is pretend internally and externally that you don't know how any of this shit works but your builder says it will cost £xx to fix so you'd like the seller to contribute £X which is small beer and I hope that's OK.
Basically ^ this, wot @WjPrince says. It might be what they are expecting.
At a glance, there's nothing in the surveyor headlines that isn't shit that happens to houses. The boiler is an interesting one. You can put boilers in bathrooms, it just has to be done right. The Why it was put there is more interesting than the fact that it's there.
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\1. External walls rendered to the ground, therefore probably negating the original slate DPC
Depending on size of the property, it's more likely a pitch DPC. Rendering over it is dumb however. Do you have pictures? Your surveyor might be looking too high for the DPC.
Were air bricks mentioned?
\5. High damp readings on ground-floor walls indicate possible, ahem, "rising damp"
Rising or not, the render outside if possibly trapping moisture, unless it's a breathable lime / cement free render.
Often, it's actually raised ground outside that's the problem.
\4. Two rainwater downpipes in bad order
This will make any problems from 1. & 5. worse
The extent of any problem would only be know by lifting floors & going back to the brick on walls though.
Howard
NotThamesWater
Fingers crossed the surveyor finds something for you to negotiate on :)