Owning your own home

Talking of our survey, can anyone advise on the below?

What kind of house is it? Age / Period?

I'd only fix damp stuff if there is an actual problem but if a concrete floor has been retrofitted in to an older property that should have a suspended floor it's worth finding out why and how it was done

Victorian Terrace.

@TW This was just a general full survey including structural on a house we've had an offer accepted on

Victorian Terrace.

Typically didn't come with concrete floors. Why / how / when was it done? If you can answer that you can get a feel for the risk it poses of causing problems in the future.

I have recently removed a very similar internal masonry wall in the exact same location in a house of roughly the same size and age and it was definitely not structural and did not require an rsj. Judging by the thickness of the bit thats left, it looks like a single skin of brick, possibly laid on the thin edge?

I imagine the joists run parallel to the party wall and the floorboards perpendicular. Thats how it is in mine and the internal wall had no top plate and wasnt connected to the joists.

EDIT just seen the cracks in the plasterboard from the bath above! looks like it may need a bit of bracing

Having owned a VT with a retro fitted concrete floor for two years, I would say steer clear. Concrete is non-porous, the mortar in the walls is very porous, so if there's excessive moisture under the floor it'll come up the walls until it gets above the slab. That said, if he recons the walls are dry it may not be a problem. I have recently found another reason that may behind the moisture under my house being so high, so without that it may be fine.

Understairs cupboards are always musty, might just need a few vents.

Good idea - will broach it with the sellers via their solicitors and find out how long ago it was done. I assume it is still a good idea to mention the full amount of work estimated incase there is any room for negotiation.

The surveyor seemed to suggest that it was highly unusual to have concrete , plastic membrane (seemed to suggest plastic was a bodge) then flooring so I was worried that we would have to rip it all up and put down a resin membrane which would be a pretty significant cost.

yeah, I do wish it was left as it was meant to be. The fact there are no signs of damp and "no rising damp" gives me some confidence but as howard mentioned, probably best to see how much confidence the sellers response to the query gives us.

EDIT just seen the cracks in the plasterboard from the bath above! looks like it may need a bit of bracing

Doesn't necessary mean the bath is about to come through, could just be the water finding it's way through the joins in the plaster board.

What @Howard & @Silly_Savage said, and why I asked - remedial work would be do dig up the concrete floor. Which can do one.

[Edit] If the plastic is a bodge to fix a damp problem caused by the concrete floor, I'd suggest that resin is a bodge too.

I assume it is still a good idea to mention the full amount of work estimated incase there is any room for negotiation.

Your job here is to look at what the surveyor is saying and the context of your offer and chose to negotiate or not. It is your decision, you don't ask for permission.

If you feel that if you proceeded without an allowance for the issues the surveyor is raising you would be buying a property that significantly differed from the property you thought you were buying to the point that you would feel irked / conned / mugged, then you should negotiate.

The conversation is straight forward; you simply tell the EA that the survey has come back and there's a lot in there, more than you expected, and that you are seeking an allowance and feel that £X is fair. They might ask for a copy of the report, more than likely they will.

You need to decide up front

• the figure you think is fair to ask for
  
• what you will do if they flatly refuse or bullshit you (there's another offer from someone else! who doesn't exist)
  
• on what figure you would accept if they counter
  
• what your viable alternative position is (tip: start looking for another property now).
  
  

Tip: you can't go back in time and ask for money off so ask for enough, you don't have to be nice.

Fraught process. Hold on to your hat, don't get pushed around.

... and be prepared to walk away.

Casual Rothko in the gym

Didn't get the one with questionable piping. Far from being sold though - survey could make it a no go for the perspective buyer. My original offer was c. 10% over asking, but revised it down a bit when I woke up this morning because of the advice here. Can't believe they haven't supplied any paperwork or info to prospective buyers. On to the next one. 3 offers now at or over asking now and been unsuccessful. On 2 of them, built real rapport with the sellers too + neighbours when doing due diligence, went back for unofficial second viewings but money talks I guess

You are being too honest to succeed in the uk property market. The winning strategy is to put in a knockout bid, lie about being a cash buyer, get the sellers pregnant with the deal then chip 10% on spurious “survey findings” the day before exchange

get the sellers pregnant

Long term strategy.

I have come across sales falling through because one of the married owners cheating on the other with the estate agent on a fake viewing...

Nailed it

*chip 15%

Leaky water pipe update: internal stopcock stops the leak so it looks like it's T'd (teed?) off under my floor slab. Gonna get the plumber to install a new feed above the slab which should sort the problem by bypassing it. Probably could have figured that out without digging a hole in my floor but oh well.

Remember this?

We moved just over a week ago and our mortgage balance for the old place is still showing as outstanding. Is this normal? There have been a few bank holidays in between but shouldn't it be showing as paid off by now?

Just realised it's still showing as outstanding, and our normal mortgage payment was taken yesterday.

That's not good is it? We moved on the 31st March, surely it should have updated by now?

What's the best (and least dickish) way to sell a house that has at least 3 interested parties?

(No estate agents involved - all word of mouth / friends of neighbourd etc...)

Have you asked the bank / your solicitor?

Only just noticed it's still outstanding now, although I did ask our solicitors about it over a week ago. No reply...

Guess I'll have to call the bank on Monday.

Sealed bids + race to exchange
trollface.jpg

Does anyone have an electrician they recommend around E9

We’re having a bit of drama with our floor.
Back story when we were buying we knew the floor needed sanding and refinishing, the previous owner had removed the carpet and exposed the original (lovely) teak flooring without treating it.

We had a recommendation from a neighbour of a company who did theres and they came round to survey, told us we needed gap filling, sanding, laquering.

2-3 days after they left, having done a great job, white lines started appearing between the boards, we told them, they said they would fix it when they came back to finish the ground floor (most of the work was on 1st floor and it was too cold on the ground floor to laquer when they first came)

they said they wouldnt book our appt for ground floor and fixing the white lines until the first invoice was paid, which we did.

theyre now saying they dont know how to fix the problem, the glue they used for gap filling has stretched (thing bending clear plastic where it goes frothy white) and our entire floor is now lovely beautiful flooring, marked out by thin white lines.

They offered to paint the white lines with a stain, they tried a small area and it looked like shite.

From my perspective I want a refund for the whole thing, or it fixed. From there side they’re saying they did their job, as a token of goodwill they won’t charge us our second invoice (£500, we’ve already paid £1400).

pictures of said lines for measure

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