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Be aware that quotes from tradesmen can take fucking ages (if they even get round to it at all). I've had people who have come round to quote and then just never reply to you.
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Just so many red flags with this. Looking for 6 months, seriously for 2 is not that long for house hunting tbh. I know you feel under pressure to get in before the tax changes but it’s definitely not worth rushing the biggest financial decision of your life.
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We walked away from a place after survey turned up a bad roof, although nothing as bad as yours . We asked for big discount and no dice . All worked out for best in the end . As a first time buyer you are in a strong position, so keep your nerve, be prepared to walk away ( an earlier house we were outbid on and my partner was convinced we would not find better, but we did and a lot better ) . Good luck .
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@PhilDAS
Thanks all. Lots of good points, lots to think about.
We are definitely looking again at whats on the market now but with the stamp duty changes looming at the end of March, that is having some influence on our decisions.
The house is priced at the top end of similar size properties in the area which we felt was fair given the character that is has that others don't plus a big garden. Definitely not priced with a new roof and structural work required imo. That would make it an extremely expensive 2 bed house from what we've seen. Likely over 500k when all is said and done with the cost of work plus current sale price. This is in Hampshire, an hour from London by rail. We've been looking for 6 months and more seriously for 2 or 3, viewed a lot in the area.
I have a feeling that we'll be walking away in the end but I'm going to try to get a few quotes if we can do it fairly quickly. I have contacted a couple of well reviewed local roofers.
What I really don't want to do is spend any more money on it given the chance of pulling out. Which leaves me not knowing how to address the rear wall situ. Do I just get a builder to quote to fix it including putting a lintel in and sorting the brickwork? A quote is hopefully free but hasn't been confirmed as 100% necessary by a structural engineer/surveyor. And given the rear window and door would probably be replaced at the same time, would that cost be fair to pass on as those are technically upgrades although maybe the originals have to come out to do the building work.
So fucking much to think about/deal with. How do other people do this with a full time job? Nightmare.
If there were other houses on the market that tick as many boxes without all this hassle, we'd be pulling out already but there seems to be SFA new coming on the market at the moment. In the area we're looking at at least