First-time buyer in need of help!

[Head of Toast]

Hi there, hope someone can help us!

We have just had a full survey for a house we are supposed to be buying. It's looking rather scary, and I was looking for a little advice.

The roof was re-roofed with concrete tiles, at some point. They are too heavy for the structure to support, and so the roof needs re-inforcing. Apparently the one beam up there that takes the weight is rather bowing. There also has to be an investigation to see if the struts are mechanically tied to the walls.

There is a lot of damp, and this needs to be treated by us if there is not a damp proof-course that is under guarantee. And there is also a possibility that the property needs rewiring.

We have no idea how much this will all cost, how long it'll take, and suspect we can't afford it. Does anyone have any ideas of costings for any of the above work? A ball-park figure is all we are after. Don't really want to pull out of the sale, as we love the house, but the roof problem is very worrying.

Thanks,

Toast.

[Vass]

mechanically

Negotiate with the seller they probably will accept the findings and compromise afterall, the next buyer will do the same if they have a similar survey Total rewire depending upon house size £ 1200 - £ 2000

-- Vass

[Lloyd and Sarah]

I agree, get money off the price of the house. The problems you have listed are going into the thousands. If it has damp you have more to worry about than putting in a dpc...what about mending everything affected by the damp already...plastering etc.

Get some local quotes, quickly...then speak to the agents..the people selling will probably already know they have problems, and if the sale is a certain way through they will drop rather than lose the house they want to buy....

Remember its a buyers market, so you are in control!!

mechanically

[Martin]

Hi, HoT - day off for the election?

Not an answer to your "how much" question, just some advice - and sorry if this sounds a bit elaborate...

1. Don't fall in love with it until you move in - otherwise you'll have a weaker bargaining position

1. Exploit your strong position cos, as Vass says, the vendor will have the same problem with any other prospective purchaser.

2. Decide what you think the house will be worth once all the work is done properly = £A

1. Get 3 professional, written quotes for the work = £B from local firms with good reputations (vendor will need to allow access for inspections etc, make sure you're present, too), Get builder's estimate of time needed (and add a bit), and explain you want a price to allow for the inclusion of penalty clauses on the builder's contract (but the builder will have vacant access, which should help him a bit).

2. Accept it's going to be much easier to delay moving until ALL the work is completed.

1. Work out the cost of delaying the move = £C - this will include the cost of interest (on both your mortgage and on the deposit you'll be paying), council tax, insurance, fuel and any other similar costs which you will incur by buying the house but not being able to move in until the work is completed.

2. Negotiate with vendor - but DON'T offer more than £A - £B - £C. (and check if your figure is close to a Stamp Duty threshold point)

The vendor may not like it - but because he will know how you're arriving at the figure, and the problems he could have finding another willing purchaser, he should be sensible enough to accept.

Keep your solicitor informed of what you're doing, and (if and) when you're ready to exchange contracts, set a completion date that the builder can commit to and sign up with the builder accordingly.

A few don'ts - don't try to do the work yourself, unless you're sure you have skills, time, and had a pro assess everything that's needed. Don't be afraid to walk away - there's loads more houses but once you've signed up you've committed your finances.

Good luck...

[Hugo Nebula]

On Thu, 5 May 2005 11:25:54 +0000 (UTC), a particular chimpanzee named "Head of Toast" randomly hit the keyboard and produced:

You have to read the survey carefully. They are written in such a way as to cover the surveyor's behind. It's very unlikely that a general surveyor would give a definite opinion that the roof structure _must_ be reinforced; I'd expect him to pass the buck to.. sorry I should have said, recommend you employ a structural engineer.

See google for opinions from this group and uk.d-i-y as to the usefulness of damp-proof courses (and surveyors who use damp-meters to make such judgements). WRT the electrics, there's a possibility that _any_ property needs rewiring. Unless there's something specific, then this is another vague comment.

How old is the property? Any house more than a few years old will eventually need _some_ work, and I would suggest that if the points above are all that have been found in a pre-1970's house, then I don't think you've got too much to worry about.

[keith_765]

mechanically

I cant comment on the damp or the electrics, the roof yes. To reactifiy the sag in the roof the concrete tiles, lath and felt will have to be taken off to release the whight. All the roof spars released from the centre beam. New centre beams inserted. The size of the new beams will be determined by the BCI recomenations. You may have to put two beams in both front and rear elevations. they also have to be brick in at each end for support, just bolting new to old not allowed. The whole lot renailed, refelted lath and re tiled.

Cost dependes on roof area. Could be from £ 4000 to £8000.

[bigcat]

re-inforcing.

reactifiy the

I doubt it. Merely reinforcing whats there should in most cases be adequate. But if its sagging by a foot or so, you might be quite right.

NT

[bigcat]

re-inforcing.

I think 'need' is the word we should focus on. Need it in order to achieve what? To meet the latest OTT building regs, or to ensure it stays up? Very different things. For all I know it might not need anything doing.

how long is it, and how much bend? 1"? 12"?

mechanically

why? People dont normally investigate that when they buy a house. What problem has been found that warrants that?

woah. Firstly diagnosis of non existant damp is routine, so first we need to know if there really is damp or not. What signs of a damp problem are there?

Only then does one go on to work out what the cause is, then how to treat it.

Well if theres damp it will need treating by you either way. A guaranteed dpc wont help you much.

Since youre talking about guaraneed, and therefore most likely injected dpcs, and concrete tiles replacing slates, I guess we're talking Victorian. The sort of findings you report are not unusual in Vic houses. But more to the point here, solving damp probs has nothing to do with injecting a dpc. More on that later.

means nothing, please be specific as to the problems found. Does your survey even cover the wiring? Or have you found a problem? etc.

Youre making too many assumptions already. Need to first establish if any of the above is a genuine problem. Without doing that first, youre just spinning your wheels.

Damp diagnosis and treatment in Victorian houses:

And if it is Victorian, an important question is: is it rendered?

NT

[ruth]

I'm interested to know if you have made any headway with your problem. I have the same p= roblems with my house, a victorian terrace in Nottingham. The seller had replaced sl= ate tiles with cement ones which were weighing the roof down and pushing out the wall a= t the front, which had a visible but slight bow under the eaves. I had steel braces put i= n to stop any further movement outwards, at a cost of =C2=A3400, and went ahead and bou= ght the house because I loved it. Three years later I find that the braces are not fixed= to the rear elevation, and are therefore useless at present. The builder who did the j= ob (recommended by the estate agents who handled the sale) has today come back to recc= e, and will return to 'rectify' the problem. I do not believe he will do this properly a= s he has talked some flannel basically, and I am going to have to wade through some big p= roblems to sort it out properly. Houses like this (built in 1904) will inevitably hav= e some movement/problems, but they can be sorted, but it will cost. The payoff is not l= iving in some horrible, flimsy-walled, characterless, no-loft-space new build!

The house had damp. I had the rot treated and a damp course put in. Sorted.

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[Head of Toast]

The house had damp. I had the rot treated and a damp course put in. Sorted.

***

After another few specialist surveys, it loks as if we have work worth about

4k to do. Waiting for the final builder's quote. Then we have to negotiate with the vendor, as we can't afford to pay that with the asking price the way it is!

Toast.

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