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Just in the process of buying a house (1960s, detached, extended a couple of times since. Now empty - owners died I think) and I’m a first time buyer and total newbie at all things house buying.
Had an offer accepted and then the survey and homebuyers report done. The report contained a bunch of stuff like ‘gutters might have debris in, can’t see to check because I’m not tall enough’ and ‘the bath sealant needs to be replaced’… pointless/arse covering stuff like that.
In amongst it though were a few more important issues:
“There is evidence of ventilation to the right hand extensions but no visible ventilation to the left hand extension or main roof void”
OK, so what am I supposed to do about that then?
“There is evidence of wood-boring beetle infestation to the roof timbers and it is likely to have spread to concealed areas. The infestation appears recent.”
So this needs to get professionally sprayed or something?
“Roof Insulation is approximately 50-200mm thick. However the nature of any insulation below the timber boarding cannot be verified. It is possible there is no insulation in the roof void above the left extension. You should check this prior to purchase.”
Well yeah, I suppose loads of things are possible if you can’t look to verify. How likely is it though? It’s possible the void is filled with £100 notes too. If the surveyor wasn’t able to check, how am I supposed to do so before buying?
“Ventilation beneath the timber ground floor is inadequate. There is a possibility that rot may be present and a precautionary check of floor timbers (including under-floor areas) is essential”
OK, I get what he’s saying here, but again it’s also ‘possible’ that the under floor areas are filled with gold bars. How am I expected to check this before buying? Ask if I can go back with a crow bar and pull the floor up?
“There is electrical wiring buried under the insulation in the roof space. Electrical wiring should be situated above the insulation to avoid overheating creating a fire hazard. This issue should be investigated further.”
OK, well if you say it is then it is, no further investigation required? Just needs putting right? presumably it’s been that way for decades.
Also it mentions no safety certificates for gas, electric, central heating etc etc. Clearly rental houses always have this, is it reasonable to expect a previously owner-occupied house to have them?
FENSA certificates for the windows also not present, although I guess this along with any safety certs could be in the possession of the seller.
So what do I do with this new information? Is it expected/the norm for the seller to fix these issues (mainly the woodworm in the roof I guess) or reduce the price by the amount it would cost to fix them?
There is no norm. It's points for debate. If you feel they need fixing (the infestation for example) then you can either accept it and carry on as agreed, get them to fix it or reduce your offer which they can then accept/refuse.
Don't ask them to "fix" anything. It will be a rushed, possibly shonky, job. Get your own chaps in to do any repairs properly.
You could reduce your offer but they may not agree.
Bring it to the sellers attention, they can always get an insurance policy to cover any work that has been done on the extensions (re ventilation), we had this on our property we bought recently, seller took out a policy for a door that had been replaced and there was no Fensa cert
In our case we will never likely need the policy but it gives some piece of mind
Only thing there that would concern me would be the beetles, the insulation stuff is relatively easy/cheap to investigate and resolve yourself, floor ventilation comment seems from my experiences to be a pretty standard arse covering comment, you would have to use your own judgement to decide if it's a risk or not
Electrics in our old house (and in the new extension we had built about 6 years ago now) where all within the insulation, building control still signed the extension off so presumably didn't have too much of an issue, but if your concerned and in any way DIY minded you should be able to once you own the house put it in some kind of trunking / plastic cover over it to isolate it from the insulation without disturbing/disconnecting anything (again though you will have to decide if this is an issue or not, the report is only guidance)
FENSA are likely all passed to the sellers solicitors as part of the exchange pack, get your solicitor to check this, when was any double glazing etc installed it might pre-date the requirement do FENSA?
When was the boiler last serviced? Might be worth also checking this and maybe ask for a service history or for the seller to get it serviced if no safety certs exist
i m working in a house that an elderley couple have recently purchased.. the surveyours report must have been written by one hans christian Anderson.. there is not one shred orf truth in it..accuracy on any of the paragraphs is slim at best invention is the norm.. the purchasers solicitors view.. i cant be accurate..
so frankly not worth the paper it was expensively printed on.