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When I booked my second viewing today I asked for access to the loft (ladder etc) as the boilers up there and I wanna have a nosey, it's boarded and I wanna have a guess on load bearing walls (followed by a structural engineer if I proceed).
The estate agent said I couldn't as they're not insured, I did point out it's a second viewing and I'd not be able to proceed unless I can.
They said they'll have to arrange for the vendor (vacant possession) to open the loft hatch & I can stick my head up!!!
It'd be ok for the surveyor to go up.
🤷🏻
I would expect to be allowed to. I wouldn't expect it to be empty enough for me to be able to see much though!
Sensible move.
Some people had their lofts insulated with spray foam, which leads to dampness and rot in the roof timbers.
I've looked at every loft in every house I've looked at.
I've shown the loft to buyers in every house I've sold.
I think it's Normal to see all the house you are buying
Yes, another +1 to expect, nay ensure that loft is inspected in any house I was buying or selling.
I've looked at every loft in every house I've looked at.
I've shown the loft to buyers in every house I've sold.
I think it's Normal to see all the house you are buying
Yup, what is also perfectly normal,is for(some)sellers to promise that it will be cleared out for your entry date.Then you turn up at the new address and they are still chucking stuff in a removal van. Lots of "Sorry,we totally underestimated our packing skills". Did they clear the attic? Did they heck as like.Three trips to the tip later 😉 🤣 🤣
Why wouldn't you want to know what you're buying?!?
Are they insured if you trip and fall down the stairs on the way back from the bedroom? What an utterly ludicrous suggestion. It'd make me more eager to have a look, what are they hiding?
A nosey in the loft in this place revealed several small holes in the roof that I demanded was sorted out before completion (and a large pile of random shit that I wanted removing).
Looking in the loft clinched it for me when buying our current hose. Massive space with no cross beams and c3m to the ridge means we now, 10 years later, have a glorious loft conversion.
It also means I knew what state it was in in terms of planning a re-roof on a 100+ year old house.
Totally normal, and frankly critical due to spray foam issues.. walk away of you cannot see it yourself.
It's essential...getting into the loft can give you a huge insight to the state of the roof (new roofs are expensive, if I didn't need to tell you!)
Even as a layman, you can look for stains, leaks, the general condition of the timbers, brickwork, discolouration, the state of the insulation, etc, etc, etc.
If I was denied loft acess I'd simply walk away from any sale... because it only says the sellers are trying to hide something.
I always want to, but I do understand that sometimes it's impractical. Insulation and flooring is a pretty valuable addition and big spend, after all, and it gives you a chance to see the state of the inside of the roof. Which to be fair can be misleading and probably causes some unneccesary issues? When we sold my mum and dad's place there were some signs of historic dampness from almost 20 years earlier, and every single viewer went "Oh dear, roof needs work". Quite annoying.
I just bought a place, couldn't get up for a viewing, just got in today and the "professional insulation job" looks like this, but at least the roof seems sound.
Although I will add... When I sold my late nans house the loft hatch was sealed and tacked up... I opened it up myself out of curiosity and in anticipation of any potential buyer wanting to have a look, or thier surveyor wanting to have a look.
If they deny you, that's a huge red flag.
@northwind jeez..what a mess!! it doesn't look too bad though, although, why did they just chuck the insulation all over the place wwith wanton abandon, instead of laying it correctly with air gaps under the boards, and raise the boards on loft legs if needed etc?
Estate agent not being comfortable doing that I understand (there's a world of variation between quality/ease/type of access) but the seller ought to be able to accommodate.
Our current loft access is mildly awkward but someone with the pokey stick and 4 brain cells can work the ladder.
My last house you needed a step ladder on the landing and the loft wasn't usable for storage. No way I'd have trusted an estate agent to bring a ladder in sort the hatch out etc.
I have looked in every loft of every house I have ever looked at
Moved house last week. My buyer never checked the loft in my old house which I found very odd. She didn't look at the water tank or the fuse box either and barely looked at the garden. Very peculiar.
I have looked in every loft of every house I have ever looked at
Moved house last week. My buyer never checked the loft in my old house which I found very odd. She didn't look at the water tank or the fuse box either and barely looked at the garden. Very peculiar.
I supose they might be relyng on just the survey? a level 3 survey 'should' kinda cover most of that stuff off, but then the surveyor would need easy access or they might just poke a phone up on a 'selfie stick' take a few snaps, and call it a day?
One of the first things we said to the people selling the house we live in now, was that we wanted to see the loft space as we could be keen to convert it later.
I'd be surprised if someone didn't want to check it out, either to check the roof condition or the space itself.
Took my own ladder to a second viewing to see if anything had been done to solve why a bedroom ceiling was on a bedroom floor. House was bare so nothing available to climb up on the first viewing.
Sensible move.
Some people had their lofts insulated with spray foam, which leads to dampness and rot in the roof timbers.
I was going to say the same, it’s becoming quite an issue, apparently. I had my loft space inspected when spray foam insulation was first being advertised, but never went through with it, something about it struck me as possibly becoming problematic. Glad I did now.
People on our development are beginning to discover the builder's lax attitude towards connecting bathroom vents to their respective roof terminals, instead just leaving them to exhaust into the loft 😖😖
I'm actually dreading inspecting my own loft now...
Went in the attic went in the crawl space.
But if you don't know what your looking for its somewhat pointless.
I can just about understand them not wanting you to go up there and possibly put a foot through the ceiling (just about) bit assuming we're talking about a normal loft hatch in a normal house, it seems a bit red-flaggy that they would make such a big deal of just opening it and sticking your head up as an absolute minimum. especially as the boiler is up there.
Im betting on spray foam insulation they're hoping you dont spot
Normal to go up, and if there's stuff up there, you should go up a second time before closing to make sure it's cleared. Made that mistake and had to clear 2 skips worth of junk myself.
Long thread and no-one's brought this chap up:
Update on mine, on closer inspection i found some
cash in the attic
I don't know if it's normal or not, however surely when spending gazillions of pennies on a property this is essential.
A loft space tells a buyer so much. If you don't know what you're looking for and become suspicious, take someone who does know on a second viewing.