House Purchase Issue With The Roof Should I Worry?

[alicat]

In Scotland the seller has to provide a professional survey available to prospective purchasers tho’ you as a buyer are still advised to get your own and in any case a mortgage provider will want one. Very dodgy to buy without your own survey. I think it is a criminal offence for the seller to avoid mentioning any problems and the they could face substantial fines but I am not too sure on this. The only house I bought was nearly 40 years ago so I have no recent direct experience.

The law in England and Wales is different from that in Scotland. In England and Wales, it's buyer beware - that's why purchasers have surveys done and why they ask questions of the vendor before the sale becomes binding. A lot of people would have a criminal record if what you say is true.

 

[Arjimlad]

Our house is 1972-built and we had snow blown into the roof where the brittle felt had failed. So we had the roof battens and felt replaced. Worth haggling to get the cost off the price.

 

[slowmotion]

Thanks for the replies. I've taken everything that you have said on board, I've also researched it a bit and think that I'll either ask for the price to be dropped for a full felt replacement, not a patch-up, or walk.

I'm in hurry to find somewhere as I'm living in a rented house as I sold my house a year ago and couldn't find anywhere to buy in the window I had, so had to rent. It would be different if I was in that situation again, but I'm not. Thanks for the advice though, much appreciated.

It's certainly opened my eyes to the importance of a survey, preferably by a builder. I wanted a fairly modern house and thought they didn't have issues. But I guess these types of houses are getting older, I think I've been a bit naive.

If it's a builder you know and trust, that might possibly work. If it's "A Builder", not such a good idea. Use a reputable surveyor.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

If it's a builder you know and trust, that might possibly work. If it's "A Builder", not such a good idea. Use a reputable surveyor.

Yes he's a friend and a decent builder. I was planning on asking him to have a look at this house anyway, if I actually get that far that is.

 

[slowmotion]

Yes he's a friend and a decent builder. I was planning on asking him to have a look at this house anyway, if I actually get that far that is.

Good idea.

 

[PaulSB]

You said in an earlier post you thought you were a bit naive. That is precisely the word which I was thinking as I read the first page.

You are making a huge financial decision, getting a proper and professional survey of the entire property is essential. Relying on friends, family etc. does not work. My Dad was a chartered surveyor. 36 years ago I asked him to check out the house we wanted to buy and still live in today. He missed the dry rot - cost me a lot of money and I had no come back.

Parting with hundreds of thousands of £££ without proper investigation is naive in the extreme.

Sorry but that's how it is.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

I agree Paul, I'm, a bit too laid back about everything, and yes its completely stupid in regards to purchasing a house. I think I was expected better from a fairly modern house. One of the reasons I had no intention of buying a really old house, that and that I find them freezing, prefer something with cavity walls.

I find houses strange, unlike cars, age seems to make little difference to the price of them unless they are brand new. Obviously you can't swing a cat in cheaper recently built houses though...

 

[Brains]

Don't be in a hurry to buy, take your time to find the right place.

As you are renting, explain the situation to your landlord (the actual landlord, probably not the agent), if you have been there for 12 months then the chances are they will be happy to let you remain on a 'rolling contract' basis as long as you agree to give them something like 60-90 days written notice of termination.

I would strongly recommend you don't make the termination date the same as the exchange date, as exchange dates have a habit of being moved back at the last minute.

Also it's a lot easier (and therefore cheaper) to re-carpet and re-decorate an empty house rather than a full one.
So if you end up with two homes for a month or so, it's a good thing.
It also means you can select a moving in day that suits you, not one that suits everyone else in a chain.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Don't be in a hurry to buy, take your time to find the right place.

As you are renting, explain the situation to your landlord (the actual landlord, probably not the agent), if you have been there for 12 months then the chances are they will be happy to let you remain on a 'rolling contract' basis as long as you agree to give them something like 60-90 days written notice of termination.

I would strongly recommend you don't make the termination date the same as the exchange date, as exchange dates have a habit of being moved back at the last minute.

Also it's a lot easier (and therefore cheaper) to re-carpet and re-decorate an empty house rather than a full one.
So if you end up with two homes for a month or so, it's a good thing.
It also means you can select a moving in day that suits you, not one that suits everyone else in a chain.

Thanks that's all good information and very helpful. The more times I go back to this house the more I see wrong, the more I pick up on, but that is just the way that things end up, and as you say, you should never rush in.

I fully agree with an overlap in renting to buying. The house I'm looking at needs thoroughly cleaned and decorated, it's not much fun doing that when your living in it.

I phoned up about this house today and told the estate agent I would give my decision by the end of the day regarding this house.

 

[keithmac]

I know a mate who had 3 houses fall through, and my Sister in law as well.

Your mortgage company may come back anyway and insist you pay for a full survey before they will lend on the property if they think it's in their interest.

We're never moving, as much as I'd like a front garage we'd just be shooting ourselves in the foot.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

This fell through anyway. I've been trying to get rough quotes for the roof work. During that time the estate agent has constantly been contacting me, the seller gave me a deadline or else he was going to re-list it. I couldn't make that. This was 24 hours after I'd first raised my concern, what a complete tool. I just said I'm out. I've no doubt the felt will be bodged-up and back on the market. I'm sure something better will turn up.

 

[cyberknight]

By the sounds of it you dodged the bullet.
Last house we were in we had no end of problems, it was a repossession but still had the 10 year thing where the builder as supposed to fix it but it just got worse and worse with so many issues we sold at a loss to get out .A month after we left the kitchen ceiling collapsed.
The house we were after the seller kept asking for more money then pulled out at the last minute so we have ended up in a house where we do not want to be .

 

[iandg]

Scotland - My wife has a viewing on a property tonight, the home report states the following:

"From the head and shoulders inspection of the main roof void area, it is noted that there is localised decay to timber rafters adjacent to the chimney. Additionally, evidence of wood boring insect infestation was noted to the main roof void area and the extension roof void. Damp and timber specialist required to undertake a detailed inspection of the entire property. It is noted that ground levels are high in relation to sub floor ventilator generally and it is known from information widely available that such a situation can lead to damp penetration."

If (she decides that) we like the property we will arrange for a detailed inspection and would put in a reduced offer to allow for the work to be done.

 

[Dave7]

By the sounds of it you dodged the bullet.
Last house we were in we had no end of problems, it was a repossession but still had the 10 year thing where the builder as supposed to fix it but it just got worse and worse with so many issues we sold at a loss to get out .A month after we left the kitchen ceiling collapsed.
The house we were after the seller kept asking for more money then pulled out at the last minute so we have ended up in a house where we do not want to be .

I often wonder how people manage to sell a house at the 'right' price then buy the house they really want..... all without something going wrong.
It really is a minefield.

 

[Cletus Van Damme]

Scotland sounds ideal to me, its a complete pain in England. I can't stand dealing with estate agents, there's only one decent company that I've dealt with in my area, the rest do my head in.

I got completely fed up of it last year when I was under pressure to buy, due to having sold my own, the estate agents knew this, apart from advertising I don't really know what other purpose they serve.