Buying a house - First time buyer

Never get the seller to complete this type of hidden work. Far better to agree a price knowing what needs doing (they should agree for you to take your contractor round to price it up) than allow them to get it done on the cheap.

 

I've just started house hunting for move number eight and hopefully the last. The first thing I would say is not to meet the owners face to face, that would immediately tell me they are hiding something or are about to try and talk you into something. Everything should be kept on a formal footing. If they push again for a meeting, arrange it so that you meet in your estate agents office so that you have a witness or two to the conversation. You will probably find they'll back off with this suggestion.

That said, with the issues that have turned up on the above survey, I'm wondering if these people are already very aware of the problems that the house has and are looking to come to a private deal with you. I'd be very cautious. The house looks like it has been completely decorated throughout recently, if that's the case and damp is showing through already, then there is something major going on which could turn out to be very expensive. I think a full private survey is necessary for your peace of mind. They are not cheap, but a lot cheaper than having any major work done to the property. Do you know how long it has been on the market? That will also give food for thought.

Going on my own experience I'd be very wary about buying the house.

 

Sorry. I had only read this bit when I replied!

 

@fat controller, that sounds like the house I rented in Sheffield, which actually started to break in half. First I saw a crack in the wall, which the landlord looked at and said was superficial. Then all mains power failed on the back half of the house. I decided to be naughty and not wait for the landlord, so I opened a wall socket to find that the wires no longer physically reached into the connectors. I've never heard of wires actually shrinking. Then, once that was sorted, with wife pregnant with CL1.1, I decided to convert the spare bedroom that had been my office into a nursery. I moved a cupboard that had been there since we moved in, and found a skirting board literally sheered in two. I moved the spare bed which had also been there since we moved in, and found that all along the length of one wall, extending about a foot into the room, all the floor boards were broken and bending downward at about 30 degrees. Then more electrics failed and an electrician came out, and we found some doorbell wire serving as the main earth strap. We moved out shortly after that.

 

.....Looks like a smashing place nFrost (jots down address) get the kettle on

The garden looks fab an' all....hope all goes well

 

I would. They might tell you about the history or the house, previous owners, work they had done, schools in the area, blah blah blah. If they give you a hard sell sales pitch you can take it with a pinch of salt ...

Every property I have bought has been a nightmare of right-hand-not-knowing-about-left when Solicitors start talking to Solicitors during the run up to exchange of Contracts. Being able to talk directly to the sellers has always enabled me to get the real low-down on what my solicitors are telling me they need to find out, and what my solicitor tells me that the other party's solicitors said was frequently sphericals ...

 

Put a few in





Don't know why they're called French

 

In my experience of when we bought our house the surveyor was useless.

He seemed to fail to spot that the wiring was really poorly done and was more concerned with the structural defects of the converted loft. Had to get a second surveyor in to give it the green light.

 

Wow, thanks for the help everyone!

Update: We've had a reply from the vendors via email since we said no to meeting up, we still could I guess.

Mr and Mrs Frost

Please find attached Mrs xxxx's reply to your valuation survey. Mrs
xxxx also confirmed that the house had not flooded, neither had the
surrounding properties. I trust that this is satisfactory and look
forward to hearing from you.

Kind Regards
xxxx

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Subject: Re: FW: Valuation

Thank you for forwarding the valuation survey. It has been helpful in
assisting us to address the issues raised.

The damp picked up by the electronic reader was something we hadn't
anticipated. We have been in the house for 11 years and never seen any
evidence to support this. We laid the flooring throughout the ground
floor 4 years ago ontop of sound, dry and intact floorboards. All
internal walls feel dry and paint and wallpaper that has been applied to
them has never flaked or peeled as we would expect with damp walls.

'The report suggests the subfloor ventilation to be inadequate'. We are
unsure as to the basis of this finding.
There are 5 subfloor airbricks to the front of the house. The national
housebuilding council guidelines suggest they should be a maximum of 6
feet appart. Those at the front are 3.5 feet appart at the maximum
distance.
There is an airbrick under the porch floor that we had fitted. To the
back of the house there are 2 double size airbricks, again within the
distance stipulated by the nhbc.

The appropriate certification for all electrical work carried out in the
bathroom is being issued and we expect to receive it this week.
Electrical testing has been carried out last week. All was well and the
certificate issued by the electrical governing body is anticipated to be
here within the month. These will be submitted to the solicitor when
received.

External woodwork to the font and back of the house was repainted 2-3
years ago and is in sound condition. At the back of the house there is
one wooden facia that requires painting. When we asked a roofers opinion
he advised that it did not need replacing.

I hope this has helped to clarify the situation and eased some concerns.

Please don't hesitate to contact me if there are further questions.

With thanks

xxxx

I'll feel better once we get hold of those certificates.

 

It's as one sided as you want. Everything is negotiable. My personal approach is to act as if you're not bothered and hammer the message that you want it but you're not stupid enough to pay for work required. You can always agree a price for a contractor to complete the work and take it off the house price...

This was upthread and is not how I do things, but then I build houses myself - or did before wearing out. Many a great property has been lost for fiddling over details, epically for standing firm on things and demanding things.

But then I buy problems, for that I get the price needed to make money. usually I buy a house so structurally wrecked that it would be cheaper to pull it down - but because I do the work my self I fix them. I have bought 1 large crack house complete with 12 tenants - very good price because it was a hostile deal as far as the tenants were concerned, a meth house, again with tenant - and it was in very poor condition too. I have bought a couple with bad title, and a few almost falling down.

Structural problems are beyond the scope of the non-professional, but if it is right for you do not mess up the deal over pennies in the big picture.

here is one I bought for the price of the land and now it is a very nice little cottage; well worth fixing.



And it had leaks everywhere, rot, and windows and doors knocked out - and you can imagine what else. But then fixing the wrecks is my gig.