Addressing house issues in Survey and BER reports

[iamaspinner]

We are FTBs. We have just received the BER cert and report, as well as the survey of the house we intend to buy. There are a number of things that concern us and would like them addressed by the vendor before we sign the contract (which we are still waiting for). If they decide not to do anything about them we will ask for a discount. However, being FTBs and having no expertise in these matters, we don't know how serious some of the points in the reports are or how much it would cost to get them repaired or changed. E.g. a large portion of the back wall facing the garden is fully covered with ivy. I have read it may do damage to a wall/roof: shall we ask that it is removed and have the surveyor call back to inspect it or are we being paranoid? In any case, do we ask the vendors to address an issue and if they do so then have someone re-check it or do we have it checked properly to see how serious it is beforehand?

I understand that the survey is not an in-depth exercise. It is full of recommendations, e.g. "A full inspection of the electrical system throughout the property should be conducted by a competent electrical contractor registered...", and the same for pipes, etc. Should we have all this checked thoroughly before we sign anything? We are paying a lot of money for the house...

 

[Sargent_Duck]

Hi,

being a FTB my self I know what your going through!!

Structural reports should be broken down into low,medium and high impact items, these are items that will have an effect on general living standards (also may impact the BER) and they each item should be rated short, medium and long term, meaning each item should be addressed straight away or over the next 15 years.

A lot of the time you can use these surveys as a way of bargaining a little more, if of course you haven't bottomed out that route. But items like ivy on the walls might be pushing it. Generally, if the survey came back and said there was subsidence or a leaking roof and you must fix it straight away then you could see about the vendor taking on the cost.

The way we looked at our survey was there was about 5 things that we would want to get done in the first year, none of which would cost a major amount. If there was something in the report that was going to add on thousands within the first year I would be looking fo some input from the vendor.

Was there anything serious other that ivy on the wall?

 

[mradaly01]

Hi,
Just wondering who carried out the survey? What it something you asked to get done (to satisfy the bank) or something the vendor had done?
Ideally an engineers report will highlight any issues with the property before you agree to purchasing this. So not too sure what level of detail your survey is going into. If it's your engineer who did the survey, then I would recommend meeting with him/her & going into detail on this, asking for their professional opinion, etc...

It's a tough call to make, a big leap of faith, especially as the purchase price can be so much. Again, depending on the age of the property, it will give you an indication on the electrics / pipe work / heating system etc.

From my understanding, any structural issues (subsidence / water flooding) must be told to any prospective buyers upfront.

Engineers report is key to making this decision to buy or not & as they don't come cheap, make sure you get their time & go through in detail each of your concerns / questions.