Negative Structural Survey: Fix Problems or run for hills?

squirterist

Hi,

4 bed 1960s cottage 140 sqm (includes 10 yr old extension) in excellent area Co Galway. Needs modernization - mostly cosmetic (paint, tiles, floors, new kitchen) or so we thought....

Have been watching the house for 12 months now and recently sale agreed at a very reasonable price (203,000). 50% off original 2007 selling price.

Just wondering if anyone had similar experience and came out the other side in a positive way. Feel like giving up now and settling for something less complicated even though this is perfect area and lovely house & land.
We were supposed to pay our booking deposit today after structural survey but have gone back to auctioneer looking for 30 grand off the price. But even at that...im not sure if we should go though with it. We are complete novices though.

We were in house while surveyor did his work. He told us that all external walls from older part of cottage need dry lining as they are extremely damp (had been dry lined years ago but not very well...)and floors need to be redug (sp), insulated and reconcreted in the old part of the house as there is rising damp. Also, 4 small fireplaces need to be blocked and there could potentially be many "unseen" problems which have not been spotted yet. There is a crack in one of the chimneys and damp on the chimney wall in the attic.

For those of you who have been there with an old property...any idea about the costs of works for the above mentioned problems? Also, are we guaranteed a warm cozy house if we carry out this work? I am afraid, we will go to the effort with drylining and reinsulating and there will still be heating issues. The house is double-glazed with an 85% efficient oil boiler.

Thanks a lot for reading..

L

Victor

Lots of old properties need work.

If it scares you a lot, walk away.

If it scares you only a little and have professional advisors, time and money to fix it, then why not?

Was the property re-wired when the extension was built?

squirterist

hi victor

thanks for your reply.yep it has been rewired.. it scares me a bit. just so confused at the mo. we want the country house but are both pretty nervous as we are first-timers.

L

tHE vAGGABOND

if in any doubt at all, run away tbh

PLENTY of more for sale around the place

ei.sdraob

man run to the hills!


theres just so many new homes and/or land with permission



you can get 0.5 to 1 acre with planing permission for 50k to 70k

that leaves you 150k to build a new house you want with


or get a large new house like this http://www.daft.ie/1427905 (offer 180k or less in this climate!)

and furnish it

dan_d

Okay.....well, relations of mine, years ago had a house like that. They lived in it for a good while and it was okay, but it was always cold. Didn't help that it faced north-south, rather than east-west...the back of the house was north facing and always freezing and damp feeling.
Anyway, here's the reality....they ended up digging up all the floors room by room. I mean, they had to break up all the concrete, and dig down about 4 foot in each room to the muck, then insulate, damp proof membrane and concrete each room. Chimneys needed repairing. All walls had to be stripped down and re-plastered...which means, stripping off what's there, carrying out any repair work (replacing blocks etc), insulating and dry lining, then re-plastering. Ceilings will probably need to be done too.
Damp screams to me no insulation, bad air flow through the house.....a number of things.
If you buy, it is not worth your while moving in until this work is carried out. You will probably be cold, damp and living out of 2 rooms at any given time while the work is being carried out. Plus it will get done in half the time if you just gut the place all at one and do the work. On the other hand, if you want to make any changes to the house, you have the chance to do it then.
If I were you I'd be going back to the estate agent and telling him you want AT LEAST 50,000 off the price. Get someone to price the amount of work that needs doing, to back you up. And above all, make sure you get EVERYTHING while you're doing it. Don't half do the job, or you will end up with problems. Otherwise, everything should be fine once it's done. My relative's house is great now.
It's going to be expensive no matter what. If you feel that strongly about it, and you can afford it, then go for it. Bear in mind that you then need a new kitchen etc,etc which is pricey too, and any associated furniture and cosmetic stuff (you said you're a first timer, so i'm assuming).Otherwise, I'd be very, very wary of the house and deal.

Victor

dan_d wrote: »

If you buy, it is not worth your while moving in until this work is carried out.

Only fools do this.

Realise that a builder will charge more if you are living in the property.

squirterist

cheers for the responses..have been thinking about it long and hard, very little sleep this weekend, will probably go for it. We will ask for a reduction and get the builders quotation..will be long stressful wait.will move in with parents for the last couple of weeks.

Dan, its reassuring to hear that it all worked out in the end for your relatives. Gives me hope!

Well, fingers crossed and here goes

L

ei.sdraob

I should have elaborated more in my previous post

Seriously think hard about a house that needs renovation in that pricerange

there is plenty of cheaper "new" properties all over galway country, just checkout daft etc

im myself building a new house 25km from galway city, expected to come tidily at under 200k for ~195sq m (excluding large usable attic at another 80m)

tho if you really like the location (near sea?) or have family ties/close to work then i suppose it might be a good deal

also if you can get a large amount of the asking price then yes it might be worth it

as usual its hard to tell without all factors, but on the face of it me opinion is above

Kipperhell

Be warned if your surveyor tells you something maybe worse once you get started assume it is the worst case. Don't budget for the best outcome but the worst.

stepbar

ei.sdraob wrote: »

man run to the hills!


theres just so many new homes and/or land with permission



you can get 0.5 to 1 acre with planing permission for 50k to 70k

that leaves you 150k to build a new house you want with


or get a large new house like this http://www.daft.ie/1427905 (offer 180k or less in this climate!)

and furnish it

That house is ready for 1st fixing! In other words the guy has ran out of money and cant finish. 120-130 would be more than plenty for that place considering you'd easily have to spend 30k to make it livable.

antiskeptic

squirterist wrote: »

Hi,

4 bed 1960s cottage 140 sqm (includes 10 yr old extension) in excellent area Co Galway. Needs modernization - mostly cosmetic (paint, tiles, floors, new kitchen) or so we thought....

Have been watching the house for 12 months now and recently sale agreed at a very reasonable price (203,000). 50% off original 2007 selling price.

The asking price in 2007 could have been a bonkers one even for the time - folk were asking bonkerly high prices then for the same reasons that folk are offering bonkerly low prices now. They then (and us now ) never know what might bite...

So the 50% off might not reflect a realistic value.

I'd stay clear of this one myself. A wet house remains a wet house unless the fundamental reason for it being wet is resolved (requiring the installation of a dampcourse. It would take a high degree of expertise and craftmanship to ensure that the drybox built inside the wet one is sealed at all points.

I find it hard to imagine you can't get a better proposition given the current glut and suspect you might be ball watching a bit - letting the dream of this one close you off to the fact that there are plenty of others that will fit the bill - once you go looking.

Remember too that drylining is a patch - not a cure. Something that will always shadow the house come the time you may want to sell. If you can negotiate an absolute knockdown price then perhaps...

upgrade

I have done the exact job you are contemplating on 1950's bungalow,dry lined it, new floors,replastered inside and out,re-slated the roof,built an extension as well.it turned out very well,I kept the cost down by doing alot of work myself but I wouldn't recommend you take on this house.
with an old house the work is endless and when you are finished you still have an old house,if I had to do it again I'd demolish the house and build a new one

Gonzales

RUN, run as if the devil himself is after ye! If you are uncomfortable now you should follow your gut & walk away.