Survey Essential Items

hurleronditch · 01-12-2019 11:05pm #1

Just wondering on people’s views, had an offer accepted on a house last week and just got our survey report. A few things for solicitors to deal related to planning, but actual physical areas are a proper inspection of the flat roof on the extension, and getting an electrician and an RGII plumber to inspect the place. The house is early 60s built, but has been kept well and lived in consistently with a reasonable level of upkeep.

The electrics are clearly old, but obviously if an electrician says they need to be fully replaced we would do. The boiler is less than 10 years old, but one of the upstairs rads has leaked a little, and the surveyor suggests getting an RGII plumber out to check the full works to see if it needs to be fully replaced. Our plan is to move into the house once complete, doing some cosmetic work before we do and waiting anywhere between 1-3 years to do a much bigger job. My question is in relation to the price of sale - it’s clear to the naked eye that the electrics and plumbing are not brand new, and would need work at some point - are they not considered “sold as seen” and there would be no grounds to renegotiate?

The other item is the flat roof. It looks in good nick, but if the builder we get to look says it’s actually in rag order and needs to removed ASAP, that is something I would feel I would seek a price concession from the vendor for, as without getting on the roof and inspecting it thoroughly I couldn’t have known? Is my take here some way reasonable or how would people play it?

Doop · 02-12-2019 2:22pm

Its up to really... and depends upon a few variables ..ie market / other interested parties

Dont ask dont get!... but at the same time be prepared to be told theyre not fixing anything or open to renegotiating.

If I was the vendor I wouldn't entertain it unless it had been a long difficult process to find an interested purchaser and I really couldn't afford to lose them then I may consider some negotiation.

riclad · 02-12-2019 4:06pm

If you get a structural survey it should show, things that are faulty in the property, the surveyor looks for
dry rot, rising damp serious faults or structural problems, that need repair.
It should also give a rough price of repairs that need to be made .
an upstairs rad with a small leak is not expensive thing to fix .
The rad can be switched off until its fixed.
unless the wiring is 30 years old at least it should not need rewiring .
did the surveyor not look at the roof in the course of the survey.
i see nothing here that would merit asking for a reduction in the price.
You should pay an electrician to check the wiring to make sure its safe
and there,s no rewiring needed .
boilers last at least 15 years before they need replacing if serviced regularly , you may want to get a more modern timer unit fitted to the boiler ,if it does not have one already.

Sesame · 02-12-2019 5:05pm

If you ask for a reduction, be prepared that the vendors solicitor may come back to you and say no and that if you don't want it for the price agreed, don't buy it. Nit picking does not necessarily go down well with vendor. Something to consider if you don't want to leave a bad taste.
My family were selling a house after a death and the buyers tried to get a reduction. My family members agreed to give it to them. Then, a couple of weeks later they looked for another reduction. The sales process was already well underway.
My family, who were grieving at the time, found the whole ordeal, which was already emotive, quite upsetting and should probably have never agreed to the first reduction.

Alkers · 02-12-2019 5:11pm

A surveyors report will call for an RGI & RECI inspection in 90%+ of second hand houses, you will be laughed out of it by the vendor if you try to renegotiate on this basis.

You've already had a surveyor out, what did they say about the flat roof? You could ask how old the flat roof is - I think some insurance policies only cover for them <10 years. This might be a better option if you're looking to renegotiate but even if you needed to replace it, they're relatively inexpensive in comparison to a house purchase. How big is the flat roof area?

Dolbhad · 02-12-2019 9:41pm

I find it’s buyers beware and no scope for a reduction unless it’s something major that affects a mortgage like a roof needing to be done ASAP.

It’s very different around the country. In Cork drains testing is a big thing and seems to be the only way a price reduction is given if drains report shows works needing to be done. But don’t ask, don’t get but be prepared for a no.

ZX7R · 02-12-2019 9:56pm

Electric and plumbing would be reflected in the price of the house as far as the flat roof goes if the engineer says it's ok ,it would not matter what a builder says ,both the bank and the vendor would laugh at that.
The bank will only act and accept an engineers report.

riclad · 02-12-2019 11:18pm

I presume you are buying the house cos the price is reasonable, you want to live in the area,.
You like the house, its the right size .
it doesn,t seem to need any serious repairs apart from maybe rewiring.
if you buy a house, 60 years old, you have to expect ,it might need rewiring, it might need more insulation than a house built in in the 90,s
or 2004.
If there was a serious problem with the flat roof the surveyor should have noticed it .
if i buy a 20 year old car,i don,t expect it to be designed like a car from 2019.

Survey Essential Items

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