FTB and put an offer on a house with some serious issues... Am I mad?

RoboCod

RoboCod

RoboCod

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Short story : the gf and I have looked at around 30 houses and neither of them have really grabbed us except one where after the viewing it had the gf in tears and us both agreeing we just loved it.

It's a perfect period property, 1930s semi but it has some major issues for us, particularly as first time buyers.

The first point is the roof, it is flat. I know this poses issues with securing a mortgage from a lender. Looking at all the rooms there appears to be no damp coming through from the roof so at a glance the roof is Ok FOR NOW.

Secondly, there is in fact a lot of damp damage in the house. Rather than from the roof it is around most of the ground floor rooms at about shin height. Having spoken to my bricky mate he is 95% certain it is in need of new damp course without looking at it (I've read a lot about this online and the advice out there is confusing as some people suggest rising damp is myth. There is a lot of contradiction in advice on this matter). Bricky mate advises a damp surveyor in.

So despite these major problems, we have made an offer over 10% below the asking price. I made the offer saying it is in consideration of the obvious problems and would be subject to damp and timber inspections and roof survey as a matter of course.

Have people here bought houses with flat roofs or damp issues? Am I nuts offering for a problem house? :D

OcUK give me your opinions/reassursnce/critique/advice.
 
well, you will need to get the mortgage company to complete a survey since they will be giving you the money and if they dont want to lend concidering the state of the property then you might not even get the mortgage.
 
Slade2 said:
well, you will need to get the mortgage company to complete a survey since they will be giving you the money and if they dont want to lend concidering the state of the property then you might not even get the mortgage.
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Yep understood on that point.
 
Do you know what the roof covering is made of? my only guess for a 30s house with a flat roof is an architectural 1930s art deco house which may well have a copper / zinc roof in which case will be a small fortune to replace and probably in need of it by now.

Some more info would help
 
Only mad, if you dont have the money to fix the issues.
Has your mate given you any idea how much damp proofing wiill cost.
And how much modern flat roof coatings are.

Flat roofs arent the issue they used to be, the new rubber coatings are good, banks probably sttill dont like them, banks and building regs are stuck in there ways.
 
Small print of insurers sometimes ask for no more than 30% flat roof.

Check and double check I changed mine after converting my garage and effectively creating more than 30%.
 
If it has serious damp, then walk away from it, you could spend thousands on a new damp course & still not solve the problems.

Could end up with a money pit, & a property you could lose money on it, & end up seriously out of pocket.
 
You could also throw thousands at damp coursing a house that isn't designed for it, making your problems worse. You need a specialist who is used to dealing with older properties, not some clown who is going to drill holes in your house and pump chemicals in without knowing what affect it will have on the house.
 
Foghorn Leghorn said:
You could also throw thousands at damp coursing a house that isn't designed for it, making your problems worse. You need a specialist who is used to dealing with older properties, not some clown who is going to drill holes in your house and pump chemicals in without knowing what affect it will have on the house.
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THIS +100

Old houses don't suddenly go damp! (I live in a 200+ yr house)

If there is a damp problem, there is a reason for it. And installing DPC's is not necessarily going to solve it! DO NOT PUT CHEMICAL DPC'S IN HOUSES BUILT WITH LIME MORTAR EVER!

A 1930's house may be borderline on Lime/Portland mortar. It is essential to know what you are dealing with!

As I asked earlier, If it is an Art-Deco concrete house (Very nice BTW! :D ) the danger is that the concrete/rebars could be seriously (Even irretrievably) rotten by now!

Only consider a 1930's concrete house if you really like it and have loads of money! and even then only after a really thorough survey!
 
Captain Planet said:
Yep understood on that point.
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Do you have a lot of money saved up? since I think you are planning on `doing the place up` you will need some money over the top of what you will borrow. You are aware the company that you get the mortgage from will inspect the house to make sure its a good enough to lend agaisnt but you definatly wont be able to borrow more than what the house is worth. Also remember if you have some money saved and you plan on making a smaller deposit then your Loan to value percentage is higher and so your mortgage rate will be higher also. So, try to get as much for the deposit and leaving enough to get the work done is worth spending some time on.
 
We bought a 1930s house with damp issues all along the front of the house, this was picked up on survey, but the mortgage company approved the loan without question. We moved in, we then asked a number of experts to quote us on fixing the issues, and ultimately one of the experts told us it wasn't a damp course issue and told us to get our guttering replaced and the brick work re-pointed... 2 years on and we've not had damp issues since... Speak to lots of experts, some times these things are easily fixed :)
 
The house is of bricks, not concrete.

GIUiHOjb


Having put the offer in and mentioning the concerns I have over the roof and damp I am told the roof has recently been re-felted. I have asked for exact dates as such though. Regarding the damp I am told it is not in fact damp marks. I am told that the damp coursing that was done has resulted in salt marks coming through to the plaster. It is suspected that the damp course job was not done properly but that this work is under guarantee and could be fixed without cost. These are the Estate Agents words, he says their independent surveyor says this. Am I to believe an EA? :\ My next point of call will be asking why the seller hasn't had it fixed if that work is under guarantee then! We will see if the offer comes back accepted first.

The marks are around the low levels of all the walls in the dining room and the living room. I didn't get photos of this though!

MmVDD4lV
 
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