FTB noob with homs report, damp?

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How bad does this sound? It's a 1950's house and I'm a FTB.

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A what noob with what? Lol at the title. :D

It doesn't sound too bad. I'd do as suggested and get it inspected so that you know how bad it is, rather than asking on here where nobody really knows how bad it is. :)
 
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Damp is a right pain in the backside.

You can either go in with a lower offer following the report or ask the vendor to fix the issue at there expense and make it a clause in the purchase.

Nowadays, unless the property is superb, I'd probably walk away from damp as there's normally similar or better properties for sale.



M.
 
First time buyer in Syria? Don't see many houses going for sale in homs shouldn't have any damp out there! I think home buyers report's are a waste of time and money all that last clause is for is to cover their ass I would not worry about it personally. Using a just a damp meter is not the best way to look for damp.
 
The reverse of that though is that the Home Buyers Survey could actually get him a reduction on the purchase price - easily get £5k off. The clause is there for a reason - damp has been detected so get a professional in to see how bad it is.





M.
 
And as the seller I'd be telling you to walk on while I find a serious buyer :D. You've seemingly never bought a house? Just lol at asking the seller to pay.

Ill walk on then and leave you with your damp house. Just lol at thinking you'd be in a good position selling a house with damp. :D :rolleyes:

If seller wants to achieve their price then they need to rectify the issue at their expense or lower the asking price. This would include conducting that report and completing any recommendations that came out of it. Would not touch a house with an existing damp problem with two barge poles.

Sounds more like you've never bought a house.
 
Ill walk on then and leave you with your damp house. Just lol at thinking you'd be in a good position selling a house with damp. :D :rolleyes:

If seller wants to achieve their price then they need to rectify the issue at their expense or lower the asking price. This would include conducting that report and completing any recommendations that came out of it. Would not touch a house with an existing damp problem with two barge poles.

Sounds more like you've never bought a house.

Sounds like you've never bought a house or you have been conned by the rising damp myth do some research for "rising damp" and you'll find 99% of the time it is not rising damp. If I was the seller I would ask what this "evidence" was and if they reply a moisture meter. I would ask them to prove it at their expense or move on.
 
Sounds like you've never bought a house or you have been conned by the rising damp myth do some research for "rising damp" and you'll find 99% of the time it is not rising damp. If I was the seller I would ask what this "evidence" was and if they reply a moisture meter. I would ask them to prove it at their expense or move on.

Im afraid I don't agree, as a buyer you just have to be sensible about your approach to these things, particularly any kind of damp, and it's in the sellers best interest as well because that is going to show up on every survey conducted. Hence, I would be asking for the seller to provide the report.

Also bear in mind this is a home buyers surveyor, not someone from a damp proofing company and they're not recommending anyone to do the work, so there's no gain for them.

All comes down to how much the buyer likes the house and how desperate he seller is to sell though.
 
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My renovation project survey came back with damp being mentioned in two places.

They have to cover themselves with something.
Used to be

Cavity wall ties
cavity wall insulation
Electrics
blah blah blah

I doubt you'll EVER get a report stating "Nothing wrong with the house whatsoever"

If they make a recommendation ignore it.

If they say its a requirement then take heed.
 
Ill walk on then and leave you with your damp house. Just lol at thinking you'd be in a good position selling a house with damp. :D :rolleyes:

If seller wants to achieve their price then they need to rectify the issue at their expense or lower the asking price. This would include conducting that report and completing any recommendations that came out of it. Would not touch a house with an existing damp problem with two barge poles.

Sounds more like you've never bought a house.

Nobody thinks that you'd be in a good position selling a house with damp and nobody said that either. The buyer purchases the report that reveals the damp. You seem to have the order of things arse about face.
 
I can't see the report (browser not showing it) but from the replies I presume a surveyor has said something like 'evidence of damp...suggest a specialist check it out...'?

If so, then it's probably nothing. Surveyors aren't experts and are covering themselves. They use meters that aren't designed for the job; too many people think that a £10 gadget from Screwfix beeps it means DAMP!

If you do choose to investigate, use a timber specialist and not a damp contractor. The former will cost more, but you'll get an honest, expert opinion; the latter is touting for work and may cost you/vendor £1000s.

You can ask the vendor to pay, but many will refuse.
 
Ill walk on then and leave you with your damp house. Just lol at thinking you'd be in a good position selling a house with damp. :D :rolleyes:

If seller wants to achieve their price then they need to rectify the issue at their expense or lower the asking price. This would include conducting that report and completing any recommendations that came out of it. Would not touch a house with an existing damp problem with two barge poles.

Sounds more like you've never bought a house.

The seller doesn't pay for the survey, the buyer does - the buyer is the one with the mortgage company to satisfy, not the seller. The clue is in the name "Home buyer's report" - it's for the buyer.

Rectification of issues revealed is a different story and down to individual circumstances. When I bought my first house the survey revealed an unsafe garden wall and a damaged drain cover. The seller rectified these at his own cost in order to help facilitate a quick sale.
 
Rising damp is a contentious issue as mentioned previously with a lot of experts saying that it doesn't exist, as above I would get a timber specialist to report as damp proof companies have a vested interest in scaring you.

I would also look round for obvious causes of penetrating damp - bridging of the damp proof course (i.e. ground level rising above dpc), blocked air bricks, broken guttering.

Our survey highlighted 'rising' damp in a downstairs room that was actually penetrating damp caused by a drive that was too high and sloping into the house. A couple of hours with a grinder sorted that.
 
Put three bricks in a bucket of water. Cover the first brick with water and come back 2 weeks later to see how far up the 2nd brick the "rising damp" has gone.
 
So a quick update.

After looking online, and as many say here, it's most likely not a big deal and just something they say to cover themselves whenever they find any "damp" at all. As mentioned, when we viewed the house (with my partners father, who's very good with stuff like this) we didn't notice or smell anything at all. Other places we have viewed you could tell straight away there was damp.

The mortgage have confirmed their offer for us to purchase, so obviously they must be reasonably happy with the survey or they would have denied or reduced it. My partners dad isn't worried at all, and I've been getting all my advice off him. He's built extensions, garages etc and has that usual dad knowledge with things like this. I just wanted to get more advice from peeps on here too.

I initially thought, yeah lets ask the seller for a reduction or to pay to fix it. But not only was the house a very low price anyway, £115k when we would have happily paid £125k, but we actually got it for £112k. It is a really nice house for the money so I think it's out of the question.

We'll inspect in more depth when we get the house in the next few weeks. If the worst happens I'm happy paying money to get it sorted, as long as the wall doesn't collapse and it doesn't cost a fortune I'm happy!

Thanks for the advice guys.

P.S Don't think I mentioned it was build in 1950.
 
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