Advice on 60s staggered terrace house (Building Survey)

[limaalphamotel]

Good Morning All,

First time poster (just activated my registration) and have been using this website for various issue with my flat.

We have recently put in an offer on a staggered mid-terrace house. I have commissioned a building survey rather than the homebuyers report as we aim to be keeping the house for a considerable amount of time. This is the first building survey I have seen / commissioned (having previous lived in a block of flat and never had a survey done (newish flat)) and have some questions.

The report was conducted by a RICS registered surveyor with no affiliation with the EA (actually not from the same area) and no affiliation with the banks or any groups (he has been in the trade for 30 years).

Whilst the valuation wasn't too far off (a couple of grand less but that only represent less than 1% of total purchase price) our offered price, it drawn up several issues that I am hoping someone could help me with:

1) The report drawn up some issues re. lead flashing on the roof and the photoes did show some misalignment and lifting, issues seem to be localised around 1/4 of the chimney and where the house connect to the other terrace (staggered house) - is this costly or easy to repair?

2) It noted no rising damp or dry / wet rot (apart from one area which had a leak and was repaired) - is this normal for a house this age?

3) Single piece of a double strut in the loft seems to have snapped off (not rafter) - why would this happen - it's quite peculiar, it's not a split of the rafter (all rafters appear OK with no rot), but a strut supporting the roof (the other piece is still fine, but this piece has snapped) - no obvious issue re. the loft otherwise.

4) It does have Kyte signed windows (replaced with UPVC double glazing) - would this be an issue?

5) The boiler was installed about 15-20 years ago in a cupboard (no air vents) in the middle of the house, this is no longer considered safe (?) and when I come to replace a boiler, would I be able to use the same space or do I need to plumb it through a different area? It was done 15-20 years ago, should there be CORGI registered / is it important for such information?

6) The electric garage door (concertia) does not work - is it easy / cheap to be fixed?

7) The underfloor heating (under tiles) in one of the bathroom is not working - I think its a big job (ie remove all tiles and replace) - would this be the case / any alternatives?

8 ) Being a 1960s house, there are asbestos in parts of the building - I am inclined to leave it in its inert state - any thoughts?

9) It has UPVC clading covering the original wood clading in the back of the building, if the wood is rotten (may be its OK), is it best to leave it alone (since it has UPVC clading)?

10) Although windows have been replaced with UPVC, but the frames are still original wood - is this a sign of a cheap installation / would it last? The rest of the house seems to have money spent on it (tiles bathroom and Jacuzzi bath). Likewise the door frame (original wood) on the front door has a hole in the bottom...

11) Is it common to have a 1960s house to have so many (or so few) issues? I am not an experienced buyer / seller and first time house buyer.

Obviously I am looking for the seller to rectify these issues (is it normal to do this?) but in case he doesn't, I would need to price in for a discount. I am sorry for the long list of questions but would hope any experienced members could help me.

Many Thanks and Very Grateful for your response!
Patric

 

[r896neo]

In my opinion it would be pretty unreasonable to expect a seller to rectify any of the above and if a buyer tried to drop the price based on them i would be a bit ****ed. Its all very minor stuff that was appearant to you viewing the property.

A survey is for things you don't have knowledge about or can't see such as asbestos, rot, structural defects etc

For example you don't need underfloor heating in a bathroom so why would you expect a seller to replace it? Would you have not agreed to purchase the house if it didn't have underfloor heating in the bathroom?

Its a 50 year old house for goodness sake.

P.S also in future try not to make such a long list of things, it puts people off replying.

1. A very common problem and not serious but maybe a couple of hundred quid to replace it in a few years time.

2. would you prefer if there was rot??

3. crystal ball out for cleaning

4. No

5. A corgi certificate for a 20 year old boiler install? good luck. If your very concerned get it serviced and tested if you move in.

6. From the tiny amount of info given same as no 3.

7. As above but if its just electric they usually can't be repaired

8. Leave well alone.

9. so you want to repair something on the basis that it might have a problem?

10. Yes and no, some people just much prefer wooden windows for aesthetics but if they were just bunged into the old frames for cheapness its not so good. Hard to know without seeing them. Is there a question about the hole in the door?

11. This is as i said very few and very minor things to be on a survey.

 

[limaalphamotel]

Thanks for the reply.

I am mainly concerned if these are major items, as I would not want to be ending up with tens of thousands of repair.

Also - any thoughts about the boiler, would it be legal to install another one in the same place?

Thanks
Patric

 

[Justin Passing]

Well

in a cupboard (no air vents) in the middle of the house

sounds wrong, but assuming nobody died yet and it works, there will be more to it than you're able to tell.

But

would it be legal to install another one in the same place?

Not a hope, other than some extremely odd ones. You'll need to find an outside wall, with access to a water drain (or gutter downpipe) or dig a small soakaway.
You can put boilers in lofts, but access is a pain - not a great idea generally.
It probably has a big water cistern and a small one in the loft, and a HW cylinder in an airing cupboard.
Most often people replace with a combi, in a mid-terrace. That means the tanks all go, as everything gets to be on the mains.

If I were selling and you wanted money off for the reasons you suggest, I'd be seriously put off having anything to do with you .
The current boiler may easily last another 10+ years - who knows?
The other matters sound pretty minor. It's not a new house, so there will always be things which show it.

 

[limaalphamotel]

Thanks for your help. I think I should make it clear that I am not trying to deliberately get money off (and definitely not the boiler, as it is functioning). But I am only interested in finding out how else I would need to replace a boiler if it needs to be replaced.

My main immediate concern is the roof.

 

[Joe Malone]

You seem to be asking a lot of questions that should have been answered in your survey report; in particular your report should have outlined repair options and advised on the consequences of not acting.
Have a look at the RICS consumer guide for building surveys to see what should be included; it contains an easy reference guide to highlight what should be included in a full building survey.

http://www.rics.org/Global/RICS-Home-Surveys-guide.pdf

 

[Joe Malone]

Regarding the boiler, why worry about the installation certificate, simply get an annual gas safety check carried out, cost should be about £80 and you'll know if its dangerous. You probably have an open flued appliance which means that
*******
The bottom line is that with a 15-20 year old appliance you need to be budgeting for renewal; it is old and probably inefficient and personally speaking I would not have an open flued appliance in the house. Modern boilers are room sealed and so do not need the ventilation as they take in air via a balanced flue. When I do a building survey all this information is in my reports which is why I am surprised you're asking the question.