House Buying Saga - Am I Making a Huge Mistake?

[DIYRalph]

I am buying my first house, and I'm losing sleep over it as I've got a really bad feeling that I'm paying too much for a potential money pit and something that might be difficult to resell, even in the booming local property market where I am.

I'll summarise the situation and perhaps some here can tell me how valid or invalid my concerns are:

1. House listed at £215K and bid up to £235K, a good £20K over what anything in that street had went for before. However it looked in great condition, new roof, heating system, driveway etc...in recent years, even if it is a small house.

2. I know via a third party that the EA actually put a stop to bids after a certain point, because I had such a large deposit and made it clear that £235K would be my last bid (this detail will become important in a second).

3. First red flag - mortgage company came back with a value of £220K on the house; £15K less than I'd bid. I didn't think anything of this (in retrospect I should have).

4. The homebuyers survey throws up three critical things; some horizontal cracks in brickwork indicitive of wall tie corrosion, a slightly cracked/worn concrete lintel, and some damp in the gable wall in the attic (the attic is plastered/boarded/carpeted with a big velux window).

For context, this is a 1930's brick house, that has had cavity wall insulation installed in 2012. It is in a part of the UK that rains quite a bit; seems to be in a severe driving rain area according to the maps.

The more I read about this the more I worry that a house like this shouldn't have had cavity wall insulation put into it, and the wall most exposed to driving rain (which is the one with the small cracks appearing between bricks), will always be letting enough water in that the cavity wall insulation is going to be wet and ineffective and actually causing damage, i.e. its not the age of the building causing wall tie corrosion, its the cavity wall insulation causing moisture to gather between walls which will cause further issues down the line.

5. I have negotiated enough money off the house to fix the wall ties; but my solicitor has still warned me against buying the house; saying that wall tie fixes can be a nightmare, and even with wall ties fixed the house will appeal to a smaller range of future buyers as just knowing that there were wall tie issues in the past will put a percentage of buyers off as it will change their 'perception' of the house and will highlight that it's an old house. He also said that mortgage companies might not lend on such houses as easily. Does this ring true with anyone else?

6. The other big fear is that if I do get the wall ties fixed 'properly' which appears to be the old ones removed too; the brickwork will look really patchy unless I get it repointed which will once again cost a fortune and might leave it looking worse if not done right.

7. There is a garage conversion to a home office that looks really well done (no central heating), however whilst it has planning permission it has no building control sign off and the vendor can tell me very little about what was done during the conversion. The garage conversion was a big selling point to me but I viewed the place in warmer weather and I think I might have been a bit of an idiot forgetting how bloody cold it is here for half the year which might render the room useless.

 

[Koolpc]

Wall ties can be fixed professionally in that you would hardly know its done. Once done thats good for life....

I have had them done in the past..Job was carried out extremely well...

If you have serious doubts now, then walk away otherwise it will eat you up with worry...

 

[motorbiking]

I skim read. But the first thing you need to do is research the house prices. (Zoopla right move etc) Many parts of the UK are falling about to fall or have fallen in the last 3 months. If the mortgage valuation is lower than you are paying, that is a red flag. A 1930s house with cavity walls is quite rare. How old is the garage conversion? If there is no sign off, then assume it was a bodge. No heating, is easy to fix. No damp protection, proper insulation etc. might as well rip and restart.

When you are buying a property, first time or otherwise, always have 2 or 3 in mind that you want to buy. The job of the Estate agent is to create competition and urgency. If you valued in the summer, this house has probably dropped in value.

 

[Ihavenojob]

My brother has just bought his first house, and it sounds like it is a similar story with regards to repairs needed. he was a cash buyer, so knocked a chunk off for the repairs and updating. He saw another similar property nearby which was not much more expensive, but had been refurbished. I told him that being refurbished is no guarantee there is nothing wrong, I've been in a hose that was toshed up on "Homes Under he Hammer", it looked good, but strip away all the new glitz and glitter and you found loads of problems just covered over. Buying something in need of a total refurb is better, as long as you get it cheap enough, you can do what YOU want,. Do bear in mind that an area will have a ceiling price, just don't go mad on spending if you are not sure you will be staying there long.

 

[robinbanks]

Why is this house so worth it to you, that you're still considering proceeding despite the expensive red flag laden carp you've had to wade through to get this far?

 

[carmanmemoranda]

If in doubt walk away.

There's always another house

 

[Fred Blogs]

Walk away if it worries you that much. Any house will have it's problems of one sort or another. I don't think the things you have listed are too bad. You could try to negotiate the price down if you haven't committed yet although the price isn't bad although I think you over bidded. Oh and don't even think about a new build. Most of them are horrendous in my humble opinion, not much better than sheds.

 

[Doug99]

All depends whether your mindset is buying an investment or buying a home.
I paid well over the odds for my current house as it was to be my final move.
That was 20yrs ago and the only people who show an interest in the current value, are my adult kids!!!

 

[DIYRalph]

Thanks for the replies.

I am an anxious person by nature and the unknowns here are going to put me in an early grave.

At the same time I didn't pull out earlier in the process when it would have been more acceptable to do so i.e. as soon as the survey came in.

Haven't signed anything yet so can still theoretically pull out though will no doubt be blacklisted by the EA.

 

[DIYRalph]

I skim read. But the first thing you need to do is research the house prices. (Zoopla right move etc) Many parts of the UK are falling about to fall or have fallen in the last 3 months. If the mortgage valuation is lower than you are paying, that is a red flag. A 1930s house with cavity walls is quite rare. How old is the garage conversion? If there is no sign off, then assume it was a bodge. No heating, is easy to fix. No damp protection, proper insulation etc. might as well rip and restart.

When you are buying a property, first time or otherwise, always have 2 or 3 in mind that you want to buy. The job of the Estate agent is to create competition and urgency. If you valued in the summer, this house has probably dropped in value.

Garage conversion is about 8 years old. Garage itself dates from the mid 80's. All looks really well done to be honest, but this is my first time buying a house and I wish I'd asked more of the right questions about what had been done and not allowed myself to be palmed off with non-answers.

 

[DIYRalph]

Why is this house so worth it to you, that you're still considering proceeding despite the expensive red flag laden carp you've had to wade through to get this far?

It was in a handy area, and was more affordable than some other houses in the area that were getting bid up to obscene amounts over the summer.

Also, and this sounds kinda ridiculous now, I fell in love with the garage conversion and the idea of it as a studio/work area; that was before I learned about building control and the like and since I viewed it in summer I forgot how bloody cold it gets in the winter here.

 

[DIYRalph]

My brother has just bought his first house, and it sounds like it is a similar story with regards to repairs needed. he was a cash buyer, so knocked a chunk off for the repairs and updating. He saw another similar property nearby which was not much more expensive, but had been refurbished. I told him that being refurbished is no guarantee there is nothing wrong, I've been in a hose that was toshed up on "Homes Under he Hammer", it looked good, but strip away all the new glitz and glitter and you found loads of problems just covered over. Buying something in need of a total refurb is better, as long as you get it cheap enough, you can do what YOU want,. Do bear in mind that an area will have a ceiling price, just don't go mad on spending if you are not sure you will be staying there long.

Your point about a ceiling price is apt.

I think this particular street has a ceiling price and I've bid slightly above it.

And this was before finding out the issues in the survey. Still there was a few unique things about the house that back when I viewed it I felt were worth a premium.

 

[DIYRalph]

Many parts of the UK are falling about to fall or have fallen in the last 3 months. If the mortgage valuation is lower than you are paying, that is a red flag.

Unfortunately I am in a part of the UK that was traiditonally cheaper than other parts which means that prices are still shooting up as people escape the expensive parts to move here.

 

[DIYRalph]

Wall ties can be fixed professionally in that you would hardly know its done. Once done thats good for life....

I have had them done in the past..Job was carried out extremely well...

This is maybe a silly question but can you not see dots in the brick where the new ties were drilled in?

 

[Doug99]

There is no shame in pulling out as all purchases are usually 'subject to survey'.
If you want the property, it would be logical to seek a price reduction to meet the cost of work identified by the survey.