So we’ve been trying to move house for ages and we’re finally almost there only to have the survey comeback and find potentially major issue and throw a brontosaurus sized turd spanner in the works.

Its a probate and the house has been empty for sometime; the surveyor found a major leak in the kitchen. The concrete floor (below the asbestos vinyl tiles!) is sopping wet from water coming up through the floor.

Obviously we’ve gone back to the estate agent to make them aware as the vendor needs to fixed it before we proceed too far. However, what are the risks? what other damage will this have done and how can we even estimate a cost. The floor would need to come up before even fixing the pipe and what ever else.

The vendor could use their insurance but that will take ages and our buyers already have itchy feet.

Right now I don’t think its worth the risk – we already knew about asbestos (cost of removal), the old 80’s boiler which needs replacing asap – the costs keep racking up.

Totally fecked off

Rule of threes; once three things have gone wrong it’s time to walk away.

We bought a probabte. It took forever to go through. all the paperwork was ‘sold as seen’ basically so we were taking on the risk.

Turns out the work that had been done was done badly so I have been having to fix that before we can start serious renovations.

As for walking away, it depends, if you can find something similar you want in your budget then do it, if not suck it up….

We’re selling my dad’s place after probate. Totally upfront that it’s a hotchpotch mess and expect it to be gutted and redone, with vinyl tiles and an 80s boiler. I do remember the rewiring and double glazing being done, long before I left secondary school.

I think you need to negotiate a lower price. The chances of getting things fixed on a probate house are slim to zero as all families want is the cash not the hassle of getting tradesmen in. Just make sure the leak has been stopped.

Sounds like the house needs a lot of work anyway. How much you chuck at it depends on how long you plan on staying there.

Proceed with eyes open – chances are all sorts of other problems will crop up when you move in anyway! 🙂

What you describe would not put me off if a suitable reduction in price can be negotiated.

That’s the question – how much is a reasonable reduction? it could be a simple fix (pipe and new floor)l but if its worse than that how much is that going to be.

its also a personal circumstances situation and how much additional work/stress will we be taking on. We were planning on moving in and only doing the essential items first (boiler etc.) whilst we plan the overall renovation.

That’s the question – how much is a reasonable reduction? it could be a simple fix (pipe and new floor)l but if its worse than that how much is that going to be.

While you might get some helpful feedback on here, I’d suggest talking to some relevant local tradespersons.

Get a worst-case scenario quote or two and work from there with the vendor.

I think you need to negotiate a lower price.

This (and everything else already mentioned above). If it needs lots of work then estimate a budget and double it and you’ll be about right. Possibly.

A question only you can answer is whether you need somewhere ready to live in immediately, or if you want a relative bargain that requires more work.

If it’s the former then perhaps consider walking away, because the probate seller won’t sort these things for you, and there’s a good chance you’ll unearth plenty more problems once you’re in.

If you don’t mind slumming it for a period while you get it up to scratch, then you could ask for a big chunk off the agreed price (10-20k?) based on the assumption that kitchen floor leak is just the start and that the seller just wants their inheritance cash.

I’d be worried about the erosion damage that any leak has caused underneath the concrete, fixing isn’t a huge issue, asbestos tiles are easy as well, almost all local councils have an asbestos bin at their sites, you just have to wrap it and take it down.

Personally it’s the risk of what’s under the concrete that would worry me, and how far out from the house any issue is.

I think first action will be to speak to the estate agent first and find out what the vendor is planning to do. if just to only fix the pipe then we will need to negotiate money off to cover the rest of the work needed.

Just not in a good mood today so good the talk things through. Thanks all

If I were in the vendor’s position, my actions would be limited to turning off the stopcock and maybe opening a window or two. Literally just want rid now, but it is already priced in the expectation of full renovation, so wouldn’t budge on it, especially as the offer was accepted a year ago in a rising market.

At what point do all of the above outweigh the costs of other options? i.e. looking elsewhere to somewhere with less hassle all round, or a new build.

There’s no way I’d get a seller to fix a problem. They have no incentive to have the job done well or properly and if they are forced to do it they will do it as cheap as possible or even just bodge/hide it altogether.
Try and get some cash off but by the sounds of it the house needs going over completely anyway, if you aren’t prepared to deal with issues like that then buy a fully renovated house as I can guarantee there will be more to do in a similar vein as well as that water leak.

then buy a fully renovated house as I can guarantee there will be more to do in a similar vein as well as that water leak.

A mate bought a house a few years ago that was a half completed “full renovation”, wasn’t until he’d completed the purchase and started poking around did he find out that the “sound structure” that had been advised to him by his surveyor was nothing of the sort.

Ended up taking the roof off (that had been tidied up externally but was structurally unsound) all the windows had to come out, and much of the plastering downstairs was basically hiding internal brick walls that a firm shove could move. The mortar holding one particular single skin wall together was so shit that you could stick a knife through it and out through the plaster on the other side. Took him about a year and many more setbacks before he could move in and sell the old place.

Luckily enough, he had somewhere else to live, and was prepared for the worst, but maybe not quite that much worst…

The ex and i viewed the place as well. And decided even in the state it appeared to be in, it was too much work. Dodged a bullet there!

The way property is bought and sold in the UK is nothing short of a fking nightmare.
I’m trying to get mine on the market now.
Surveyor hasn’t picked up the leaking roof (I’ve declared it anyway).
He did pick up on other things though which he marked as a 2 when three years earlier a surveyor from the same company recorded them using the exact same language but only gave them a 1.
Estate agent who likes to put xx after every text she sends can’t even organise for the photos to be done so it’s still yet to go on the market 8 days after instructing.
I haven’t even really started yet and I’m already super pissed off.
As for the house itself, it just hasn’t been well maintained and needs work that is not obvious when you first view it.

I am sure i am right when I say that in Finland you have to have an MOT kind of thing on your property every few years and keep it up to a certain standard. Sounds like a good idea but no doubt it would be a total f up in this country.