Site Supporter MickyD Posted January 24, 2021 Site Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2021 Daughter and her boyfriend found a house, had an offer accepted and then set about getting a mortgage. The survey reported no issues with damp so the mortgage company gave them the go ahead to buy. Theyhave since found out the dining room and the conservatory have rising damp from a badly installed gutter which allows water to constantly drip down the wall in wet weather. They have contacted the survey company and they will re-visit tomorrow. Are they liable to put right what they didn’t report? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ani Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 30 minutes ago, MickyD said: Daughter and her boyfriend found a house, had an offer accepted and then set about getting a mortgage. The survey reported no issues with damp so the mortgage company gave them the go ahead to buy. Theyhave since found out the dining room and the conservatory have rising damp from a badly installed gutter which allows water to constantly drip down the wall in wet weather. They have contacted the survey company and they will re-visit tomorrow. Are they liable to put right what they didn’t report? If they missed it they will have to sort it out. Providing it was something they should have found. Are you sure it has rising damp ? It sounds like penetrating damp. Riding damp generally as the name suggests comes from the ground upwards. If they have damp caused by dodgy guttering and the survey was done on a nice sunny day after a period of dry weather how could they see/find it ? Surveys are very carefully worded and say things like 'for a property of this period' and a reference to the prevailing weather conditions to avoid these issues. In terms of getting it sorted if it is rising damp then it will need a damp proof course. If it is penetrating damp, you need to fix the guttering to stop the issue getting worse and then get a Specialist company in who will advise of best course of treatment Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Rudy Posted January 24, 2021 Members Share Posted January 24, 2021 Yeah but they may say it’s damp from xyz, there are different types doesn’t sound like rising damp but Rigsby might dispute it Get them to go over it again, and update the mortgage company, can always get a second opinion I know it’s cost but might be worth it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ani Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 I assumed they had found this out after buying the house ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Supporter only1swanny Posted January 24, 2021 Site Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2021 Loads of companies doing desktop surveys atm, The guy who did the one on our house said that if he can't see it, he can't move anything to look. So if they have had a huge sideboard against a wall, then it won't have been spotted. We had really bad spores in last house as the previous owner had cavity wall insulation put in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimron Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 There are different levels of survey depending on what you pay. Usually in these cases the survey consists of does the property exist and can it be sold on without a loss if the borrower defaults? As said previously there will be lots of caveats attached but the main thing is usually can we lend money on this property? I wouldn't lose sleep over damp caused by poor guttering but I am in the business and can easily fix it, a days work for a competent builder plus some off the shelf bits and pieces from the builders merchant; it shouldn't put them off their dream, property investment is a marathon at the end of the day. Answer to your question is "No they won't pay for any repairs they have missed" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Supporter MickyD Posted January 24, 2021 Author Site Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2021 You’re right, I checked with daughter and it’s nor rising damp it is penetrating. The wallpaper in both the dining room and part of conservatory was barely stuck to the wall and when paper was lifted the plaster was wet through. I have no idea if any furniture hid this. They paid for something more than “does the building exist and can we sell it?” Probably a vary easy fix by cleaning the gutter of shite which we did today. Problem is, the gap between their conservatory and the one next door doesn’t allow for any maintenance access. Both conservatories were probably built on what used to be a flagged surface but it visibly runs towards the house so any rain fall pools then runs around the conservatory. The two houses have different sizes of guttering making the joint between the two the leaky bit, which happens to be right above our damp. A simple fix would be for both householders to get a single piece gutter put up with the correct run to the down-spouts. I guess what I’m asking is, what is the chance that the survey was shoddy (at best) and should they offer some compensation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ani Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 2 minutes ago, MickyD said: You’re right, I checked with daughter and it’s nor rising damp it is penetrating. The wallpaper in both the dining room and part of conservatory was barely stuck to the wall and when paper was lifted the plaster was wet through. I have no idea if any furniture hid this. They paid for something more than “does the building exist and can we sell it?” Probably a vary easy fix by cleaning the gutter of shite which we did today. Problem is, the gap between their conservatory and the one next door doesn’t allow for any maintenance access. Both conservatories were probably built on what used to be a flagged surface but it visibly runs towards the house so any rain fall pools then runs around the conservatory. The two houses have different sizes of guttering making the joint between the two the leaky bit, which happens to be right above our damp. A simple fix would be for both householders to get a single piece gutter put up with the correct run to the down-spouts. I guess what I’m asking is, what is the chance that the survey was shoddy (at best) and should they offer some compensation? Unfortunately I doubt it. Assume both conservatories would have been built with suitable planning permission and it would not be the job of the survey to check that. If they did the survey after a period of dry weather how would they find it ? If you think basic maintenance would avoid the problem that is not the surveyors problem As I said surveys are very carefully worded so they do not really 'promise' anything. So they do not say 'there is no damp' they say ' no obvious visual signs' . You can try but sorry not sure you will get much joy Hope you prove me wrong. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Supporter MickyD Posted January 24, 2021 Author Site Supporter Share Posted January 24, 2021 Cheers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big E Posted January 24, 2021 Share Posted January 24, 2021 Just get the work done yourself so you are in control. i had the problem on mine and got Peter Cox to inspect and advise what needed doing. it shouldn’t cost much. Along with guttering it may be worth checking the pointing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dimron Posted January 25, 2021 Share Posted January 25, 2021 15 hours ago, MickyD said: You’re right, I checked with daughter and it’s nor rising damp it is penetrating. The wallpaper in both the dining room and part of conservatory was barely stuck to the wall and when paper was lifted the plaster was wet through. I have no idea if any furniture hid this. They paid for something more than “does the building exist and can we sell it?” Probably a vary easy fix by cleaning the gutter of shite which we did today. Problem is, the gap between their conservatory and the one next door doesn’t allow for any maintenance access. Both conservatories were probably built on what used to be a flagged surface but it visibly runs towards the house so any rain fall pools then runs around the conservatory. The two houses have different sizes of guttering making the joint between the two the leaky bit, which happens to be right above our damp. A simple fix would be for both householders to get a single piece gutter put up with the correct run to the down-spouts. I guess what I’m asking is, what is the chance that the survey was shoddy (at best) and should they offer some compensation? If you paid for more than a lender's survey, sounds like a competent surveyor should have picked it up. We have professional bodies CIOB (mine) and RICS which most surveyors belong to and have complaints and disciplinary procedures but you are stuck with getting one surveyor to criticise another's competence. I take it they have completed on the purchase and if they knew of the problem they would have made the seller sort it out or would have knocked the cost of the work off the price, therefore a financial loss can be proven. Up to you, if you threaten them with their professional body and you'll probably at least get your fee returned, if you want any more be prepared for a long process. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Supporter MickyD Posted March 2, 2021 Author Site Supporter Share Posted March 2, 2021 They got the original surveyor to send a damp specialist to do a further specific survey. This was done and the specialist reported back that the original surveyor had missed the damp from his report which potentially puts my daughter at financial risk. The original surveying company have since wrote to daughter and her boyfriend, along the lines of how they regret that their surveyor missed in his report the areas of damp and would like them to accept their ‘generous’ offer of £500 ex gratia payment. They go on to say that the survey was done in the correct way using standards x y & z yadda yadda yadda. Daughter has written back to ask how they can apologise for him missing the damp but then going on to state the report was accurate and correct. She has also pointed out that their lax way of reporting has prevented her from seeking the remedial work done by the vendor or the cost of the purchase reduced to suit. It rumbles on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
only1stig Posted March 2, 2021 Share Posted March 2, 2021 Did the original surveyor not try rubbing a balloon on each wall? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Supporter MickyD Posted March 2, 2021 Author Site Supporter Share Posted March 2, 2021 1 hour ago, only1stig said: Did the original surveyor not try rubbing a balloon on each wall? Are you mad? We did that ourselves to try to save a bit of money. I wasn’t born yesterday, you know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Site Supporter MickyD Posted March 2, 2021 Author Site Supporter Share Posted March 2, 2021 1 hour ago, only1stig said: Did the original surveyor not try rubbing a balloon on each wall? And by the way, it wasn’t a balloon, it was a bloon. It’s important. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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