Surveyor, Roof Insulation, and "catastrophic roof failure"
Discussion
Writing this on behalf of the wife, as her mother is selling her house. Backstory is that her mother is going through a divorce and needs to sell her home. It's an old property, built somewhere between the 1920's to 1930's. The wife's dad, years ago, stapled a plastic sheet to the inside of the roof. It's never leaked, tiles aren't falling down, there's no problem.
The mother in law has had an offer, she's accepted it, and the surveyor went round. He said he wanted the plastic sheeting removed so he could inspect the roof. She did it before I told her that I thought it was an odd decision, but it's done.
About a week later, today, her estate agent tells her that the buyers have had their report back and the surveyor has said that the plastic insulation "could've caused catastrophic failure to the roof". I've done a quick Google, and from what I can see, any insulaiton in the roof could cause the same issue to the roof. I know when I bought my house 4 years ago the previous owner had put foil backed foam insulation and this phrase or reference didn't come up in our report.
I've two questions really.
The first one is, is that a normal thing for a surveyor to do? Or is it just a "get out of jail free" card for the surveyor to cover their arses.
Second one is, what is the best pragmatic way to deal with the buyers if they try to use this to scalp money off the price of the house. The price has already been reduced several times, and her mother (being the wrong age of 50 and more or less a single mom) needs everything she can in order to get herself and my sister-in-law a roof over their heads.
Thanks!
The mother in law has had an offer, she's accepted it, and the surveyor went round. He said he wanted the plastic sheeting removed so he could inspect the roof. She did it before I told her that I thought it was an odd decision, but it's done.
About a week later, today, her estate agent tells her that the buyers have had their report back and the surveyor has said that the plastic insulation "could've caused catastrophic failure to the roof". I've done a quick Google, and from what I can see, any insulaiton in the roof could cause the same issue to the roof. I know when I bought my house 4 years ago the previous owner had put foil backed foam insulation and this phrase or reference didn't come up in our report.
I've two questions really.
The first one is, is that a normal thing for a surveyor to do? Or is it just a "get out of jail free" card for the surveyor to cover their arses.
Second one is, what is the best pragmatic way to deal with the buyers if they try to use this to scalp money off the price of the house. The price has already been reduced several times, and her mother (being the wrong age of 50 and more or less a single mom) needs everything she can in order to get herself and my sister-in-law a roof over their heads.
Thanks!
k off". The Surveyor said:
The surveyor has advised the buyer that the plastic sheet "could've caused catastrophic failure to the roof". As a statement that is 100% correct.
If the OP has actually seen the full report? Is there anything written which follows that statement, or is this just a selected extract being banded about to chip the price?
I haven't, none of us have. The line is from the estate agent who phoned the mother-in-law. That's all that's happened so far, but you can understand (given the situation) she's worried. So I wanted to get the facts about what could be done in an event where the buyer tries their luck.If the OP has actually seen the full report? Is there anything written which follows that statement, or is this just a selected extract being banded about to chip the price?
OK so an update on this.
The buyers have been back to the MIL and said the roof structure is fine - however there are a few loose tiles that they'd like to have remedied along with some of the underlying felt. And for this, they'd like £7,000 knocked off the purchase price. I'm not a roofer, but £7,000 for a few loose tiles and some felt? They must be gold plated.
The MIL was in a bit of a tizz about it, as she's already knocked money off the house to sell. I relayed the advice given here (thanks for that all by the way), and I said she can either tell the buyer that she can't come down on the price as she's already had an offer on a house accepted, or she can get a roofer to come in and quote for what they want done and knock the money based on that.
The buyers have been back to the MIL and said the roof structure is fine - however there are a few loose tiles that they'd like to have remedied along with some of the underlying felt. And for this, they'd like £7,000 knocked off the purchase price. I'm not a roofer, but £7,000 for a few loose tiles and some felt? They must be gold plated.
The MIL was in a bit of a tizz about it, as she's already knocked money off the house to sell. I relayed the advice given here (thanks for that all by the way), and I said she can either tell the buyer that she can't come down on the price as she's already had an offer on a house accepted, or she can get a roofer to come in and quote for what they want done and knock the money based on that.
Nothing more has happened as of yet, but I found out more stuff about the whole thing.
The surveyor report notes some cracked tiles, loose tiles on the roof. The surveyor also said that a new roof would probably be required in 5 to 7 years time. The buyer has latched on to this, saying the house needs a new roof hence the £7k deduction. Which is laughable but there we are. The MIL also told me on the weekend that she's already dropped it by £7k, so this is the second reduction the buyer is asking for.
Told the MIL everything said here, and essentially she's going back to the estate agent (who's been absolutely useless, but that's another story) with an email drafted essentially saying the buyer has already had the price of a new roof knocked off the price, take it or leave it.
The surveyor report notes some cracked tiles, loose tiles on the roof. The surveyor also said that a new roof would probably be required in 5 to 7 years time. The buyer has latched on to this, saying the house needs a new roof hence the £7k deduction. Which is laughable but there we are. The MIL also told me on the weekend that she's already dropped it by £7k, so this is the second reduction the buyer is asking for.
Told the MIL everything said here, and essentially she's going back to the estate agent (who's been absolutely useless, but that's another story) with an email drafted essentially saying the buyer has already had the price of a new roof knocked off the price, take it or leave it.
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