gurus suggestions needed: drainage issues post building & pest- what to do?

[bella77]

First HO here feeling the way. 3 bed house, contract in at 450, list price 480 (what she paid in 09) negotiated from our first offer of 400 (which RE snorted at.)

B&P done today.

1. Revealed drainage issues - no drainage in front yard, down driveway sloping block, he found evidence of water having been under house (utility room w bathroom) - obviously quite major as two large holes had been drilled in wall to drain it out and skirting boards ripped up. (This was not a suburb affected by the Jan floods BTW). Didn't find anything structural, but tiles lifting, cracking etc. Worry is that does this happen on heavy rain and long term implications for wood rotting etc and termites as many areas are what he called "conducive" to termites as low to ground, ant caps had been cut etc. so with water issues they may come more easily. Plus the obvious- damp and we really needed the area for storage, electric gym equip etc so water not an option!!!!

RE acted blank when we asked her what happened (not surprising). Kept talking about how nice the area was and that their was good takeaway down the road. Good grief. Anyway asked her to ask the vend and have heard nothing as yet. (Our cooling off period also expired COB today- the cynic in me wonders if that is related??????)

2. Front porch and covered deck (two of the main reasons for buying as without the place is quite small so need the indoor/outdoor spaces are probably illegal (TBC tomorrow with solicitor) as their are no gutters or down pipes on either.

Worried of course about a. council making us remove, b. not being able to insure those parts and c. that we will face this again at re-sale with someone wanting us to fix.

AND lastly- it is also contributing to water issues as the front porch with it's no gutters and pipes then dumps MORE water straight in the frond yard to seep underneath!

Argh! Don't know what to do- are these easy/inexpensive fixes? How? Do we walk? Do we insist she fixes it to our satisfaction? Or do we neg lower price?
(Baring in mind we are not at all handy and have no mates/rellies/connections with any expertise to help us.

Any advice or similar experiences greatly appreciated!

 

[Andrew_A]

As an investment wouldn't touch it due to insurance reasons and water issue unless the value was compelling enough to fix & certify the work (If it's not too dodgy) and the water issue was a small one. Plenty of good properties around without major issues. Could possibly make it compelling value by asking for a reduction in price due to these 'discoveries'

Overland flow is everywhere, particularly because Brisbane is so hilly, should check this on the maps and just as importantly with the neighbours if there is a potential issue.

My experience has been the agent usually doesn't know and it's the owners who don't tell the selling agent, hoping for a catch to slip past the building and pest safety net, annoying for all involved.

 

[Andrew_A]

If you have large commercial as a neighbour then it might be all the concrete causing the problem as there is flooding marked as quite close by. Just have a look at the flood flag maps on the BCC site

Very annoying situation, that's why you need the building & pest protection however. Good luck.

 

[willair]

First HO here feeling the way. 3 bed house, contract in at 450, list price 480 (what she paid in 09) negotiated from our first offer of 400 (which RE snorted at.)

B&P done today.

1. Revealed drainage issues - no drainage in front yard, down driveway sloping block, he found evidence of water having been under house (utility room w bathroom) - obviously quite major as two large holes had been drilled in wall to drain it out and skirting boards ripped up. (This was not a suburb affected by the Jan floods BTW). Didn't find anything structural, but tiles lifting, cracking etc. Worry is that does this happen on heavy rain and long term implications for wood rotting etc and termites as many areas are what he called "conducive" to termites as low to ground, ant caps had been cut etc. so with water issues they may come more easily. Plus the obvious- damp and we really needed the area for storage, electric gym equip etc so water not an option!!!!

RE acted blank when we asked her what happened (not surprising). Kept talking about how nice the area was and that their was good takeaway down the road. Good grief. Anyway asked her to ask the vend and have heard nothing as yet. (Our cooling off period also expired COB today- the cynic in me wonders if that is related??????)

2. Front porch and covered deck (two of the main reasons for buying as without the place is quite small so need the indoor/outdoor spaces are probably illegal (TBC tomorrow with solicitor) as their are no gutters or down pipes on either.

Worried of course about a. council making us remove, b. not being able to insure those parts and c. that we will face this again at re-sale with someone wanting us to fix.

AND lastly- it is also contributing to water issues as the front porch with it's no gutters and pipes then dumps MORE water straight in the frond yard to seep underneath!

Argh! Don't know what to do- are these easy/inexpensive fixes? How? Do we walk? Do we insist she fixes it to our satisfaction? Or do we neg lower price?
(Baring in mind we are not at all handy and have no mates/rellies/connections with any expertise to help us.

Any advice or similar experiences greatly appreciated!

It can work both ways,if you don't have the experience then something like this can cause you that much stress and worry down the track,or
play it backwards on the vendors,ring up the BCC,AND ASK THE QUESTION,is the plan footprint of the property the same as the plan on the house because by the sounds of this property and depending on the land area and location ,any property that is set up like this would be a the local starting point for every white ants nests in the area,good luck..

BTW,Don't worry what any agent tells you in these slow market trends,there is only ever one name on the title deed and from my experience the agents name is never there,it's your money and you end up holding the can,

 

[bella77]

how do you build in new conditions on contract??

thanks so much andrew and willair- very helpful. thanks for the input- you are right and it has made us feel calmer to even "talk" about it on here!

so it turns out vendor new back deck was illegal when she bought but she did search after it went unconditional.

suspect same for front patio- i have got solicitor to lodge a council search.

we are considering going aheaf IF both structures are made legal- agent has told vendor that if it is not us it will be someone else that will want same thing so she may have to do something.

we are also getting plumbing quote tomorrow for drainage- is it something we can live with/do down the track/or use to get her to drop price. Not sure we will win both the deck legality as well as the price reduc for drain though!

my question now is- what do we do if we want to go ahead subject to the deck and patio getting council approval at her cost??? do we do a new contract? can you amend the other?

thanks again

 

[willair]

thanks so much andrew and willair- very helpful. thanks for the input- you are right and it has made us feel calmer to even "talk" about it on here!

so it turns out vendor new back deck was illegal when she bought but she did search after it went unconditional.

suspect same for front patio- i have got solicitor to lodge a council search.

we are considering going aheaf IF both structures are made legal- agent has told vendor that if it is not us it will be someone else that will want same thing so she may have to do something.

we are also getting plumbing quote tomorrow for drainage- is it something we can live with/do down the track/or use to get her to drop price. Not sure we will win both the deck legality as well as the price reduc for drain though!

my question now is- what do we do if we want to go ahead subject to the deck and patio getting council approval at her cost??? do we do a new contract? can you amend the other?

thanks again

Just walk in and ask the agent to rip the contract up and throw it in the trash bin,but before have a talk to a legal person,i just can't see that the vendor will fix all the problems as they know full well that the foot-print
plan the BCC will have will not match what you are looking at..
1 Talk to a legal person,i'm only a plumber..
2.Never ever trust anything what anyone tells you unless you see it for yourself in black and white..it's very easy to tease and mislead after all
at the end of the day it's your money-risk-problems,all the agents walks away with a fat cheque for lining up all the dots..good luck..

 

[Whozat]

If you want to go ahead, the next port of call is your conveyancer/solicitor. Outline to them the conditions under which you would go ahead with the sale - what needs to be done, to what agreed standard (eg council approval), including a time frame - and the solicitor should write up the conditions for the vendor's solicitor in such a way as to make it legally binding if the vendor accepts. If they don't accept then you notify the vendor through your solicitor that the Building and Pest report was unsatisfactory, before the pest/build date on the contract of course, and start looking again.

It is always hard to pull the plug when you think you've found the right place. Add to that the cost of the B & P inspection, and some fees for the solicitor and it makes it even harder. But as has been said before, there will always be equally good deals without having to go through lots of hassle, and for the small cost now, relative to a huge cost if you don't buy right, then it may be worth pulling the pin. You definitely have the market on your side at the moment.

If you truly believe it is an exceptional purchase then there is the option to get the vendor to agree to the repairs, or make a suitable reduction in price that adequately compensates you for the expense and effort in getting it done yourselves

 

[smg]

Get onto your solicitor and et an extension of your cool off you need to get a price to see how much to fix and if worht it and maybe negotiate price.

First HO here feeling the way. 3 bed house, contract in at 450, list price 480 (what she paid in 09) negotiated from our first offer of 400 (which RE snorted at.)

B&P done today.

1. Revealed drainage issues - no drainage in front yard, down driveway sloping block, he found evidence of water having been under house (utility room w bathroom) - obviously quite major as two large holes had been drilled in wall to drain it out and skirting boards ripped up. (This was not a suburb affected by the Jan floods BTW). Didn't find anything structural, but tiles lifting, cracking etc. Worry is that does this happen on heavy rain and long term implications for wood rotting etc and termites as many areas are what he called "conducive" to termites as low to ground, ant caps had been cut etc. so with water issues they may come more easily. Plus the obvious- damp and we really needed the area for storage, electric gym equip etc so water not an option!!!!

RE acted blank when we asked her what happened (not surprising). Kept talking about how nice the area was and that their was good takeaway down the road. Good grief. Anyway asked her to ask the vend and have heard nothing as yet. (Our cooling off period also expired COB today- the cynic in me wonders if that is related??????)

2. Front porch and covered deck (two of the main reasons for buying as without the place is quite small so need the indoor/outdoor spaces are probably illegal (TBC tomorrow with solicitor) as their are no gutters or down pipes on either.

Worried of course about a. council making us remove, b. not being able to insure those parts and c. that we will face this again at re-sale with someone wanting us to fix.

AND lastly- it is also contributing to water issues as the front porch with it's no gutters and pipes then dumps MORE water straight in the frond yard to seep underneath!

Argh! Don't know what to do- are these easy/inexpensive fixes? How? Do we walk? Do we insist she fixes it to our satisfaction? Or do we neg lower price?
(Baring in mind we are not at all handy and have no mates/rellies/connections with any expertise to help us.

Any advice or similar experiences greatly appreciated!

 

[Andrew_A]

Hi Bella, any update on what happened?

 

[Dazz]

3 bed house, contract in at 450

This one is easy to answer as a Vendor.


"Yep, we knew all that, that's why we let it go for 450K. If the decks had of been legal and the drainage all good, we wouldn't have let it go for anything under 465K. The 450K already takes all of the B&P findings into account. Now, do you still want to proceed or not ??"