u/48769Beesetc

My partner and I are in the process of buying a house and agreed to pay below asking price (but recently our bank has valued the property thousands lower than what we offered) We negotiated down to factor in paying for repairs to the bathroom that clearly needed doing when we viewed it.

The house is 40 years old and no changes have been done to the property since it was built. We imagined the house would have some modernising to do but as it wasn't 100 years old+ it would be mostly cosmetic changes that needed to be taken place. We were aware we would need to do the bathroom immediately, and the kitchen eventually, with some painting and decorating.

We have got our level 3 RICS survey report and there were a lot more 'Urgent' issues than the expected. there are 9/10 'Urgent' problems, 13 'non urgent but require attention' and 0 'elements with no current issues'.

'Urgent' Flags:
- Ceilings: an asbestos inspection is recommended, and there is damage to the textured coating one of the rooms - it is mentioned that the whole ceiling may need to be redone if it is a larger problem with the ceiling.
- built in fittings: Kitchen cupboards significantly dated and in poor condition, seals by kitchen sink need redoing
- Bathroom fittings: Seals around Bath seem to be in poor condition, no ventilation system apart from the window and very dated. Taps and appliances work
- Electricity: fewer electrical sockets than expected in modern day, Bathroom light should be tested for humidity safety, electric cables are below insulation, electrical immersion heater should be tested, an electrical test needs to be taken place to check its safety in the whole building.
- Water: External stop tap chamber was full of water, indicating a possible leak near the water meter, recommended an expansion tank to have an insulation jacket
- Central heating: There isn't evidence of a recent gas safety check
- water heating: The immersion heater should be tested as part of electrical tests, pipes are copper. The hot water tank has foam insulation which may be a fire risk and may need upgrading.
- Garden: There is bamboo in the garden which may become invasive over time

'Non Urgent' Flags:
- Roof coverings: minor wear to roof tiles, may need an inspection soon
- Gutters: some minor weathering on the gutters
- walls: Minor weathering
- Windows: Porch area is weathered
- Joinery and finishes: minor defects in the roof fascia and joinery
- Roof: some of the roof void has wear and tear
- Walls: Insulation is inadequate to modern day standards
- Ceilings to upper floor: Minor cracks found
- Creaking sound on the joints to some of the chipboard floors, some floorboards are loose.
- Woodwork and joinery: some doors have evidence of age
- Drainage: Due to the age of the property works may be required

'Elements with no issues':
- This section was left blank, which we aren't sure if that is indicative of how bad the house is in shape, or if this is just something the surveyor didn't think was important to include

We're now debating what our next steps are. As it's our first survey report and we wanted the most detailed one - is it something that is normal for a house like this and it is still a worthwhile investment? Or may the house be far more of a project than we anticipated and will it cost us too much to sort? We are considering asking for the house price to be lowered but were unsure by how much - and also whether to pull out if the work seems too great for us to afford.

Any advice would be really helpful. We really fell in love with the house and I personally hope we can keep it if we can, but I also don't want us to lose out as a result of buying the house.