Just got keys for house and found undetected damp

welshman79 · 6 Feb 2016

Hi all,
following on from my first thread re: buying a home without dpc, I have just got the keys for my new home. When I got in, there were 2 damp patches on the living room wall, one large one on the bedroom ceiling, one on the wall in the same room (with green mold) and a patch in the second bedroom.
On the full survey of the home, it stated there were "no slight signs of damp". What will be the best course of action now with regards to getting it fixed (is the seller liable to get it sorted out?)

Cheers.

Himaginn · 6 Feb 2016

How long has the house been unoccupied?
An unoccupied/unheated house will often have damp caused by condensation etc.

welshman79 · 6 Feb 2016

Well, as far as I know it went on the market around September time. It is unoccupied. The damp in the living room is coming from the base of one of the walls. In the bedrooms it is coming from the top which made me think there is an issue with the roof? Any help would be really appreciated as when I walked in I was quite shocked and really annoyed that there was a such a change in the state of the rooms since I saw it before purchasing a couple of months ago.

Himaginn · 6 Feb 2016

I would suggest cleaning up the mold and damp, heat the house, live in it for a few months, then re-assess.
If you want to commission a new damp report then, but an independent assessor, not one who's interested in selling you the "fix".

^woody^ · 6 Feb 2016

welshman79 said:
"no slight signs of damp"

How can there be no slight signs of damp? Were there serious signs damp instead?

Are you saying that there is damp, mould, or damp and mould? They are all distinct.

An empty house will be prone to condensation, and condensation mould. Getting it fixed may involve turning the heating on and living in there for a bit.

You have no recourse to the seller now.

footprints · 6 Feb 2016

I think you will find you are responsible for the house from exchange of contracts (That's when you need to have insurance from, crazy I know!) often four weeks or so.
Surveyors are expert at wriggling out of things they miss, I wouldn't waste time trying. We had a report "no active woodworm" lifted the loft hatch and found fresh dust from holes around the hatch!
We were lucky there was an existing guarantee the treatment company honoured.

drpepe · 6 Feb 2016

Always view a house for a last time just before exchange to check things out - after exchange you have absolutely no leverage.

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Just got keys for house and found undetected damp

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