Rough cost for tracing and fixing a leak, plus remedial repairs

[match79]

I'm in the process of buying a property, and on a visit prior to completion we've discovered a water leak in part of the building.

There's a toilet/shower/utility area which is about 2m x 4m with partition walls. The floor is vinyl on plywood, and the water has reached over most of the area. It's likely a slow leak as it's taken several weeks to reach that size, and there's a bit of mould starting on one of the walls. The leak could come from a few possible things - the toilet/shower unit, a gas combi boiler, as well as just the main water pipes/stopcock..

At this stage we're discussing how to proceed with the purchase - and there's a choice of either getting the seller to do the repair work prior to purchase, getting it done myself and billing them, or knocking something off the asking price. The last option is tempting as it lets us proceed more quickly, and we're not sure as yet what we want to do with this space, so we may yet remove the shower, replace the boiler etc - and having it repaired only to rip it out later seems a waste of effort.

So the question is, what is the rough cost of tracing and fixing the leak, lifting and replacing the vinyl, running dehumidifiers, fixing up paintwork/mould etc likely to be? Even just a rough idea of the likely range of costs would help me decide what would be a fair offer to make.

Many thanks!

 

[blup]

Don't assume its just a leak, there could be significant damage to the the floor and joists below if it is a long standing problem, despite what the owners say. That said it might be worth getting an initial diagnosis/quote from a bathroom fitter in the first instance, and going from there, if you are re furbishing

 

[match79]

Thanks for that - I failed to mention this is a ground floor bathroom with the plywood on a concrete floor underneath, but yes it is still true that the age of the leak and the level of damage is unknown. I'm waiting to hear back from the sellers to see what they say, but I'm also looking to try to get a plumber/fitter to come have a look once I can get access (if Christmas doesn't hit first!) Fortunately it's been discovered before completion, so it's still in the seller's court!

 

[blup]

If the issue emerged after exchange of contracts the seller may well be liable, see what your conveyancer says.