Suspicious

[Tengu]

Still got my eye on that bungalow.

Private water (Agent says `off of the hill`)
Septic tank (No experience with those)

The place has been on the market nearly a year and has had a few reductions.

So I asked what was wrong with it?

They told me nothing was wrong with it.

I am not happy. If its good...why hasnt it sold?

 

[Pattree]

I’m sure you’ll get an independent survey before you make a low offer.

 

[British Red]

You need to ensure that there is a legal easement to obtain water and maintain the supply. You also need to check the septic tank condition & soakaway (any good surveyor can arrange this)

 

[Chris]

Really you'll need a surveyor, and/or the solicitor's property checks to tell you that if there's nothing obvious.

 

[Broch]

Sceptic tanks are fine as long as there are no leaks and it's been emptied periodically otherwise the pipes and drainage will be clogged up and need flushing. If the outflow is seriously blocked it may need digging up and replacing - make sure your surveyor understands what to look for - not all do.

The source of the water must be identified properly; 'off the hill' is not enough. Is it a stream, a spring? is there a holding tank? how consistent is it? A borehole is serious money these days (think £15 to £20K) so you need to be sure where you stand.

What comms supply is there? In not too many years time you won't get any service that runs on less than 50Mb/s so fibre or sat will need to be an option for the future if you think you'll want broadband. In the same vein, what mobile reception have you got there?

As BR said, make sure the water supply rights are in the deeds and you can legitimately access the source and maintain the supply. Many easements in the countryside are by word of mouth and it's just not good enough.

What do the details say about access to the property? Is that by easement over someone else's land? What is the state of the access? Could a normal car drive along it?

Do not, whatever you do, skimp on the survey or you will regret it. I know a number of people who have only had the basic 'mortgage needed' survey and found serious costs later. If nothing else you'll be able to bargain down the price.

Those of us that live in the back of beyond are acutely aware of these issues so forgive us if we are sounding negative. But, it's worth it in the end

 

[Wildgoose]

My understanding is that the septic tank must be in good nick before the sale or the seller must at least put it right.

Septic tanks come from a time when the family produced very little foul water, modern hygiene standards and domestic machines produce a lot of foul water so it’s important this element works well.

What’s the general condition of the place?

Might not be an issue for you but many buyers want full phone coverage, schools etc.

The housing market can be a strange thing at times

 

[slowworm]

Ideally you want a friend who is used to buying and working on a house. Someone local could point out why the house appears cheap or not.

Personally I wouldn't rely on a survey either, having had a few full building surveys done, and extra surveys, they still can miss many things and the report has loads of caveats.

 

[GreyCat]

My understanding is that the septic tank must be in good nick before the sale or the seller must at least put it right.

Septic tanks come from a time when the family produced very little foul water, modern hygiene standards and domestic machines produce a lot of foul water so it’s important this element works well.

What’s the general condition of the place?

Might not be an issue for you but many buyers want full phone coverage, schools etc.

The housing market can be a strange thing at times

Re septic tanks: In theory...

....the reality cn be different. The place we are doing up, the septic Tank is registered (this 8s REALLY important), and met the requirements for an older tank..... which isn't much. There's different requirements depending on age of tank, and England, Scotland and Wales all have slightly different requirements.

We took the lid off in the summer. It had a, ahem, "very 1950's" vibe.......

Because of the age and it being registered we were able to just replace it- we put in a modern packet sewage plant. As part of the renovation not a major issue, but that would have been different without the renovation.

We spent a year finding something we wanted to buy, that we could afford and that didn't have issues. Learned the hard way that there's always a reason for an apparently low price.

GC

 

[Tengu]

I suspect the real problem is only one parking space.

 

[Stew]

If that’s the only problem, you’ll be very lucky!

 

[Toddy]

It's not along at Acharn is it ?

I lived in a house there for five weeks one summer.

The 'off the hill' water was literally a pipe taken straight from the burn that fed a cold water tank that sat agin the back wall of the house outside.
Supposedly it was filtered....aye, well, the filters weren't very good because freshwater shrimps had laid eggs and were living quite happily inside the tank, until that water came into the house taps. Hot water came from an immerser.....bathing was fun in water with bits of cooked shrimp ( I tied a fine hankie over the end of the tap to catch any bits once I realised just what it was).....I know there were sheep on the hill above too.
I boiled every bit of water for drinking and cooking.

The drainage was every bit as basic and I don't think there really was proper leach field from the septic tank either.....there was no way on this green earth that a tanker could have gotten up the brae to the house to empty a tank.
Everything was just old and needing replaced.

Honestly you really, really need a good clear understanding of your water source and your drainage. That probably means you need to have a plumber do a review for you above and beyond any survey.

I hope you're fortunate and you find a good home that has no issues with the plumbing, I really do.

 

[Glow_worm]

If you're not squeamish, and don't mind a little bit of labour, dry compost toilets do away with any requirements for drainage. Grey water from sinks and showers can go on the garden, or a small reed bed.

 

[Dogoak]

T, have you read the Home Report? Some times you can see them on the advert, others you have to request.
It’s a very basic survey, under Scottish law the seller has to provide one for a residential property, odd exceptions but I doubt it would come under any of those.
The Home Report will also include an Energy Report.

I moved up before the private supply regs/guidance came in. My questions about the spring water supply was answered with “the previous occupants were there for 50 years and appear in good health”
None of us got ill so it couldn’t have been too bad! After a couple of years whilst renovating I also improved the supply and it’s hygiene qualities. Ended up helping a few neighbours with theirs and I got quite into it, there’s always subtle little differences in systems and how to get the best out of them.

Your welcome to PM me if you want a chat.

 

[Tengu]

Thank you

 

[Falstaff]

Lot of good info for you there, from a building aspect, the critical items are foundations, roof, dpc, wood rot, chimney.. Any one of which can be expensive. In essence the focus is on it being sound, dry and free from rot.

 

[GreyCat]

Yeah, lots of possible issues. We looked intensively for a year (out every weekend, I was running a big spreadsheet with options appraisal in) before settling on the place we eventually bought....... some of the things we encountered during the househunting phase:

(1) What was actually being sold was not what the vendor had said was being sold (they omitted to mention that the large parking and access area was a separate piece of land that they were not selling).
We checked every property we were interested in on the Land Registry after that, it's a worthwhile few quid. Allowed us to ask some searching questions of estate agents.....

(2) Non-mains water supply in a location to which there was no right of access.

(3) Mobile phone mast/electriciy pylon very close by.

(4) Indecisive vendor. So you make an offer then the chaos of "do we want to really sell or not" involving a big family arguing commences.....

(5) Something a bit nasty nearby. (Industrial plant, smelly landfill etc etc etc). Google maps and Streetview is your friend.

(6) Property down a private access road of over a mile, via a bridge over a river, and the other 3 nearby properties are all holiday lets with absent owner. Worrying maintenance liability there....

(7) No modern facilities in terms of no central heating and no electricity grid connectivity

(8) Access is via a lane of dubious rights, or no vehicular access at all.

(9) Property needs renovation or extension but the last owner annoyed the Planners so you will be struggling

(10) Part completed renovation but vendor hasn't bothered talking to Building Control and it's well on.

(11) Tall masonry viaduct pier from a closed railway in the garden, over 150 years old, buddleia has a good hold near the top, unknown ownership/liability.

(12) Agricultural tie: The property was under covenant and could only be sold to someone working in the area in agriculture.

All off those things we found and walked away from, or didn't even go and look even though it looked attractive for the price. Even without that, some places we viewed just had bad vibes so were a "no" within the first 5 minutes.

(Haven't even mentioned internet connectivity as you can get Starlink these days...... or the usuals like flood risk.... but don't forget risk of hillside fires too)

The place we finally bought didn't have any of those but needed major renovation, we have a full structural survey and even then we found a few more nasties. We took the place back to bare shell- walls and roof, rebuilt the chimneys, new floors, ceiling, internal boarding, full rewire etc. Plus the extension being done. But at least we know what we have now it's been rebuilt. The advantage of a known "project" is that if you strip it right back to a shell, you know what you have and what you put back...... but it ain't a cheap option.

Good luck!

GC

 

[Pattree]

Obviously you intend to buy a home for the long haul but if it’s difficult to sell now, how difficult will it be in the future?

 

[Falstaff]

Great write up Toddy, and examples. In theory the solicitor should also pick up all of those things but rarely do, but by then you've shelled out cash to them.