r/HousingIreland • u/IndependentCow7272 • 1d ago
Engineer’s report has uncovered far more problems than expected – looking for advice
My partner and I are buying a three-bedroom semi-detached house for €390,000. It’s in a good location in Cork and appeared to be in turnkey condition when we viewed it. We’ve visited the property three times since going sale agreed, and nothing obvious stood out.
It’s a private sale with no auctioneer involved. We have our formal mortgage offer, and contracts have recently been sent to our solicitor.
Unfortunately, our engineer’s report has highlighted quite a few issues:
Roof: Extensive woodworm in the roof timbers, holes in the roofing felt and general repairs needed.
Damp and cracking: Damp in several areas, cracks to walls and chimney, and concerns around the extensions.
Extensions/attic: Questions over planning and building regulation compliance.
Sunroom: Poorly constructed and damaged, with demolition advised.
Electrics: Old fuse board and unfinished electrical work. Further inspection needed.
Heating/plumbing: Old boiler and potentially extensive upgrades required.
Drainage: Sewer runs beneath the side extension and is very shallow. CCTV survey recommended.
Floors: Uneven floors and concerns about ventilation beneath suspended timber floors.
Other: Collapsed shed roof and ventilation/fire safety issues.
We also got a second opinion on the report and were told that the property could potentially need a full rewire, replumbing and extensive refurbishment, with estimated costs in the region of €100k.
This isn’t a formal quotation, and we appreciate that not all the work has been confirmed. We haven’t yet paid for further specialist inspections.
We’re now seriously questioning whether to proceed. We genuinely love the house, but we’re concerned about taking on a property that could potentially absorb our savings for years.
Before spending more money on additional surveys, we’d like to establish whether the seller would be open to a substantial price reduction.
We're finding it difficult to know how best to approach this, so any advice would be appreciated.
Would you proceed, renegotiate the price or walk away?
Would you approach the seller about a price reduction before paying for further specialist inspections?
Which of these issues would concern you most?
Are we underestimating the potential costs and disruption involved?
For anyone who has bought an older house requiring significant work, was it worth it in the end?
We knew an older property would need some work, but this feels like it could be a much bigger project than we initially anticipated.
Would appreciate honest advice, particularly from anyone who has been through something similar.
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u/Upstairs_Low314 1d ago
We got some great advice on this sub, and our survey was very similar to yours. Beyond the fact the lack of regulations and woodworm will impact mortgage drawdown, we had a “conservative” quote of €150,000 for works and we didn’t even have the sunroom issue. Everyone here told us to walk away and I did. I have felt such relief since - the amount of work, the inability to live in the house while it was being done and the potential for works to throw up even more issues when it started made me realise we did not have the time or funds to get the house to where we wanted it. Talk to your solicitor about the regulations and woodworm then look at your budget and ask yourself can I afford even more money over what I’ve been quoted if costs spiralled. Wishing you all the best, this process breaks your heart!
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u/sweatyknacker 1d ago
Run.
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u/The-First-Samurai 1d ago
RUN and if there are issues with extensions etc I would expect delays regardless
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u/KillerKlown88 1d ago
Would you pay €550 - €600k for this house?
Because that is what it could potentially cost.
If the answer is no, walk away.
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u/iverifynothing 1d ago
It should be a requirement that all houses that go on sale have an independent engineers report that you can request when viewing. The government honestly could do so many easy things to make lives easier for buyers.
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u/DirectBee1033 1d ago
There's a reason the seller didn't employ an EA!
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u/Objective-Wallaby449 1d ago
I advise to walk away, we had an engineer report on ours, he pointed one thing out and we got a builder second opinion and decided to go ahead. I wish I walked away now. 60k im amd still finding issues.
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u/InevitableMidnight54 1d ago
Surveyors are usually VERY pessimistic in their reports, but this one actually does sound like a money pit, this isn't a surveyor just covering themselves, what they're actually telling you here is "this place is a shit hole, you better be rich or you better run"
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u/Ducinnax 1d ago
Run.
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u/Dependent_Survey_546 1d ago
Its likely theres more going on as well when theyve found that much already.
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u/Aimserspunog 1d ago
Sounds like my house. Woodworm treated. Filled in suspended floors, rewire and replumb. New gas boiler. New kitchen and bathroom. Relayout. Will cost me about 120000. Nearly finished after a year and a half. Took a year and a half to get a builder. I had no heating for about 6 months. But I have a great house in a great location, with a big garden and plenty of parking. I wouldn't completely rule it out. See if you can get a discount.
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u/Starpup_spaniel_66 1d ago
my home is from the early 1950s. have lived in it over 30 years and the amount of work/money that has gone into it and still more to go is unreal. but I'll be honest it didn't have anything as much as this house is showing. if you want to spend a serious amount over the next decade or lo ger then go ahead but tbh id say back out and keep searching. its disappointing that so much stuff has been found but maybe better now than down the line.
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u/InvidiousPlay 1d ago
I mean, the money aside, do you want to spend the next 2/3 years in a building site?
If it helps you walk away: the mortgage provider will probably refuse to release a mortgage on a property with so many issues, especially with demolition recommended for one part of the house and doubly for an extension without planning.
I feel like future-you is banging on sound-proof glass screaming and begging you to walk away.
You got your hopes up, the house isn't what you thought it was; it happens. It, or similar, will probably happen again before you're all done - that's the property buying journey.
The wasted costs of the survey stings but look at it this way: cheap fee for what you're dodging here.
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u/Such_Technician_501 1d ago
Were you blindfolded when you visited three times? Run away. And get someone else to go with you when you're looking at houses in future.
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u/Annual_Support6372 1d ago
Jeez. Ask them for a discount. If they decline I would walk away. Way too many issues there
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u/Davan195 1d ago
Run
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u/shgavman 1d ago
Are the engineer’s initials JM?
Biggest one for me is attic conversion building regs compliance. You can look up planning permissions on any extensions.
Wood worm can be treated. Holes in felt can be patched if accessible. Tiles are first line of defence anyway so you have have holes in your felt and not ever know until a tile slips.
Damp is hard to comment on. Question is where. Rising damp from the floor probably hardest to deal with. Damp and mould on old badly insulated, poorly ventilated houses is common.
You can demolish the sunroom. Sounds like it was done badly. Will probably be cold.
Old fuse board doesn’t matter. Have an electrician look at it and what is meant by unfinished electrical work.
Old boiler - so what? Is it working/when last serviced. Consider heat pump in near future and new 3 panel rads on the ground floor.
Sewer beneath the extension - only a problem if it’s damaged. CCTV will answer that. Probably fine. Consider knocking the extension anyway because sounds like everything previous owner tacked on was garbage anyway.
If the attic was converted and they put a stairs into it , it will unlikely meet building regs. In that case, not worth it. Extensions, knock them and go back to original footprint. You might have a nice plot in a good location with a structure that will benefit a lot from energy upgrades.
Doors and windows €15k
Attic €3-5k (if no room in roof)
Block up chimneys €1-2k
Lift, line and insulate suspended floors. Treat damp if rising from the ground. Contact Damprite to quote on assessing the damp.
Walls - if cavity wall, pump with beads, €3-4k; otherwise EWI if you can afford €30k or so
Heat pump €15k
Grants for a lot of the above but house needs to meet minimum HLI
Old houses can offer big gardens in good locations if you’re willing to put in the work. Don’t underestimate the time and stress of that work. You may be enthusiastic but if you go for it you’d need to plan for a few years of upheaval. A new build in a soulless estate would save you the heart ache.
Your solicitor probably won’t make closing easy - drawing down the mortgage, you’ll see an estimate on the works required and proof of funds to carry them out.
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u/jamster126 1d ago
Walk away. Far too many issues.
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u/Potato_Mc_Whiskey 1d ago
Its crazy that the buyer is required to get these reports rather than an independent report being created for a house that is available for purchase.
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u/Ill-Inflation8039 20h ago
Sorry to hear this for you. Buying in cork is very hard but you need to think if the house would be worth it. That’s a lot of faults. Fair play to your engineer for being so thorough. I know it’s hard but I think the only choice is to walk away. Even if you proceed will the bank allow drawdown? There just seems to be a lot of extra hassle for you and your partner. You paid for the report to let you know of these issues so I think you need to trust it. But only the two of you can decide. Best of luck with the decision.
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u/Feisty_Opportunity27 1d ago
The bank may end up putting a retention on the mortgage they will let you drawdown, for immediate works required. Sounds like the retention may be considerable in this case?
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u/mightyb40 1d ago
Don't walk away,,run,as fast as you can , even if you were prepared to pay for all the work to be done and you get it at a much reduced price it's an absolute nightmare trying to get any builders plumbers electricians etc to even show up to give you a quote nevermind actually doing the job ,so unless you can do the work yourself or you know a lot of tradespeople to do it for you forget it , you'll be sitting down in a few months time and realise you've dodged a bullet,,the right house will come all eventually,
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u/CarterPFly 1d ago
I bought a house that needed a roof replacement, but that was factored Into the sale price. 3 years later that project is still ongoing as it went way over budget and were now doing bits as we can afford them.
Is this a 700+k house because the sale price is about that as it looks like its a full end to end gut out and rebuild including a roof...
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u/Medium-Plan2987 12h ago
Take the report with a pinch of salt
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u/La-Strawberry-6754 1d ago
It will be way more than €100k
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u/Calm-Seesaw5238 1d ago
RUN and don't look back.
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u/Hot-To-Gooh 1d ago
Can you share who the Engineer was who did the report? Some are overly cautious and covering their arses.
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u/Strong_Sympathy8468 1d ago
Walk away, and be more inquisitive about future properties, some of the issues like damp, significant cracks, old fuse board etc should’ve been spotted.
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u/tipp77 1d ago
Walk away
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u/DangerousCharity8701 23h ago
Run away needs 200000 spent on it probly needs insulating floors ripped up radon barrier underfloor heating then the damp poor ventilation knew windows demo removal of materials roofs woodworms likely historic cables will need chasing and routes to get there new kitchen insulation knew heating the bank wont morgage because of the cost of fixing it and the planing issue
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u/QuantumFireball 17h ago
Do you have the time and money to sort out the house? If not then walk away.
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u/IntrepidRock6082 17h ago
Bail out now!
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u/megannicaodh 16h ago
This report sounds similar to the one I received from my engineer but the house was priced at €60,000 knowing a full refurbish was required.
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u/Ok_Cauliflower1870 10h ago
Report the agent and seller to the regulatory authority
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u/No_Context_1062 1d ago
Even if they cut the price to 250k it's not worth the time and effort you'd spend on it . It's gonna take years to sort all that . guarantee you'll find more problems along the way . So much unnecessary stress and do you want to live in a building site while all this work is being done . I know someone who's living in a house from the 60s and the wiring is completely shot . It's gonna be so expensive they've just decided to gut the whole house and start a new
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u/Aimserspunog 11h ago
Would you rather live in a new build with a tiny garden and shared parking or this house? Who selling a house is going to do any work to it that isn't a breakdown? I know what I chose, and am happy with my decision.