Hi guys, gotta problem
Just received our builders report on a property which we are buying for $65,000 (original price $69,000). We put a clause in O & A subject to building report……
Now builder states “sinking stumps” – should I be worried? How costly is re-stumping? Also “Kitchen cupboard area quite dangerous and hearth is of some concern because the uneven floor is quite pronounced.” Could this be a public liability problem eg: tenant tripping on uneven floor, boiling water goes over tenant??? This property is only JUST pos cash flow but definately has potential capital growth. Any ideas/comments would be appreciated as I need to get back to agent fairly quickly thanks…
[?]SQ
hi suzieq
as far as the hearth goes (without looking at it) i wouldn’t be too concerned a lot of homes have hearths, i’ve never heard of anyone getting sued. Also you insurance (public liability) should cover the unfortunate event.
as far as the stumps go.
It depends on the job needed. If the whole house needs restumping it could be expensive (5000 +), but it may be only a few stumps then it could be reblocked. They lift the house and put a block in to even out the house, a lot cheaper.
perhaps you need to ask the builder how many stumps are effected and if the whole home is in need of restumping. He might give you an idea of how much it is to fix.
Once you have the data you can go back at the vendor and negotiate a discount, he may not ?
You also have to decide how bad is the house. If you didn’t notice it, then perhaps it isn’t too bad. I bought a house that needed restumping but decided not to fix it because it wasn’t that bad. Often builders will mention every little problem, that what you have paid them for. Some things they mention are often not an issue.
westanI worked as a labourer to a developer and when the stumps sagged into the ground we just used a car jack and jacked up the floor and put in blocks or fibro. Also with the Public liability. I was an insurance investigator for 24 years and i strongly suggest that with any property that you own do not let the insurance policy lapse or you will be up the creek without a paddle. remember …to the insurance company you are an asset while you pay your premiums and a liability if you lodge a claim and they will try to get out of it at any cost. If you think something is unsafe and you knew it then it is negligence on your part. If you noticed it and there is doubt then you are aware. I would cover the floor with tiles or get the floor safe. The tennant is your asset protect them.You would hate yourself if a child was injured
re: hearths –
check your insurance policy. Perhaps worth fixing.
Two places I have, I’ve had to attend to the multi-fuel burner and rip it out and replace with a brand new one, as the existing ones weren’t code-compliant and didn’t have building permission and insurance won’t pay out if that’s the case.re stumps, we live in a 100 year old villa in Sydney where if you dropped a marble on the floor it would roll to one side. Doesn’t concern us at all as tenants, although we have to chock the bookshelf a bit so it doesn’t lean!
Basically if the lean on the floor is ‘quite pronounced’ and might get worse yeah I agree, fix it, even if with a bodgy reno-kings style car-jack insert blocks- type fix.
in my experience the cheaper houses almost always have a laundry list of things to fix. Ask the builder who did the report if the overall is ‘structurally sound’ or not, and yeah, try and get a discount.
The topic ‘Help please!!!’ is closed to new replies.
