As regulars on here will no doubt know, I’m leaving the big city for a small town uni in the autumn to do my PhD. The master plan was to sell my current house (which without my ex-partner’s income I can no longer afford anyway) and buy a place up there. I’d then sublet one or two rooms to help pay the mortgage. Well, that was the plan.

Just received back the surveyors report on the place I’m supposed to be buying and even the valuation (a very basic survey done for the lender to make sure that their loan is safe) has indicated that there may be major structural issues. So much so, in fact, that the surveyor has told the lender not to release any money unless the house passes a full structural survey. This is the most detailed and most expensive survey a house can possibly have. Guess who has to pay for this survey? Yes, me at £1,000 with no certainty over the outcome....

….Oh yes, and the surveyor has said that I need to have full inspections of the heating system, the electrics, the plumbing, the double glazing and the gas before exchange of contracts. So imagine how much each of these will cost….

I’d appreciate any thoughts on this but as I see it I have 2 choices, pull out and delay the start of the PhD whilst I find somewhere else to live or get all of the surveys and inspections done at the expense of the seller (who quite frankly has no escape as any other buyer’s survey will bring up the same issue) and take a view from there.

I should be upset but actually I’m not as this is what you pay surveyors to do anyway – to protect the buyer from buying a house that has problems.

Great, hey?

TBH I would pull out because it sounds like this house will cost you a lot of money in the long term. If you did continue you should at least drop your offer significantly.

I think I agree. The house is a high risk and if I'm forced to sell quickly (which could very well happen), I may have a house that is difficult to sell. I haven't got the budget to put right the maintenance items anyway so when I come to sell I inherit the current problems. Hard decision to make (I liked the house) but a prudent one I guess.

Gotta say im inclined to aggree houses that need a lot of work eat money.....an do yo really wanna be living on a building site during your PhD?? Prob not!!
Hope you find somewhere just as nice to live instead!

Pull out by the sounds of things, though you may as well get the seller to do the surveyers stuff (they will have to do it anyway).

Why delay your PhD? You can always rent. Or are you worried about falling off the housing market (sounds like it would be hard to get on if you go with a PhD stipend to a lender). You can keep the money you earned on the sale of your current house in a high interest account and use it to buy one when you finsih (or to help fund your fourth year if you need one)

Staying in property market is crucial. Current estimates are that the market will rise 50% in the next 5 years. If I put the equity from my sale in the bank I only earn interest on that at, say 3-4% per year, whereas if I own a house I'll get, say, 10% per year on the whole value of the house. Put another way, putting the money in the bank would need to have interest of approx 40% per year for me to maintain my position in the property market. So I have to stay in. One possibility is to live in a B&B or caravan for a week or two whilst I complete the purchase of the new house.

So I need to go up and find somewhere else. I suspect a sicky from work is likely to happen in the next few days!

I guess it depends if you already have the morgatge money ready to go (and wont need to apply using your stipend, not your current job). I was only thinking if you moved up and then couldnt get a morgatge.

You could put it in a MAXI ISA. Meant to be around 9%. Thats if you trust the stock market (though I dont see why one could trust the housing market much more over the long term).

A 50% rise. So a house worth 1000000 now will cost 1500000? Crazy. Inflation will prob go up. My poor student loan will therefore also go up. Damn. I hope the intrest rate hikes will help to cool the housing market a little. Bankrupices etc are up, so maybe the housing boom will stop soon. After all what hope do those not on it have.

B&B or caravan is probably a good idea.

If you can stand living in a caravan.

My mortgage is taken on my current salary (I just borrow as much as is sensible to pay each month within a stipend). This is approved, for now, but I'm fighting against the clock in terms of the PhD start date and the possibility of having to redo the mortgage paperwork if I don't find somewhere quick.

As you say, I can only get a mortgage whilst I'm still working, so I buy now or otherwise I cannot buy for 3-4 years.

Renting isn't a bad idea in the short-term.

If you rented for six months and bought around Xmas you can actually get some very good deals as it is a 'lull' in the property year. My friend came off the property ladder for 6 months and rented - she found a bargain just after Xmas and was even able to knock a few more grand off because she could move quickly (no chain). Renting would also give you the time to find somewhere you liked

what were the structural issues? You know that your offer is dependent on the survey and you can re-negotiate the price.

The problem with renting is that sylvester will probably have to reapply for the morgatge. This will based on the PhD stipend, so will cause a lot of problems for getting a new morgatage.

Was your friend a single PhD student Sixkitten? If so, then maybe there is hope yet. How did she get a morgatge without getting parental help?

You would need to have the money to perform the repairs, otherwise you may have bigger problems when you do come to repair them or when you come to sell. Also, you prob wont want to be building a house and doing a PhD. Maybe you could change topics. Investigate the relaitionship between builder tea breaks and work done.

That's very true and is a situation the vendor faces no matter who buys the property. At the moment, I don't know the issues but, as you say, one approach is to get the vendor to pay for the structural survey and then either they get the work done and we pick up from there, or I get quotes for the work needed and knock the cost off the price of the purchase. The former is better because it is no risk to me, the latter presumes that no further costs issues arise.

I'm waiting for my copy of the valuation and the Homebuyers report I requested (which will provide more detail on what's wrong with it, but is not a substitute for the full structural survey my lendor is now requiring).

I guess the best thing to do is not to panic and have a few days to decide the best thing to do.

Anyone got any more good ideas (all comments received so far very useful).

Richmond, in terms of reapplying you are correct, that is the whole problem - I cannot really borrow on a stipend. It may be possible to self-certify but you are still dependent on the number of questions the lender will ask. If they smell a student they probably won't lend.