advice needed on property valuation

Ask them. I would guess that the figure doesn't include refurbishment. Be aware that surveyors put loads of points in the reports to avoid liability later, this makes it almost impossible to see the wood from the trees imo.

The damp issue sounds non trivial. Good book on the repair & maintenance of houses if your interested on background reading -

In article , Chris Long writes

Chris, I am an estate agent and am baffled daily by surveyors reports and the effects they have on buyers. For example, in your instant, it would be usual and sensible to value the property at it's afterwork value less the cost of the work so, unless your property is enormous and riddled with dry rot, he would seem to be on a different planet to "intimate the cost of some damp proofing and woodwork at £12,000. Unless, of course, he is including something for general refurbishment. The thing to do is to ask him.

In my opinion, all but the best houses need a level of timber and damp work, as well as some general refurbishment, and one would have thought you would have taken the general refurbishment bit into account in your initial offer.

If the report has asked for such reports, you will need to get them done before your mortgage offer has been issued.

The general refurbishment remark is just basically saying the place could do with a lick of paint, and a bit of sprucing. In Theory, decoration adds to the saleability, but not necessarily to the bricks and mortar value.

well, i got the damp report and everything is fine, in fact it was treated for woodworm and damp a few years ago by the same company who did the survey. This company are recomended by the estate agent so hopefully they are reliable and I should get the gurantees from previous work.

So I wonder if the house is now worth 39,000? That must include a general refurbishment because no one would buy it in its current state.

Hopefully with the addition of an upstairs toilet, refitted kitchen, sanded floorboards, landscaped garden and refitted bathroom I can go beyond that figure!!