Common property faults to look out for

Buying a property is one of the biggest purchases most people will make in their lifetime, and it can easily turn into a costly mistake. When you buy a car, you will ask if it has had an MOT and probably request a copy of the report. This is to ensure you don’t get left with picking up costly repair bills soon after you collect the keys. Buying a house is a similar process, albeit the cost of repairs of common property faults can sometimes be up to x10 more!

Typically, the average buyer will not have the necessary expertise or equipment to be able to spot many of the common property faults during their initial viewing. Therefore, instructing a building survey can help save the buyer thousands down the line.

According to RICS, buyers who do not get a survey faced on average £5,750 worth of repairs when they moved in. Nearly 20% of these ended up paying more than £12,000 to make their new home habitable.

List of common property faults

To help reduce the risk of costly unexpected repairs, we have highlighted some of the common property faults that you should keep an eye out for:

• Cracks to walls and ceilings
  Cracks can vary in length, width and direction. However, typically larger cracks (those bigger than 15mm in width) are the ones you need to keep an eye out for.
• Sloping floor and door openings
  When a property experiences movement to the foundations, it is common for the floors and door openings to become distorted.
• Damp staining
  Keep an eye out for damp staining, typically found on external walls and around windows, and for swelling to floors. These may indicate water ingress to the external walls and floors
• Dated services
  When viewing a property, check to see how old the light and socket fittings look, are the latter located within the skirting boards?. And how old does the boiler and radiators look. Renewing services can typically cost anywhere between £5,000-£20,000+
• Water leakage or flood damage
  Whether from a flood or a leak, water damage can be expensive to repair. In some cases it can be difficult to detect within a full, thorough property inspection. A simple leak from your bathroom or kitchen can lead to an array of potential future property faults if not detected quickly.
• Condensation of windows
  Condensation between the window glazing is a sign the windows are dated and the seals are breaking down. Typically, for a medium size property, replacing uPVC windows costs around £10,000.
• Amateur DIY
  Most homeowners will fancy doing to a spot of DIY at some point. But how good they are and how adventurous they’ve been can result in some really costly repairs. Asking the estate agent if the owners have carried out any work will help. Keep an eye out for potential signs such as building materials and tools.

Conclusion

The above list is not exhaustive, and it is likely that when you are viewing a property your attention will be on the aesthetics and the layout. To help reduce the risk of you being on the wrong end of costly repairs, you should definitely consider instructing a professional building surveyor to do these checks for you.