Buying a House? - Look beyond the decorations!

No matter what the condition or quality of the decorations and other finishes, most people will usually re-decorate to their own taste anyway.  It is important that your mind is focused on looking beyond this, which will allow you to focus on the condition and layout of the building

Source: Google Images

Throughout my career as a Building Surveyor I have been lucky enough to have undertaken many different types of surveys of all types of buildings both large and small and in varying degrees of condition.  This experience has given me the ability to identify 'possible issues' in a building without undertaking an intrusive inspection. In simple terms if you know where to look and what to look for, you can quickly establish issues that may need much closer attention.

Whilst house hunting recently and viewing properties for the first time you may be surprised to learn that even as a Chartered Building Surveyor I am in the same boat as everyone else. Most properties that my wife and I recently viewed were both occupied and furnished and for a first viewing most sellers would expect a quick tour of the building followed by few questions. I think they would be a little shocked if I walked in with my surveying equipment and then started to systematically take their house to pieces so that I could decide if it was worth returning for a second visit!  Something tells me that even if I wanted a second viewing the seller is unlikely to want me back! Even though my natural instinct is to be more intrusive I have to extend the same courtesy as anyone else.

When undertaking the viewing (notice the term 'viewing' and not 'inspection') there are some key things that I look for which will give me a good idea of the general condition of a building.  Although I would always advise anyone to have an inspection carried out by a qualified surveyor I also thought it would be worth sharing some tips, so that those with limited or indeed no knowledge of buildings may at least be able to identify issues that they could question and bring to the attention of their advisers.  This basic knowledge could also be a deciding factor which may lead to a decision not to pursue a particular property and to focus your attention on others.

Externally, I will always look at the condition of the external walls for signs of cracking, distortion (possibly bulging) and also the condition of the materials generally.  Cracking and/or distortion can occur for many different reasons and the consequences can sometimes be very serious.  It is however worth noting that if cracking or distortion in an external wall is noted that it could be historic and less significant than the damage may suggest.  There is a natural reaction by many people to panic when they see cracking in a building, however in many cases the problem can be rectified reasonably quickly and cheaply.  If you do identify cracking in a building it is always worth obtaining professional advice to establish an accurate prognosis.   Also, look out for signs of 'new' pointing.  Pointing refers to the horizontal and vertical mortar joints that 'bond' the masonry units together.  If you see a slightly lighter (in colour) or a different colour, area of pointing, particularly if this is in a vertical/stepped position, this would suggest that recent cracking may have occurred and the cracking has been infilled.  Again, bring this to the attention of your professional advisor.

External ground levels should also be looked at closely, particularly at the junction of external walls.  A damp proof course is installed in external perimeter walls to prevent moisture rising through masonry by capillary action and into a building.  Current Building Regulations require the damp proof course to be installed 150mm above external ground levels. The importance of the damp proof course is often not appreciated and you will often see raised flower beds installed abutting external walls, new driveways installed at a higher level that previously and render being applied to walls.  All of these have the potential to 'bridge' the damp proof course and provide an easy path for moisture and damp to find its way into a building.

When viewing internally it is important to look beyond the internal decorations and furnishings.  Everyone has different tastes and often the conversation after the viewing can focus on 'that hideous room' or 'those awful carpets'!  This however is missing the point.  No matter what the condition or quality of the decorations and other finishes, most people will usually re-decorate to their own taste anyway.  It is important that your mind is focused on looking beyond this, which will allow you to focus on the condition and layout of the building.  Try to focus on the potential of a house and this will open your mind up to think about what you can do rather than what you do not want to do.  In the whole process of buying a house, decorations and furnishings should be the least of your concerns, given that there are so many other serious problems that could arise.

Source: Google images - Damp present to internal wall

Internally, you should look closely at the internal wall surfaces for signs of dampness.  This will include visible damp patches, peeling or flaking paint or possible peeling wallpaper. Dampness can occur in a building in many ways such as rising damp, penetrating damp and also condensation.  In ground floor rooms pay particularly close attention at low level especially on the inside surface of external walls.  Any damp identified above a metre and a half above ground level, will not be rising damp and may be a result of leaking plumbing or possible damp penetration from poorly maintained gutters and downpipes.  It is not uncommon for condensation mould to be present, especially in kitchens and bathroom.  This is due to the activity and subsequent high concentrations of water vapour in these rooms.  Condensation could suggest poor ventilation, poor thermal insulation to external walls or possibly inadequate heating, or a combination of these.

If you identify dampness or cracking during your visit then bring these to the attention of your professional advisers.  Hopefully the above information will help those who are unfamiliar with buildings to identify some warning signs that would suggest further investigation.  A Surveyor will undertake a detailed and comprehensive survey, if instructed, and this will provide you with an explanation of the condition of a building together with the likely cause and recommended remedial works.  So if you undertake a viewing and you identify some of the issues discussed above you may decide not to pursue a particular house any further or maybe to seek further professional advice.

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and colleagues who you think would be interested

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.

Property/Land Development - Do Your Homework! - The Value of Desktop Studies

In the very early stages of a project, whether acquisition or development, a great deal of freely available information can be obtained to help to decide whether or not it would be worthwhile progressing to the next stage.



Source: http://www.the-self-build-guide.co.uk/

The internet is an invaluable resource for property and construction professionals and there is a great deal of information that is freely available to anyone who knows where to look.  If you are buying or selling property or giving advice to a client in respect of a particular building or indeed any construction project, there is a whole host of free ‘desktop’ information that can be attained without leaving the comfort of your office, or your home.
Over the last month we have had unprecedented rainfall in the UK making the hosepipe bans issued by numerous water authorities a few months ago seem ridiculous.  The result of all this rain however, is rivers bursting their bank and the Environment Agency issuing flood warning and alerts up and down the country.  A visit to the Environment Agency Website, provides access to their flood map, which details information relating to flooding around rivers and the sea, by simply inputting a postcode.  This information is free to access and can provide an indication of whether flooding may be an issue, and if so lead to more extensive investigations. Given the disruption, cost implications and difficulties with insuring properties at risk of flooding, this is a simple way of making an initial assessment at a very early stage.

When inspecting a building or a site it is also fundamentally important to investigate what is going on around the site and in the immediate vicinity, and to not just focus on the building or site itself.   Imagine a scenario where you complete an inspection and you fail to identify that that the neighbouring land, with the unspoilt, idyllic rural views has planning permission for a new housing estate, or your neighbour is about to start construction of a side and rear extension which will abut your boundary.  Nowadays, most local authorities publish planning applications on line, which are freely accessible by anyone.  There is also the opportunity for comments on individual applications during the consultation period. This type of investigation followed up by a phone call to the planning officer if necessary, can uncover important information that could be the determining factor on whether a client may which to proceed or not. Failing to establish this information could result in a potential negligence claim if the client can prove that they have acted on your advice and subsequently suffered a loss!  The local authority will also provide you with advice on historic planning and building regulations applications if requested.

Another useful tool that has become prominent over the last few years is on line mapping. Google Maps, is an exceptionally powerful free on line resource.  Prior to undertaking an inspection of a building I would use Google maps as a navigator (to find find out where I was going), as a locator (you can use satellite view to zoom in and out to see what is in the surrounding areas including neighbouring land and buildings and to look at roof configurations), and also as walk through (using street view allows you to 'take a walk' outside and around the building where you can see neighbouring buildings, roads, and other  interesting details and information.  This simple and free method of on line research can be used for example by house hunters to decide if they want to view a potential home, or indeed not waste there time and focus on others.  This is particularly useful for those looking for houses in areas that may be some distance from their current abode. A note of caution however, is that Google Maps is not 'real time'.  The images that you view may be a number of years old, however, as long as you appreciate this, you can still obtain some really useful information.

The Health Protection Agency (HPA) provide a free on line map which indicates concentration levels of radon throughout the UK. Radon is a colourless, odourless, tasteless, naturally occurring, radioactive noble gas and is considered to be a health hazard if HPA threshold levels of 200 becquerels per cubic metre of air in homes is exceeded. It would therefore make sense to make use of this free online resource to establish if radon is something that may require further consideration.

Professional advisors will undertake thorough investigations when advising clients and will utilise some of the free resources discussed above in addition to other investigations such as location of services, land registration searches, mining history, ecological surveys, and numerous others that will demand a small fee.  In the very early stages of a project, whether acquisition or development, a great deal of freely available information can be obtained to help to decide whether or not it would be worthwhile progressing to the next stage, and at what point it is necessary to appoint professional advisors.  You will require professional advisers to find and interpret all sorts of other information as an acquisition or project progresses, however you do not need to be professionally qualified to access this free information, it is just knowing where to look.

I am sure that readers of this article from outside the UK will be able to find similar freely available information in their country of origin, by undertaking a small amount of Internet based research.

Please feel free to share this article and other articles on this site with friends, family and colleagues who you think would be interested

Information/opinions posted on this site are the personal views of the author and should not be relied upon by any person or any third party without first seeking further professional advice. Also, please scroll down and read the copyright notice at the end of the blog.