How worried would you be about this?

[Hhousee]

It goes dark when it rains heavily but then seems to dry and shrink. It’s got a small circle of black mould in the middle. Has been this big for a while so isn’t getting bigger at the moment. I’m broke and very worried, homeowner. It’s in my bedroom.

Just to add hoping to sell next year, house in good nick generally but wanted to avoid substantial work before moving.

Quite worried, sorry.

Is there a loft above it you can get into and see what’s going on? Maybe go up when it’s raining? I’d want it sorted before autumn, even if it’s just patched up a bit as a minimum.

Very worried, it needs sorting quickly before winter.

Very.

@MellowSubmarine yes there is a loft, this patch has been there a while though and people have been in and out and never said anything. I can’t get up there myself.

What is going on? Does the roof need doing entirely?

I’d be really worried about that.

you could have a blocked gutter or a roof tile that’s missing, both cheap and quick fixes.

This is further pic so smaller area than first pic suggests

No-one is going to buy a house with that going on! I would run a mile.

There is obviously water getting in somewhere. This happened in my bedroom and it was the gutter in the corner of the house. I believe it can happen with loose roofing tiles.
As PP said, can you get into the attic and see if you can find the source of the leak?
There are loads of house renovation/DIY groups on facebook that I find are great for advice on this sort of thing.

For the black mould, use vinegar (not bleach) to kill it but it will keep coming back as long as there is moisture.

If you want to sell you’ll need to find the money to fix it

You really need to get it seen to and sorted, it must be leaking from roof or gap in bricks or something but that constant dampness will be causing further issues and could make whatever the matter is 100x worse

if someone does but your house and gets a survey or sees that when viewing it will massively decrease the desirability of your house, something which may cost a few hundred to fix now could end up costing thousands if not remidied

You need to get this sorted asap. I’d get a roofer in to come and have a look. Can you speak to your mortgage lender and say it’s a housing issue and they might release some equity to cover the costs perhaps?

if you leave it and then you sell it - it’ll show up on a full survey anyway I’d say - it did when we looked at a house we realised needed a full food and loads of other jobs too, we pulled out we lost £7-800 but so pleased we’d paid for a full survey.

this could also become a much bigger problem if you leave it and more expensive to sort.

I would be worried but I wouldn’t be thinking that the entire roof must need fixing. It’s probably a smaller job than that.

But if you’re wanting to sell, you need to fix it. And then you’ll need to paint the ceiling with the special paint that covers water marks.

Thats unlikely, its probably just a small area of tiles thats letting water in tat need to be redone.
Once its done you can get damp seal paint and stain blocker paint to cover the marks.

Have you had your gutters cleaned recently? It could be something as simple as that. Also the gutter people can have a look and tell you if they see anything suspicious.

Op this could be a very easily fixable leak, get a gutter/roofer guy round to have a look it could cost buttons to fix as opposed to thousands if
you let that rot all winter. At least find out what it is, don’t bury your head in the sand and don’t mess with water

Ok the bit I’m confused about with the gutters is that they are lower that where the leak is so does that mean it’s not gutters?

It's probably pretty minor but the water leak causing it needs to be sorted. After that, lick of paint and it will be fine.

I’ve been burying my head in the sand and feel so worried. Single parent with zero adult support (friends but not the same as another invested adult)

Do you have any photos from the outside?

You'll need to get a reputable roofer in for a quote OP. It's probably a loose tile or something not too horrific. After that it might need re-plastering and obviously redecorating. You won't be able to sell it like that.

It could be the gutter but the way the stain looks it is more likely the roof. We had issues with both at a previous house, but both were easily and cheaply fixed. The gutter was blocked and not properly aligned, it was half a day's work to fix it. And same with the roof, it just needed a few tiles replacing.

We have always found our best builders/roofers etc by word of mouth from neighbours or friends so ask around for a recommendation.

For the stains, we treated it with stain stop and repainted.

It shouldnt be too expensive.

See here for guide on price

https://www.checkatrade.com/blog/cost-guides/roof-tile-replacement-cost/

It might just be a tile or two and not cost too much. As pps have said, any local group you’re in ask for a recommendation of a roofer. It will save money in the long run to get it dealt with sooner.

Probably a stupid question @Rumors1 but would someone just go up on the roof and check it all? How long would that take and do roofers charge to check this?