"High" damp meter reading in house. WWYD?

[TryingToBuyAHouse]

A Victorian property has come back with high damp meter reading in survey in downstairs, no rising damp though but condensation was mentioned. Went round to view property and couldn't see damp patches, felt walls and it felt cold but not wet IYKWIM. Apparently there is leaking guttering on back wall of house which is possibly where it is coming from. The house didn't smell strongly of damp, it just had an older house, that had been shut up for a while, sort of smell as it is currently empty.

(I viewed a very damp house a couple of days previously and it smelt strongly of damp the minute I walked into house)

So WWYD? Would you still buy a property which had a 'high' damp meter reading come back on survey?

Yes, it will be very easy to fix the guttering and just generally living in the house will improve its "dampness". Victorian houses have solid walls so if they aren't heated and ventilated they will feel cold to the touch and become a bit humid, really, don't worry about it. (I'm amazed your surveyor thinks that a full damp survey isn't necessary though - that's usually a given with any property, even a flat several storeys up.)

I agree with lalalonglegs. If there's an obvious cause like a gutter problem and a lack of recent ventilation I wouldn't be concerned - rising damp would be another matter. The one thing I would do in your shoes is get someone to come and do a quick check of the pointing - I bought an 1830s house which needed a complete re-point due to penetrating damp as the pointing was shot. It isn't necessarily that expensive to fix but it's a messy job to get done.

I had a room that hadn't been used or heated for a couple of years.When time came to renovate it I got in a contractor and it should a very high damp reading.I then got someone else in for a second opinion and we had a high reading again.He then suggested we do a 'drill test' which basically was him drilling into the brick with a drill.The brick dust came out bone dry.Basically the room not being heated or ventilated plus condensation had given the high reading.
We did not need to carry out any works and 2 years on have had no damp problems.

MyCat repointing was mentioned and the gutter.
Just that makes me feel so much better. Builder has mentioned maybe owners didn't ventilate properly , there's no fan in kitchen, no hood extractor thing over cooker etc