My mum has moved into a nursing home, and I am sorting out her house. We plan to rent it out. Of course, in the long term, her home will be sold to pay for her care, but probably only after her death.
Her home is a 1930s three-bed semi of concrete blockwork. She had some cracks, so a surveyor from the insurers came round to look. He identified a problem in the construction of the house. I've paraphrased it as follows:
The bow to the hip end roof line and the internal distortion from vertical of the gable wall is likely to be a result of the lack of adequate restraint. Movement appears to be stable. It is not unusual for gable walls to drift outwards over a long period of time. You may wish to consider engaging the services of an appropriate construction professional to ensure the correct remedial action is taken.
From speaking to him, it is all stable (the cracks were due to thermal movement), but someone wanting to buy the house might find a building society unwilling to lend unless remedial work is taken, such as tying in the side wall.
Do I need a surveyor specifically to look at the roof issues? If so, what sort of surveyor would that be?
Or do I just get a builder round to give me a quote? Will he know what it all means?
Has anyone had this work done? I just wondered what it had cost. (She only has around £10k of savings, and if we pay - assuming we could afford it - we may not get the money back, as it would go to pay for her care when the house is sold.)
Sorry this is so long! I hope someone reads it.