What things to really be concerned about in a survey

[DavetheCat2001]

Any advice on when you should run for the hills when a survey comes back?

We are heading towards survey stage on a 4 bed Edwardian house that clearly needs lots of work/ knocking about/ extending and tarting up etc

OH is good at most things and planning to do a lot of the work ourselves, obviously bringing in trades for anything structural/ wiring/ gas related etc and of course when we get to rear extension/ new kitchen stage.

I know a structural survey will throw up all the usual stuff you get with a house of that age, but when should you walk away?

Subsidence
Sagging floors
Major roof damage etc

What else?

We're not fazed by hard work, have done it before but when would you just walk away? We have limited money and this will be an ongoing project over the next few years to create a forever home.

Have 2 DC so know its going to be extra challenging, but think it will be worth it.

I think subsidence is a big one. Sagging floors more depends on why they are sagging - might be fixable. Again depends on what needs doing to the roof? You might be better off getting a roofer to check out the roof. We had an edwardian house and survey suggested it would soon need replacing but other than one area where it developed a leak the original roof is still in place today - survey was over 20 years ago! You sound as if you are quite knowledgeable already so i would have thought you would be able to see signs of anything really serious. Good luck!

All that you have said plus damp (unless it has an obvious cause such as a leaking gutter which can be fixed easily). A major expense to identify and rectify and often impossible to. Also a Japanese Knotweed but that’s quite rare and some people now think it’s not the big problem it was, however it’s still a big no-no to mortgage lenders. Lots of asbestos could be expensive to remove.

Structural issues mostly - though if you are moving in straight away a safe electricity supply and ideally central heating is a huge advantage (you can easily replace individual radiators though).

The roof being sound is important too, and personally I would ensure it has a half decent boiler - these would be reasons for reducing the price for me

We have gutted and renovated an Edwardian property, just as you describes, and now live in another, which did not need work( ha,ha).
Subsidence is a biggie, but our first house had some that was historic, probably when the house was new, the surveyor wasn’t bothered. It had a big cellar and was built on a cress farm.
The roof of that one and current one are the originals, no major problems, just old.
The first house had dry rot in the bay windows at the front. We were aware of this, but was a major issue, treatment and new bespoke windows had to be made.
We also had two young children at the time, also limited finances, but we survived the adventure that took 5 years. We did most of it ourselves and bought in trades when required.
3 years ago we fell in love with another small Edwardian cottage and have downsized to it. This age of house will always need something, but that’s the price to live in an older house with features.
A useful book is the Haynes, Victorian and Edwardian House Manual by Ian Alistair Rock.

Thanks all for the replies.

I'm under no illusion of how much work this is going to be (if all proceeds smoothly!), but in order to get the space we want where we want to live (SE London), it's the only way.

I'm also looking forward to doing it up the way we want it, rather than paying over the odds for someone else's tastes, but obviously the itty gritty bits need sorting first.

The house was split into 2 flats for a time, but only the back half of the downstairs was let out, so the boiler looks ok, although it isn't going to be powerful enough to heat the whole house, and the wiring looks fairly modern, as you would hope with renters living there, but again will be having that all checked out.

We have a heating engineer going in on Friday to give us an idea of what will need to be done asap, so are trying to be as organised as we can pre-survey.

I know the house was under-pinned in 1998, as where we are most houses were build on clay foundations and most have slipped and sliced at one time or another. If the house hasn't moves significantly since then, that will be ok, but again we will take a call after the survey.

It looks fairly solid and I haven't spotted any worrying cracking/smelt damp etc, but I'm no expert.

It's interesting to hear other people's take on this sort of thing though as it has been nearly 14 years since I last bought/sold a property!

I'm very impatient and just want to get stuck in now!

It's not necessarily the amount of work that would put me off, but some things are uninsurable or unmortgageable, and would make it hard to sell on

• damp is ok. It can be fixed. Same for roof issues.

Not so much

• flooding
• subsidence
• Japanese knotweed (you might be able to get rid)
• some unusual materials

If it has been underpinned then contact a couple of insurers to check they'll provide buildings insurance.

Hey @DavetheCat2001 we got our survey back a few days ago and it’s shown asbestos in the garage roof and under stairs. We’ve got a specialist coming to have a look at it next week. If it’s as straight forward as surveyor says it is then I’m not concerned. Having renovated a Victorian house before I’m not worried about the work, my main issue is if a) if the problem isn’t treatable b) the expense.

Hopefully your surveyor will point out the main issues like mine did so there are no nasty surprises once your move in the house as you’ll be well aware what work needs doing (and can budget for it)