Would this put you off?

[whatwouldbeydo]

OH and I went to view a property today that seemed to tick all of our boxes, after our lengthy searching I was thrilled when we walked through the door. However, once we walked upstairs things changed - in the main bedroom one of the walls felt 'squidgy' for lack of a better word. Basically when you pressed on it it gave way and then bounced back. EA had no clue as to why and just said the current owners had done no work to the property whatsoever. There was also what looked like sign of potential water damage in the opposite corner of the same room. The house itself definitely needs work, but we were hoping not to have to do any kind of big structural work (not immediately anyway) and just stick to redecorating.

The second issue that we only really noticed as we left is that there is very limited parking available. The property is on the road and parking is only available on one side and has quite tight restrictions around it. My issue is that as we have children I don't want to walk half way up the road/around the block to park the car. We have roadside parking now but it's on both sides of the road (plus it's a very quiet residential road) so I know something will always be available near our front door.

The market at the moment is awful and we're relatively desperate to move. Am I nitpicking and should I be more open to compromise or would these things put you off too?

A squidgy wall would be ringing massive alarm bells for me, especially if it's a load bearing wall. Even a stud wall would mean a massive repair job if the whole wall is rotten

Yes a wall should never feel soft and bouncey.

You could always offer subject to survey, pay for survey and tell surveyor to pay particular attention to this wall. Then they’ll highlight what is wrong and then you can either withdraw offer or negotiate reduction or negotiate for seller to repair at their cost.

It’s not always a take it or leave it with houses.

Doesn't sound good. Have you got any builders in the family that could take a look?

Regarding the wall it could be several things, how old is the property?

@PlanDeRaccordement this is true, just not sure we're prepared to throw money at it and then potentially walk away..

@waltzingparrot sadly not!

@StartingAgain6369 it's a terraced house from about the 1900s I believe, current owners have been there for about 5 years and not done any work to it. There's definitely been some dodgy work done to it as the second bedroom has had the fireplace panelled over pretty poorly, but the squidgy wall is one of the side walls so not sure what it could be? Surely it should be brick?

Is it an exterior side wall? Brick can soften due to trapped moisture. Like if some idiot spread concrete over them or repointed outside using concrete....old bricks need to breathe and so need correct mortar.

The parking wouldn't bother me as my kids are all older now, but the wall is concerning.

If you really like the property really the only thing you can do is get a structural survey done.

Could the squidgy wall be a layer of insulation that is put up like wallpaper? It can reduce condensation on thin walls to the exterior.

It would be a hard pass from me.

Maybe sound insulation as it's a side wall? The lack of parking would put me off to be honest.

Lack of parking would be a no from me.

Controversially?
I think sqidgy wall isnt the issue. Its a surmountable challenge at the right price.

The parking is the problem.
If its a fundamental must have you need a house with off road parking / off road parking potential / a waaaaay less busy street.
I say this as someone who grew up on a street where people argued about street parkkng alllll the time had off road parking as a total non negotiable on their wishlist.

Oh... and we didnt even own a car when we bought our house!

The parking would put me off more than the squidgy wall which could probably be fixed (at a price)

The parking is the primary issue here op, it's the issue which you have no control over so for that reason alone I would walk away.
It doesn't sound like you're in love with the place anyway, is it that there's not much on the market where you are that's making you consider this property?

Parking can be a huge issue op. My dparents bought their house in 1964 ish. It was a huge problem when we were growing up. An even bigger issue now. I now live in a 3 bed house with private parking for 4 cars off the bottom of a cul de sac we have different parking issues but at least I can say please don't park in my garden

@PlanDeRaccordement it's one of the walls that divides the property from the one next door - not sure if that would be classed as exterior?

@grownup2 it could potentially be this - but it's hard to know. It felt harder than insulation and only on one section so who knows!

My worry is that it's something structural and we just can't take on that kind of commitment at the moment.

Kids are still babies - 2u2 - so parking near the front of the house quite important.

@LivingLaVidaBabyShower it wasn't a non negotiable until now, but the more I think about it the more it becomes so.

I think the two issues combined means it's not the property for us. Which is annoying, we've been looking for so long I really wanted this to be the one! But that's not how it works sadly..

Thanks all.. It really helps to speak to others.

@TheDivineOddity yes - we've been looking for ages and are pretty desperate to move, but there's nothing on the market so when this came up I had high hopes.. here's hoping the next property isn't too far away!

If the squidgy wall it between two properties it could be sound insulation and potentially noisy neighbours

Yeah, if it is shared internal wall, I agree most probably sound insulation rather than structural.

Only the lack of parking would put me off, and I wouldn't buy it because of it. The rest wouldn't bother me but we buy Reno's generally.

Was it polystyrene insulation under the wall paper? Its a bit tricky to scrap off