Freshly painted top floor on house I just viewed. Huge red flag?

[blueskyday12]

Hello fellow mumsnetters. My house hunt as a first time buyer continues, and I just saw a house (3 bed mid terrace) that I am interested in, but two things are making me cautious:

1. The house was purchased in Feb 2020 for 165K, but it is being sold now for 300K. The only work done in that time appears to be carpets have been installed. When I asked the agent about huge price difference in such a short time, they told me that they "believe" that the vendor purchased the property from their parent, hence the discounted price in 2020. I guess that could make sense, but I didn't like how they said they "believe", as this type of language does not really confirm the situation.
2. The top floor was freshly painted (could smell it) and in the corners, the paint job looked textured/not entirely flat and crisp. Naturally, my thought was that they are trying to cover damp/a leak, as the paint job was done right before the viewing (and this is not a "flipped" or recently renovated house). I asked the agent if there was a problem with the roof, and they said they were not aware and it was "priced appropriately as seen".

This is why I think we'd be better off following Scotland where the owner of the house has the survey done. If the house needs a new roof, I'd want to factor that into my offer price.

So now my question....what would you do? Would you run away? Offer on it at a price that assumes there is roof damage? Offer on it assuming there is not roof damage and hope to renegotiate after the survey?

Firstly what is the price in the local area? If this is priced favourably then it's fine to offer subject to survey, if there was a leak it probably has been fixed after all

What the other person bought it for isn't really relevant. It's what it's worth now that counts, is that a reasonable price for that size and location?

I image most people slap a coat of paint around before their house is viewed, to make it look fresh and nice!

You should be able to do a land registry search to check on the story about the previous owners.

The painting/corners is very suspicious - can you go back for another look and peer closely outside at the eaves/soffits? Maybe even get your head into the loft? Or if there's any cupboards or anywhere they might have missed painting have a look. Behind furniture that's against walls is where damp often collects

Otherwise, yes, if you like the place enough, then offer, get a survey and reduce the offer following. If you're not that keen, then I wouldn't waste the time or money.

Make an offer subject to survey based on what you think it’s worth. Renegotiate later if needed.

These are good comments, thanks all. I think I should probably see it again. The prices for houses in the area were mid 200Ks pre Covid. It could use a new kitchen and bathroom (and maybe a new roof?!), so I'm not keen on offering too much over 300K to get it. It is on a street that is about half families, half university students, so historically, the prices in this area of the city were not so high.

Speak to the neighbours? I knocked the door either side when I looked at a terraced property. One side gave me full history of house (and most of the neighbouring properties too!)

Good idea on neighbours!

I had exactly this. My flat had been newly painted to cover multiple leaks in the roof that the owner didn’t disclose. We were dealing with it for bloody ages and all at our own cost. We later discovered that the downstairs neighbours knew all about the leaking roof and hasty paint job - I reckon if we’d asked them during the buying process they would have enlightened us.

It doesn't have to be sinister, we painted the top floor of one house to cover the off-putting busy wallpaper.

If the previous occupant was elderly, the decor could have been really dated?

@DukeofEarlGrey did you get a survey on your flat and the survey didn't pick it up? This is my fear! If I offer, I will deffo get a thorough survey since the house is around 100 years old.

@equuscaballus that's a good call, but I don't think it is the case in this house. There is no wallpaper anywhere - all white walls aside from the top floor which is grey. What's annoying is that the previous listing isn't online (which I would assume is because it was purchased within the family) so I cannot see what it was like before.

Also, here are some pics of the corners. Above this is the roof.

Yes, we had a mid-range survey and it failed to pick it up. In future I would always pay for a top-range survey.

Yeah, that's damp. Run away.

Looks damp to me. Could be something simple such as a couple of lose tiles, or the guttering needs sorting. Or more of an issue with the roof.

My amateurish eye suggests those corners have been damp. Id probably climb on a chair and poke a penknife discreetly into the wallpaper , but that's possibly better left to a surveyor

My flat is also about 100 yrs old. I fell in love with the period features though I still love it now, my next home is going to be the most watertight modern box I can get my hands on. You don’t want a problem roof OP.

It is damp and the plaster below the paint is rotting which is why you can see all the bumps and black coming through already. Not necessarily a huge issue but could mean a new roof and roof timbers/beams. Worrying that they have doubled what they paid for it but not bothered to put this right.

The corners of the room appear "wrinkly", for want of a better word. Is it lining paper? It does look suspiciously like damp.

Damp

If the survey said it needs a new roof, is it common to reduce the offer price by the price of the roof? I don't even know how much it would cost. I've heard it can range from 7k - 20k, which is a big range to me (in Yorkshire - 3 bed terrace).

If it needed a new roof immediately (or at least within a year) I would reduce it by more than the cost of the roof as it's the inconvenience. Plus actually trying to find someone to do the work. The survey's I've had always worded it that the roof was ok but coming to the end of it's viable lifetime (can't remember the actual wording), as we've always bought older properties that's never been a surprise, if the survey came back to say the roof was failing and needed immediate work that's different.

You don't sound taken with this property - are there other options?

It doesn’t sound right and it sounds expensive, so I’d walk away. Did it smell damp?

Yip, damp being covered up.

I’m in Scotland, and before the home buyer surveys came in, you would make an offer subject to survey. In a situation like this, that would be a thorough survey requiring full access to roof space. Offer would then be reduced depending on the defects found and likely costs to rectify. Of course, that kind of survey is expensive and you still might end up not getting the house, so a matter how keen you are on this particular property.

Personally, I’d look elsewhere.

That looks like damp. Run