Photos included are these serious problems in this house?

[Indulgethedivulge]

Hi everyone,

I have no one else to ask and am house hunting.

In the kitchen the pipes are exposed and go along the top of the kitchen. Is this normal?
How much approx would cost be to change and what would need to be done?

The send photo is of the bathroom. Is there a serious problem or is it from lack of care?

Kitchen looks like a new boiler was installed there instead of a previous location which was more hidden? Is there a space where an airing cupboard might have been on is it an old house which didn't have heating originally? In either case it's pretty ugly isn't it, but you could fit ceiling high kitchen units and a boiler cabinet to conceal it.
Bathroom looks either like damp in the ceiling or no ventilation.

Looks like damp in the second photo. We are currently getting wise to all the clever photography tricks - there's some awful places out there

It looks horrible.

pipes are normal - just need boxing in - boiler can be concealed in a cupboard.

bathroom could be damp but more likely due to condensation - was there an extractor fan?

probably cosmetic plus ventilation/extraction needed

Even photoshop doesn't work in these photos!

However, this house is in an area that I love.
I'm just wondering if it is expensive to fix and real problems like hard to remove damp.

I'm not sure I haven't seen it yet.

There is a window in the picture, so some ventilation. Perhaps it's rented.

Does any of that downgrade the value. It looks like there is damp even in the kitchen photo.

Re: the damp - I suspect it’s due to condensation from bath/shower hitting cooler external wall above the window however it’s worth getting any guttering above that room checked and also seeing if there are missing roof tiles.

both fairly easy to fix but you don’t inadvertently want to end up needing a new roof (unlikely unless a super old building?)

Windows aren’t really adequate ventilation for bathrooms especially if not opened.

kitchen could just be grubby/shadows. You need to view it and get a builder to assess any areas of concern

I think they were built in the 80s.

There is ivy growing all over the front of the house into the windows. I'll get a photo. I do t think it's Japanese knotweed !

It won't let me add another photo.

Can I hire a builder to come with me?

You can.

Myself and few friends just found someone who had done a lot of maintenance on their own home who was willing to have a nose. So I got a friend's dad who was an engineer to come with me.

You need really need a surveyor to look for Japanese knotweed as if they don't find it and you have it then there is someone to claim off.

I wouldn’t worry about the pipes. Probably means the boiler was added later or moved. The bathroom could be a pretty major issue though, it could be bad ventilation and not enough heating over winter or it could be a leak in a pipe/ shower which is much more serious. Do they have an extractor? What is the radiator like in the house? Has the house been empty? If it’s got no extractor, small radiator and is not used very often then it’s more likely to be something which won’t come back once you’re living there. I would definitely get a good survey though and budget to replace the bathroom- even if you can solve the damp chances are you may need to replace the tiling etc.

Fortunately it looks like OP has more imagination than you

Is there surface piping to all the radiators in the house? That for me would be a deal breaker and messy and costly to chip out the walls etc.

Do you have a link?

Boiler looks like a new install. You can box the pipes in and paint to match the wall. Cheap and easy to do. Or you can paint the pipes the same colour as the wall.

The bathroom looks damp but tbh if there's Ivy growing everywhere it could be from that or lack of ventilation.

None of those things would put me off buying a house. Stupid idea to have wallpaper in a bathroom anyway. It gets hot and steamy in there... of course it's going to come off!!!

The bathroom looks like it in a house share I use to live in.

Basically the radiator was screwed and didn't work, so even though we opened the window the condensation from having showers in winter caused that damage over a number of years.

The landlord did the place up before I left. He put in a radiator that worked and an extractor fan.

You won't be able to ask for money off for anything which is obvious when you look around as that will have been accounted for in the pricing already.

The mould is likely to be because people haven't ventilated the bathroom properly but check the outside of the building to see if there are any water stains on the outside of the building near the outside of the bathroom. And see what the roof tiles look like.

Thank you for all your replies. As I have not been there, I am not sure whether there's and extraction etc because they are not in the photos. It's just in my budget and I would want to let cosmetic type problems put me off.

However my friend lived in one of these houses and she was always saying that the house was damp, as there are a lot of trees around. Not sure if that is a thing.

The bathroom looks like condensation to me as paper is peeling off but looks like it might have been painted with some sort of satin paint which isn't breathable and the mould is on the top of it. Try and have a look underneath some of that paper that is peeling and see how black it is behind, that will give a clearer picture of whether it's coming through the wall or just lack of ventilation. If you get a survey they will put a damp meter on the wall as well, or you could buy one yourself.

Very helpful tips thank you

I would go and and view it if you are keen and see where you go from there. Definitely take a builder if you can as (although) I’ve only seen two photos it looks like the house needs gutting.
pipes can be boxed up, no issues there.
The damp in the bathroom - is it anywhere in the house? Is there render on the exterior of the property that is old and deteriorated or damp brick? That could be the problem too.

To add, if you go to offer stage. I would offer lower than the asking price to factor in the cost of the work involved.

That bathroom looks to me like unsuitable materials (who the heck papers a bathroom!) and poor ventilation. A PP is right - look behind the paper at the plaster, and give it a wipe. Touch it, too.

When you go and view, get a good look all around the outside. Look for missing roof slates, overflowing or leaking guttering, cracks in the render etc.