Old terrace house - what is this on the wall?

[Touty]

Hi, I’ve been viewing an old mid terrace house, seen a few things to be investigated; but can someone identify what this is on the walk in the attached picture? TIA x

Here photos

The black marks on the exterior wall I would hazard a guess at a leaking gutter. Ditto a roof leak or blocked gutter for the ceiling staining and around the windows in the bedroom slots. You need to find the point of entry. Water takes the route of least resistance so work on that basis. An interior wall with that damp issue I would say is a leak from a w/m or pipe. It could be historical but might also be a slow drip.

Rendered externally in a non-breathable material.

Possible guttering issues.

Roof needs investigation.

Ventilation? Any trickle vents in the DG?

What is the main part of the house like, any a damp in there?

FWIW I live in a Victorian house next to a river and we have no damp.

Also concrete patio right up to the wall apparently. Any French drain? Evidence of splash back?

What is the condition of the drain to the guttering?

Is the guttering blocked?

Is the guttering adequate for the rainfall? Looks like it may be overflowing.

These are all suggestions, it’s hard to tell from
photos, but a surveyor should be able to tell you what needs fixing.

i can see a drain here outside. Is this the French drain?

It is not a French drain!
A French drain would be something akin to gravel 150mm around the house at ground level. The idea would be that rain/surface water runs into the gravel, runs downwards ( not across the gravel to the house wall) and then runs away from the house. This keeps the house wall dry, or at least not soaked.

I have to say, even with the few pictures you have posted, I really don’t like the look of this house.

All Victorian houses have some level of damp.

It could be an easy fix, the house we are buying has 3 causes of damp.

1. leaking roof (only noticeable in attic but causing structural issues) this is fairly expensive fix as we need new roof and new purlins.

2. water ingress in stacks (the blocked up chimney), we plan to have them removed which is also pretty expensive (landlord just had the chimney here resealed for the same reasons which might be a cheaper option)

3. air blocks (some utter melt has glued them all shut) it will probably be only a few hundred to replace them and will make a big difference.

both 2 or 3 could cause what your seeing in your photos (plus other things could cause it too) and its the difference between number 2) £6-£8k to remove them as its structural work and number 3) 500-1k for like 6-8 new bricks being fitted. So cause determines cost and can vary wildly.

Do not go for all the membranes, sprays, renders and other stuff damp proof sellers try to convince you you need, they are not designed for Victorian houses and will make stuff worse. The house need to 'breath' through ventilation not be sealed up tight other wise you get condensation damp which rots the timbers.

to hazard a wild guess from your photos I would say either:

Guttering/roof leak (the black marks external look like its been running down the walls) which might be as easy as unblocking the gutters or could be as hard as needing a new roof if its been damaged over years of neglect.

or

Condensation causing black mould could be the issue (which could be as simple/silly as the owners use a humidifier but never opening the windows to air the house).

@OneForTheToad thank you. Can you say why you don’t like the look it?

Well, the concrete garden first. The extension looks to be like an old lean too that’s been turned into a living area. I say that simply because the roof height looks very low. You’d expect about 300mm of visible brickwork above the window height. It could be because of the pitch of the roof, but I doubt it.
I don’t like the pebble dash. The pebble dash covers the flashing on the extension roof.
The damp on the inside, if it’s coming up the wall, is difficult to deal with if the walls are solid. You might be able to just tank that wall in waterproof render which doesn’t fix the issue, but masks it, which might be ok. I’d guess they are not cavity walls, so the house will be a b4stard to heat.
Personally I think that house holds more damp issues.

Is this of any significance?

More pictures

Yes, watch out for ‘damp’ companies.

What period is the house?

What part of it is that corner?

It’s definitely solid brickwork as Nextdoor have had exterior insulation fitted. The concrete should not be touching the walls so will need to be cut/chopped back.
There is a lot to be said for an old house needing to breathe and be ventilated. However this one has been rendered so is not able to breath. It will likely always be damp.
Personally I’d never buy a run of the mill solid wall house. A period property may be worth the effort, but I’d rather live in a dry but soulless 1970’s type property than a dank Victorian terrace.

@Touty I presume your search area is just one small town? Is there nothing more modern?

If it's cement render externally with vinyl type emulsion internally the house can't breathe and so you get mould and damp.

The first picture is efflorescence where salts have come through.

The house won't have a damp proof membrane and damp proof course. The damp proofing will most likely be bitumen tiles

Water tables are high after a very wet winter which will be compounding things

Get the best survey carried out and ask a trusted builder for their quote for the repairs and use this to negotiate

@OneForTheToad thanks, yes I hear you, I think I’ll give it a miss then. I might have to give up looking at these old terraces.

yes I’m looking in a small coastal town in south wales. The only other things in my price range are the newish box row houses which I didn’t really want but I might have to go for; problem is they all seem to be leasehold which ideally I wanted to avoid.

What do you think about leasehold houses are they ok or to be avoided?

I would think it may also be non standard construction and may not be mortgageable

There is leasehold, and then again there is leasehold.
Old leasehold (common in the NW) is £1 a year ground rent and still have 900 years left on the lease.
New leasehold could be thousands a year, 99 years lease etc. Don’t forget the maintenance on the ‘estate’ if privately owned. You need access to the contracts.
That said, undoubtedly some are fine, and if you believe Labour (not sure they are relevant in Wales) they should reform leasehold also.

Pretty sure you’ll be able to find a decent place sooner or later. When you do, don’t dilly dally, as a lot of people also know what they are looking at.

South Wales coastal? That explains all the rendered properties then. At a minimum look for a house with cavity walls.

Sensible decision I think. There are no perfect houses, you just need to choose the one with the potential to add value without incurring long term costs which suits your budget - which is why you should definitely avoid new freeholds - the unknown long term expenses which are not within your control can be crippling. A coastal town can have been subject to flooding the effects of which can be felt years later. As an example the older properties in the Essex coastal town of Harwich subjected to flooding in the 1950’s still have issues from that severe flood.

Simply put, with a leasehold you’ll have two annual expenses with a leasehold -

1. Ground rent payable to the freeholder and is usually fixed for 10 years at a time but can double every renewable period.
2. service charge - payable to a management company and there is no obligation on that company to choose the most cost effective solution for maintenance works. Can be increased without consultation or transferred to a new provider and the amount you pay annually does not guarantee to cover all of the costs incurred. Check that the road is an adopted road and that the upkeep of it is not the responsibility of the leaseholders. To check the terms of a lease before committing to buy you need to find both entries for the property on the land registry (one for the freeholder, one for the leaseholder and each will have a different number) . Each download will cost you £3 but will set out the obligation on the leaseholder.

Good luck!

This is the leasehold I’m looking at. What do you think?

I think it looks tidy enough and there’s not much work to do. You do need to download the titles I referred to in order to establish what GR and SC’s you are in for.

Do you think I could get equity release on this in the future?

I don’t see why not. Close to the M4 though.
Also currently £800 a year standing charges.

Thanks 🙏 if I buy the freehold will I still have to pay the standing charges?

Any gut feeling on how much freehold likely to b? Advert says 125 year lease.