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

I honestly don’t know what a survey would uncover. It will say ‘possible asbestos in aretx, get it checked’, ‘boiler is old, get it checked’, ‘electrics are not up to latest standards, get them checked’ etc etc. Other opinions exist. It’s a small proportion of the purchase though.

I live in a 1900 mid terrace and have a little patch like this in the vestibule. It honestly causes no issues at all. It’s on my list of things to sort one day but I’ve been here six years and has never made it to the top.

The black around the windows will be condensation. We get it sometimes in the bathroom in winter but can be solved by opening the window when we shower and mould and mildew remover when it appears. The kids’ ridiculously long showers don’t help. It will not be half as much of an issue when they leave home, and it never happens in summer.

She’s not buying that house…

I would get the best survey you can afford. No one on the internet can spot things a local surveyor would. If is also an insurance policy should a major defect be present that you cannot spot as a lay person and verifies to some extent the vendors answers on the questionnaires exchanged. I’m pretty good, but I’ve never bought a house without a qualified surveyor’s report because for me, it is a false economy. Not everyone has the same view though.

Once you’ve purchased the home how much wiggle room will you have for maintenance issues? If you have a healthy buffer the inevitable surprises will be manageable. Broken window seal or gutters that are loose and leaking are not unusual and often spotted after the purchase.

It's damp that's blown the plaster. I had this in my favourite house because bizarrely the previous owners hadn't installed a new damp proof course the whole way around the room. They left a bit about a meter long.

I had Dampco come out for a quote before I exchanged and it wasn't too expensive.