Slant in house

[timmywilko]

Hello!

I am in the process of trying to find a property to purchase in London. Today we say a lovely house that needs some work, but feels doable.

However, the window at the front of the house seemed slightly slanted. I don’t know if this is typical for a property of its age, but wanted to know if anyone had any insight as to whether this is typical or something bigger to be concerned about eg a sign of subsidence.

I'm not a surveyor, but it doesn't look quite right does it?
If you really like it, put in an offer then get a structural survey. That'll tell you.

Yes that needs a structural engineer’s eye and recommendations.

Could be a lack of firm foundation or some kind of water issue causing a degree of movement or subsidence. It might not be too costly to fix in overall terms, but it’s not something to ignore.

It's clearly moved at some point and I think I can see evidence of a crack out of the top left corner of the side window. You or your surveyor need to ascertain whether that's old movement, or current movement.

It's hard to tell from one blurry photo but my guess would be that the thing above is heavy and has caused historical settlement on the footings below.
Check down the street to see what other houses look like re that window.
You can look at the finishes and how the window is installed to get clues, if there are no actual cracks it's probably historical 100 years or more. But if you can see cracks in the current paintwork and inside and out, then it must be recent and could be a leaking drain or pipe causing recent movement. In which case run away.
But either way flag it to your surveyor for attention.

It looks like there is something but it’s really common in a bay window. If it’s historic movement, it’s likely to be ok.