Experienced Reno Eyes on this please

[LawdAMercy]

Viewed a do-er upper yesterday in an expensive area I’d love to live in. Needs new kitchen, bathroom and carpet which I’m ok with. However there are some damp (felt dry so could be old)? Patches above bedroom window in 2 rooms, assume issue with soffits leaking perhaps?

Am tempted to offer and make the house a project as would love to live in the area and has 3 good size bedroooms. Ultimately though would need to to extend with garden room/loft and wouldn’t have the money to do all in one go.

please have a look and see if you can diagnose the issue and potential fix?

Where’s the gutter is it behind the concrete soffit / fascia ?

Good question, it was to the left as far as I can remember on the neighbouring house (terrace). Definitely wasn’t under the stained brickwork you can see in the picture.

Broken/missing gutter is letting water in would be my first guess. An easy enough fix.

It looks as though the soffits are newer than the next ones across - have you asked if there has been recent work on the roof/guttering? They should be keen to show you if there has. Although I suspect if they had they'd have made good the inside. It does look like the patch outside is connected. If it's an old stain though from previous damage they should be able to show paperwork for the fix. If it isn't connected to gutters or soffits it could be the window frame leaking and the cold hitting the heat inside in winter causes condensation on that wall? We have a thicker exterior wall that this sometimes happens to, if moisture levels inside go up.

It could be old damp if they’ve changed the fascias which could have been allowing the guttering to run back onto rotten fascias and up to the brick work. Are there lintels about the windows? I’d check as if not, there could be bowing on the top of the window which has allowed moisture in.

Can you get up into the loft to have a look from above? I’d also be asking when the fascias were replaced and if they’ve had a damp issue. See what they say.

Not the down pipe OP re your 14:34 response
I mean the gutters , I assume they are behind the concrete overhang. ( Usually they sit in front) I see the neighbour has painted their concrete

These concrete fascia / soffits crack over time and let water in so it may need maintenance
Equally if the gutters are behind they could be cracked or backed up with leaves and dirt off the roof
These issues will cause problems with rainwater not draining away and causing damp internally

There are some houses that have a sort of concrete gutter built into the top of the walls. We don't have them in my area but they are noted for getting leaky joints as they age, and repairs are usually unsuccessful.

I mention that because I can't see a visible gutter. Maybe it is concealed, or actually missing.

Have a look at other nearby properties to try to work out how it's done. Even if the gutter is concealed, you should be able to see downpipes. Look at gable ends where you might see if something is concealed at the front.

If the neighbour has new guttering, and it ends without being connected to your property, water may gush out of the end, which is very damaging.

In most cases, new guttering is a straightforward building job. The tiled roof should last about 50 years.