Would you be put off buying a house with a bulge in a wall?

noisla

I am in the process of buying an end-of-terrace house that has a bulging wall at first floor level (not uncommon in end of terraces, I understand). Two structural engineers have concluded that there is no ongoing movement and no works needed, plus the builder who last re-rendered the house (last summer) confirmed that there were no cracks under the old render when he removed this. So this all seems ok to my boyfriend and I.

However, my dad is apalled. He reckons that a potential buyer would see the bulge on a viewing and not even get as far as spending money on surveys and engineers - they would be put off right away, and the house will be really hard to sell in the future. I have to admit that I didn't spot the bulge when we viewed - all old houses have imperfections and it didn't look unusual to me, but what would I know.

Does anyone have any opinions on this? i.e. as the general public, would you be put off buying an otherwise nice house, due to a bulge?

(For completeness, we have several quotes of £5-6k to put in a couple of tie bars and pattress plates, and £12k to rebuild the whole wall, in case this ever needed doing. We were considering having the tie bars put in just to create visually reassurance for potential future purchasers.)

bagpussbear

Personally speaking, yes I would be put off. I would be wondering what's caused it, and whether it would get worse in the future.

Did the structural engineers say what had caused it?

anselld

Tie bars are not visually reassuring! They scream out "dodgy structure" to viewers. In any case they would be pointless if there is no ongoing movement.

With just a bulge, yes some buyers would be put off, others like yourself will not. Personally, I would accept it in a "character" property, but probably not a standard terrace unless the price allowed for most of the rebuild cost.

Jenniefour

I wouldn't be put off if I really wanted it and had the money to rebuild the wall. Which is what I would do - get it rebuilt in the event I might want to sell it in future and it's sorted out. Your Dad is right - some potential buyers would be put off. I wouldn't go for the tie bar option because bulge still there for all to see.

I would want to check that the price I had offered takes into account that some work probably does need doing. You might want to check how long it's been on the market and assuming you are not in London/south east where you're up against other buyers who would be prepared to put aside any possible costs of sorting it out.

Alias_Omega

Surely the bulge is caused by compression in the structure, aided by the inner/outer wall not being tied together.

Compression could be caused by snow on the roof etc, forming into ice then hey presto.

knightstyle

So is there a concave wall inside to match? If not it could be wall tie failure and it will eventually get worse. We bought a house with this some years ago, reduced price and had a builder remove and rebuild the wall, messy but not too expensive and as it was an outside wall we added extra insulation. So I think you will need to budget for some work in the future.

DRP

Do you really need to ask the question?!?!

Yes, lots of people will be put off.

Ivana_Tinkle

It would put me off unless the house was at an absolute rock-bottom bargain price. (So if you're not paying an absolute rock-bottom bargain price you might want to reconsider!)

Mickygg

Yes it would put people off. I would only buy it knowing I would fix it straight away.

noisla

We got an extra £3k off the price (so now £242k, asking price was £250k). It's difficult to compare the property to others on the street, because it's larger (extra bedroom, extra basement, off street parking), prettier, older and more characterful than others immediately around, and you move 50m in different directions and property prices change rapidly in the city (Bristol). Properties seem to get sold within a few days of going on the market, often with an open day instead of viewing appointments, or you need to get a viewing in the first week to stand a chance of getting it. Compared to last August/September, properties seem to be on the market for 10% more now. On this house, they had 2 other offers around the same as mine (I think at £240k) and apparently rejected another higher offer recently. I find the pressure of a seller's market to be quite stressful.

It's not entirely clear what caused the bulge. It appears to be present on pictures of the property in the 1960s and the parapet above the first floor was added a long time ago but after the bulge. It's an early 19th Century house so not a cavity wall tie issue. It's also not the roof, due to its butterfly design and how the rafters are. The area below the bulge was previously a shop and the upstairs window was also added later, so it may have arisen when they did these alternations (few decades ago? must have been 1980s latest based on legal docs we've seen)

Thanks for the advice about the wall ties though, I had wondered if it would look worse to put some in than not.

We really like the property, it's hard to find anything else like it (with access to the rear yard from the street for bikes and stuff), and so this is not purely about maximising future financial gain on the place. But still, don't want it to be impossible to sell in the future, or to lose a load of money.

Thing is, I walk round the city and now notice how most houses are somehow wonky or tied etc. Is this not just to be expected with older properties?

jonewer

Depends on the age of the house. Victorian houses have lots of bits that arent at noughts and nineties while properly old houses can be outright wonky.

If it was a more recent build, then no, I would not touch it with the filthy end of someone else's ten foot long touching stick.

As yours is Victorian, I wouldn't worry too much.