what problems caused by water damage?

cluelessoncanvey

Going to go back for a second viewing of a flat, its been on the market since august, seems was taken off a couple of times, fell through and back on again (we've asked the EA for details of whether they got as far as valuations/surveys and what did they find, are the EAs the best people for this or is there another route for such info?) ALso was put on auction May 19th and didn't sell, is that worrying or does that sometimes happen. But from the auction start price gives me an idea how much he may be willing to take for the place (depending on what his reserve was).

On viewing it looked fine, the only problem we could see was the walls weren't smooth and the ceiling as well and my sister thinks there's been a leak from upstairs that's caused this. No sign of mould but has been decorated, so they could have wallpapered over it? There was a lightbulb missing in the living room, where this incident appears to have happened and the kitchen next door the light didn't work. So was planning to do a second view bringing a lightbulb to check they actually work or if the wiring's been waterdamaged, will also check the plugs as well. Anything else I should be aware of? Could get myself a cheap deal, but wary of spending money only to have the homebuyers/valuation report tell me not to buy it and have wasted money.

andthethreebears

If it looks like it might need work Id take a building contractor around to get quotes. If you find someone decent they should happily look round and quote for far less than a survey will cost you. We've done this - a contractor charged £50 to go round a write up a quote based on electrics/renovations/replastering/redecorating etc

The other issue - in my experience EAs lie. They don't have to tell you why buyers pulled out and will often be vague. unless you actually speak to the potential buyers themselves I doubt you'll ever know for certain

cluelessoncanvey

thanks for the good advice, wondering at the mo whether to pass, as another question is why did it happen? ie could it happen again. ANd a bit of research shows that if you live in a ground floor flat and those above you flood you, legally it's not their responsibility unless they were negligent. Another reason for a 1st floor instead of ground floor flat!

eddddy

If the floors are timber, and the leak was present for a long time, the timber joists might have started to rot (either wet rot or dry rot).

The correct course of action would have been to find the source of the leak and fix it, then repair, dry out and treat the timber joists. Then redecorate.

But the worst case would be that the leak wasn't repaired properly, so the timber joists are still wet and rotting underneath the new decoration.