Homebuyers survey queries, damp and movement

[Deleted User]

Hi there, 
we have recently sold our house stc and the buyers had a surveyor over to do a homebuyers report/survey. I was a little concerned as our house is almost 100 years old. I am not the most DIY inclined gent but I think the house is in good nick. However I used a moisture detector and it detected between 1-8% moisture in some of our walls. Is this an amount to be concerned about? I also have a thin crack above my porch door and was wondering if this signified movement? The walls defo need repointing but I can't see evidence of any cracks. I have attached pics. Does this look like simple repointing or does it signify movement? Thanks in advance for your help all 

Slithery

kal-el said:
However I used a moisture detector and it detected between 1-8% moisture in some of our walls. Is this an amount to be concerned about?

Moisture detectors are only useful for telling you how damp a piece of wood is, they weren't designed for any other purpose. I once used one on a wall and got a 100% damp reading which was nothing to do with water, it was the foil backed insulated wallpaper....

staffie1

The crack on the inside would appear to mirror the crack on the outside.

[Deleted User]

staffie1 said:

The crack on the inside would appear to mirror the crack on the outside.

Thank you for your reply. Does this seem like a serious structural issue? The kind of thing that's expensive to fix or could affect a sale?

staffie1

I’m not a structural engineer, I’m only commenting on what I can see, which looks like movement. The house is old, so perhaps not surprising. Are there any big trees nearby? Your buyer’s survey should have picked it up. When was the survey done? 

[Deleted User]

It was done yesterday, I think we are panicking a little bit as there's a house that we really want but it all hinges on the sale of our property. I know sometimes these homebuyer reports can come across quite scary and that problems that are par for the course with older houses can be somewhat exaggerated. We just don't want our buyers to be scared off. We have been quite transparent with what we have and haven't done to the house. Just hoping it will be relatively cheap to fix if it comes to it 

[Deleted User]

staffie1 said:

I’m not a structural engineer, I’m only commenting on what I can see, which looks like movement. The house is old, so perhaps not surprising. Are there any big trees nearby? Your buyer’s survey should have picked it up. When was the survey done? 

Nearest tree is in the back garden but it quite far from the house 

pramsay13

So this is the house you are selling?
If the buyers have conducted a survey they will decide for themselves if they want to proceed or need more information.
These things wouldn't put me off, but my current house is almost 200 years old.

staffie1

I know what you mean - these things can add to the worry of the whole process, but no point in worrying about it. The buyers should have had the report back by this time next week - so hopefully all is well.

[Deleted User]

staffie1 said:

I know what you mean - these things can add to the worry of the whole process, but no point in worrying about it. The buyers should have had the report back by this time next week - so hopefully all is well.

Appreciate the help. Thank you 

[Deleted User]

pramsay13 said:

So this is the house you are selling?
If the buyers have conducted a survey they will decide for themselves if they want to proceed or need more information.
These things wouldn't put me off, but my current house is almost 200 years old.

Thanks, that makes me feel a bit better