Buying a property that needs renovation... what should I look out for

Albermarle

missimaxo said:

Thank you for all the helpful comments... gonna make notes and take them with me when I view. The house is empty so fortunately no furniture to hide anything and also no render but I'll defo look at brickwork and flashing/chimneys as suggested as I hadn't considered this. Will also see of I can get in the loft, taking my very tall son who may be able to boost me up if there's no ladder. Everyone has been very helpful and defo given me food for thought. I like the layout as it's a 3 bedroom semi with 3 double bedrooms rather than two and a box and I have two teenage children so the layout suits me better than a new build but I defo plan on upgrading whatever insulation I can. My current house suffered with this but never had the money to throw at it.

I have a what was a 3 bedroom Twenties semi ( now four with a loft conversion). Like you say 3 double ( but not massive) bedrooms and quite a big bathroom upstairs.
Single skin walls throughout, but with the loft conversion, rear and side extensions and double glazing, only one bedroom with two outside facing walls can get a bit cold.
It is very solidly built and have had no structural type issues.
Before the loft conversion the inside of the roof tiles was unlined, and apparently this is quite common and nothing to worry about.

daivid

Brie said:

potentially any gas pipes may need to be replaced.  We used to live in a 1930s build and when we had the boiler replaced there was an issue with the gas supply as the old pipes were too small by current standards.  Net result was a new pipe was laid outside the house going from the gas meter around to the back of the house where the bathroom was, with the boiler in the cupboard.  The alternative would have been to tear up the floor in the kitchen and bathroom to follow the original pipework.  

Jogged my mind on water pipes - if they haven’t been updated the water may still be coming through lead pipes. Personally I would want to replace any lead piping if it was my house - that said in a hard water area my understanding is lead pipes pose no risk to health.

RHemmings

daivid said:

You could try asking the neighbours about what has/hasn't been done, mine knew all the ins and outs of when heating, windows, bathrooms etc had been updated. They may also be candid on any issues the houses suffer (if theirs are similar).

I talked to the neighbours of the house I'm buying. As well as pointing out quite a lot of things about the house, they also told me what the sellers were looking to get for it. Which was less than what the EA told me. And, the neighbours were right. 

lincroft1710

Albermarle said:

missimaxo said:

Thank you for all the helpful comments... gonna make notes and take them with me when I view. The house is empty so fortunately no furniture to hide anything and also no render but I'll defo look at brickwork and flashing/chimneys as suggested as I hadn't considered this. Will also see of I can get in the loft, taking my very tall son who may be able to boost me up if there's no ladder. Everyone has been very helpful and defo given me food for thought. I like the layout as it's a 3 bedroom semi with 3 double bedrooms rather than two and a box and I have two teenage children so the layout suits me better than a new build but I defo plan on upgrading whatever insulation I can. My current house suffered with this but never had the money to throw at it.

I have a what was a 3 bedroom Twenties semi ( now four with a loft conversion). Like you say 3 double ( but not massive) bedrooms and quite a big bathroom upstairs.
Single skin walls throughout, but with the loft conversion, rear and side extensions and double glazing, only one bedroom with two outside facing walls can get a bit cold.
It is very solidly built and have had no structural type issues.
Before the loft conversion the inside of the roof tiles was unlined, and apparently this is quite common and nothing to worry about.

Are you sure about "single skin walls"? That is outhouse or garden wall construction. More likely solid brick construction (no cavity between the 2 courses of brickwork)

FreeBear

lincroft1710 said:

Albermarle said:

missimaxo said:

Thank you for all the helpful comments... gonna make notes and take them with me when I view. The house is empty so fortunately no furniture to hide anything and also no render but I'll defo look at brickwork and flashing/chimneys as suggested as I hadn't considered this. Will also see of I can get in the loft, taking my very tall son who may be able to boost me up if there's no ladder. Everyone has been very helpful and defo given me food for thought. I like the layout as it's a 3 bedroom semi with 3 double bedrooms rather than two and a box and I have two teenage children so the layout suits me better than a new build but I defo plan on upgrading whatever insulation I can. My current house suffered with this but never had the money to throw at it.

I have a what was a 3 bedroom Twenties semi ( now four with a loft conversion). Like you say 3 double ( but not massive) bedrooms and quite a big bathroom upstairs.
Single skin walls throughout, but with the loft conversion, rear and side extensions and double glazing, only one bedroom with two outside facing walls can get a bit cold.
It is very solidly built and have had no structural type issues.
Before the loft conversion the inside of the roof tiles was unlined, and apparently this is quite common and nothing to worry about.

Are you sure about "single skin walls"? That is outhouse or garden wall construction. More likely solid brick construction (no cavity between the 2 courses of brickwork)

Many people will describe a 9" solid brick wall as "single skin". If it were truly a single skin at 4" thick, the place would be ruddy freezing in the winter.

Albermarle

FreeBear said:

lincroft1710 said:

Albermarle said:

missimaxo said:

Thank you for all the helpful comments... gonna make notes and take them with me when I view. The house is empty so fortunately no furniture to hide anything and also no render but I'll defo look at brickwork and flashing/chimneys as suggested as I hadn't considered this. Will also see of I can get in the loft, taking my very tall son who may be able to boost me up if there's no ladder. Everyone has been very helpful and defo given me food for thought. I like the layout as it's a 3 bedroom semi with 3 double bedrooms rather than two and a box and I have two teenage children so the layout suits me better than a new build but I defo plan on upgrading whatever insulation I can. My current house suffered with this but never had the money to throw at it.

I have a what was a 3 bedroom Twenties semi ( now four with a loft conversion). Like you say 3 double ( but not massive) bedrooms and quite a big bathroom upstairs.
Single skin walls throughout, but with the loft conversion, rear and side extensions and double glazing, only one bedroom with two outside facing walls can get a bit cold.
It is very solidly built and have had no structural type issues.
Before the loft conversion the inside of the roof tiles was unlined, and apparently this is quite common and nothing to worry about.

Are you sure about "single skin walls"? That is outhouse or garden wall construction. More likely solid brick construction (no cavity between the 2 courses of brickwork)

Many people will describe a 9" solid brick wall as "single skin". If it were truly a single skin at 4" thick, the place would be ruddy freezing in the winter.

You are right, they are solid 9 inch walls.