Buying and Selling

Victorian and Edwardian Houses

Always have an Independent Building Survey

You wouldn’t buy a car without test driving it, or send your child to a school without looking at the prospectus, meeting the teachers, etc, so we often wonder why people buy a house without having an independent structural survey?  Buying is house is probably one of the most, if not the most, expensive things you will ever buy so spending money and having an independent building survey makes perfect sense.

As Independent Building Surveyors we can provide you with help and advice with regards to potential property problems, offer you solutions to those problems and give you an anticipated cost of works to solve the problems.

Freephone us on 0800 298 5424 to speak to one of our building surveyors.

Free phone 0800 298 5424

Buying and selling a Victorian or Edwardian house – what could go wrong?

Having an independent building survey should take away some of the stress, by finding any potential problems with the property and offering you solutions and anticipated costs of works, before you commit to purchase.

How can we help you when you are buying a Victorian house?

Why should you have an Independent Survey as opposed to a valuation survey?

These are two very different surveys, in fact we would say that a valuation is not a survey!  We have used the term Independent Survey above specifically because this means that the surveyor is not owned by a Bank, Building Society or Mortgage Company which the vast majority, by this we mean about 90% of surveyors are surveying companies.

Buying a Victorian or Edwardian house
What you need to look out for and where it can it all go wrong?

High Level Problems to chimneys and roofs on Victorian and Edwardian Properties

Victorian and Edwardian properties that have had some up-dates/modernisations do not necessarily mean the property has been improved and we often find the problem with the property is due to these up-dates/modifications. 

Typical considerations would be high level problems such as chimneys and roofs, although original slate roofs last a long time the nails tend to rust away (this is known as nail sickness). 

Internally the services could be dated i.e. electric wiring and central heating.

Nail Sickness Defined

The weakening of the fixing nails to slates or tiles due to the nails which fix them to the battens rusting.  This is normally attributed to problems with slate roofs.

Victorian and Edwardian Properties that have had some updates

Victorian or Edwardian properties that have been updated and perhaps have had the original roof replaced with concrete tiles can add problems as these tiles are heavier than the original slate tiles and can cause roof spread unless extra supporting timbers are added in the roof space.

Often the original sliding sash windows have been replaced with double glazing and the original older style double glazing was relatively poor quality and poor strength and this can cause problems with bay windows and other such areas.

Circles and ovals in our survey reports

Our building surveyors regularly use circles and ovals on photos and survey sketches to emphasise a particular point and to make it easier for our clients to understand.

Properties that have been extended and altered

It is becoming more and more common to see properties that have been extended to the rear and also had a loft conversion.  When you have had both or one of these problems can occur with awkward roof layouts, awkward gutters and downpipes that don’t take the rainwater away and large poorly designed and built flat roofs.   We have come across other alterations such as chimney removal and wall removal and conversion of old coal stores into rooms.
	Extension of Victorian roof
Gallows Brackets	Gallows Brackets
Problems on the outside that cause problems on the inside such as new driveways Gardens have also been removed to make way for parking areas which then partially block air vent which then become gutters pouring water into the suspended timber floor.	Air brick acting as a gutter

Other surveying articles that may be of interest to you

Please see our surveying articles on:-

Why you have never seen any building surveys or structural surveys like ours

Why have a residential survey?

Structural Survey, what does a Surveyor do?

Should I have a structural survey?

Compare our Building Surveys but don't compare Apples with Thursdays

If you are looking to have a building survey (often referred to as a structural survey) we have a wealth of knowledge and experience as independent surveyors.  We are happy to send or email you a copy of one of our building surveys, although we fully appreciate all properties are unique therefore making all our surveys unique and tailored to your individual needs.

We have every confidence in our surveys and believe there are no other comparable surveys out there in the UK property and surveying market.

Victorian / Edwardian property problems with roofs and associated areas only

You may have noticed that the above concentrated on roofs and associated areas.  There are a similar number of problems for each area; we just wish to give you a flavour of what to look out for.

There is no need to remember all of this

There is no need to remember all of this, you can get a copy of our free Victorian Checklist if you Freephone us on 0800 298 5424 we would be more than happy to send / email you a copy.

Alternatively there are literally thousands of articles on the 1stAssociated website www.1stAssociated.co.uk

Google search 1st Associated – If you type in the word 1st Associated and then the word Victorian it will bring up Victorian and Edwardian properties and their common problems.

Remember house selling and buying is big business

We tend to be a nation obsessed with houses.  The housing market is certainly big business.  Mortgage building societies compete for your business as it is such a good reliable business with everyone paying their mortgage if at all possible.  Houses are also our pension fund.  Buying a house and moving up the property ladder has always been seen as a very secure thing to do – hence the favourite saying of ‘best to put your money into bricks and mortar’.  Also living on an island that has limited space it of course makes sense to invest in property.

So how can you protect your biggest investment? By buying buy right!

Many people would say a house is not only a home but also an investment. The fundamental thing with regard to property investment is to buy right.  By this we mean buying at the right price and buying the right property in the right location for you.  It is also important to sell right as well.  You need to present the property the best you can to the market you are selling to. 

Get your own independent advice

We would always recommend an independent chartered surveyor and all of our Building Surveyors are members of the Independent Surveyors and Valuers Association as well as being members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors and will therefore give you independent, unbiased property information and advice.

Please Freephone 1stAssociated on 0800 298 5424 for a Surveyor to give you a call back with regards to structural surveys, building surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, defects report, including things such as cracks, dampness, condensation, foundation problems, etc, dilapidations, homebuyers reports or any other property matters.

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