Case Study

Project: Building Survey

Sussex Surveyors were approached by a retained client to investigate her property purchase in the Sussex countryside. The client was very pleased with the property, its external appearance and internal presentation and she didn’t really want a Building Survey but as the property was old and large it didn’t really fall into the category where a Home Buyer Report would have been suitable. The building was in an upper price bracket and the client was keen to ensure that the cost of any repairs did not eat into her budget.

Despite the property being occupied, we carried out a thorough inspection of the building’s fabric and discovered several defects that caused the client to take separate valuation advice to reflect the cost of repairs. Because of our work, she was able to renegotiate the purchase price with some authority after our inspection.

The building was late Victorian and had been in the same family occupation for several years. Outwardly it was in fine condition from a cursory inspection and she was very keen to purchase. Our inspection was over 4 hours and very in-depth. We discovered a number of defects that were brought to the client’s attention in a detailed report and our action saved her money and alerted her to the fact that if these defects were left unattended, then significant further defects might ensue down the line, which would be very expensive to remedy.

The defects found were fairly typical in old buildings of this type and ones we’d seen countless times before. The images with this case study show typical defects which had resulted mainly in some internal dampness and quite possibly timber decay and infestation; structural works which involved some local brick stitching; works to roof coverings and wet rot to external joinery parts. We also found significant defects to some of the services e.g. lead pipework, leaks to radiators valves, rusting within the heating expansion tank all of which could have caused expenditure beyond our client’s expectations.
It was only by this cautious approach by our client and an inspection by Sussex Surveyors that she was alerted to these defects which saved her money and problems in the long term.

by Piers Street FRICS