Victorian semi - wall cracks serious?

[philv]

Viewed a victorian semi today.

Some external wall cracks.

Seem to have been re pointed in areas.
But still some gaps between new mortar and bricks.
No idea when crappy repointing was done.

Dining room has a concrete floor
Living room has cellar undernrath.
Serious or typical?
likely to be structural and a problem for mortgage, etc?

thanks

Edited by philv on Sunday 28th February 16:16

[philv]

MikeStroud said:

Personally that wouldn't worry me at all. Yes it has shifted slightly as you can see from the crack and brick above the window. If that's all that has happened since the 1880's (?) since it was built then I wouldn't worry about it. However check searches don't show old mines underneath as it may be a problem about to get a lot worse.

I had a similar red brick house as my first house (albeit 2 up 2 down type) and that had a cellar, they key for those is airflow. Mine had the ventilation front and back bricked up/paved over so was very damp.

Good luck, I'm a big fan of these Victorian built houses. Shame so many were bulldozed using the excuse they were slums, those that remain in places like London are much sort after due to their character features etc now.

Thanks.
I loved the house.
Needed refreshing...but a lovely feel to it.

Is a part concrete floor normal?

[philv]

Macneil said:

Is that a new lintel over the upper window? I would hazard a guess that someone has replaced some brickwork after long term damage from a leak, either gutter or bathroom and just bodged it, look at the crappy brick they've used.

It has been a rental.
No doubt selling up before cat changes.

Seen 4 properties in same area.
2 Were rentals and in worse condition.

I would love to buy.
But don't want to have mortgage oroblems, and waste time because of cracks.

All lender refuse going by this?

[philv]

wolfracesonic said:

Another possibility, quite topical, is that it could be due to bomb damage, not sure where you’re located.

Nottingham west bridgford.
Some houses not to far away were bombed in the 2nd world war.

[philv]

CambsBill said:

I'm no expert but I thought the rule of thumb was that cracks in the mortar are usually indicative of minor settlement whereas cracks running through the bricks themselves is much more worrisome.

Also, that repointing looks like it's been done with cement rather than lime mortar (which was probably used in the original build). Cement can cause spalling of the bricks when it's wet & frosty as it's not sacrificial like lime is. If I was buying I'd look to repoint again with lime - actually easier to work with than cement as it doesn't go off anything like as quickly.

Apparently the bricks have lots of tiny cracks.
Is that what you are referring to?
Yes, it is cement i think.

Edited by philv on Sunday 28th February 19:55

[philv]

So.
A lot of repointing.
Some possible brick replacement.
And no certainty it Is not ongoing.

And at least 2 walls.

How much does it cost to repoint corectly?

A 25% bigger by m2 house on same road is 400.
High standard of finish.
New bathroom kitchen loft conversion etc in last 5 years.
skimmed etc. Luvly.
Absolutely nothing to do.
Basically 4 bed, with 1 large bedroom converted to bathroom,
So now 3 bed.
Too expensive for me.

This one is 350 offers over.
3 bed.
x rental, so a little tired.
Old textured wall paper.
Old double glazng.
Would benefit from new double glazing, bathroom, kitchen, floors, etc.

[philv]

It"s a lovely house, with post office, nice pub and fields near by.
It starts to seem overpriced?

[philv]

Am i right in thinking that the use of cement which is a different color makes it look much worse?

The parts that have mortar missing making cracks, or where cement has been used aren't appreciably thicker than the original mortar joints
So it hasn't moved much?

[philv]

Agreed.
If going by m2 alone it should be 300k, in comparison to the refurbished one.
Though no doubt, it is more complicated than that.

I would be surprised it sells at the asking range.

My problem is that we are against it time wise.

I am worried about having an offer offer accepted and then the bank refusing the mortgage because of the wall issues a month or so down the line.

[philv]

01WE01 said:

philv said:

Agreed.
If going by m2 alone it should be 300k, in comparison to the refurbished one.
Though no doubt, it is more complicated than that.

I would be surprised it sells at the asking range.

My problem is that we are against it time wise.

I am worried about having an offer offer accepted and then the bank refusing the mortgage because of the wall issues a month or so down the line.

From the pictures, I doubt being rejected because of the cracking. It will need further investigations.

It may be down valued though, and given that you already see a lack of value in the property compared to others, I'd say that's quite likely. What LTV are you aiming for?

75%

So if down-valued it could be higher.

A good case for property seller packs.

I seller paying for a survey better than multiple buyers surely.

Thanks for all the replys.

I love the house, but can'y but it as i think it would take too long, etc.