Choosing a House

This Handbook is not the right place to give a lot of space to advice about houses. What follows consists of a few general remarks on how to look at them and how to judge what repair work is needed.

Many people when buying a house will employ a professional to survey it. This is quite expensive and not always satisfactory because the surveyor will tend to err on the side of caution. For example, many old properties suffer from subsidence, and noting this the surveyor will recommend expensive remedial action such as underpinning. The house may have been gently subsiding for a hundred years or more but the surveyor will argue that there is a chance that it could cause serious trouble during the next year or so, and that he would not be serving your interest if he did not call attention to it and propose remedial action.

Similarly, in pricing repairs he will assume you are having the job done to the highest professional standards by one of the large local building firms and cost it accordingly. So professional surveys often give a very unreal and pessimistic picture of the state of an old property and of the cost of making it 'fit' for habitation.

Some surveyors will give an 'unguaranteed survey' which is cheaper and will not suffer from the above disadvantages to the same extent.

									If you need a mortgage the building society will insist upon a survey and will arrange for an approved surveyor to do it. Although such surveys are generally cheaper than ones you arrange your-self, you will have to foot the bill and you will not be entitled to see the surveyor's report. The building society may pass on the essential gist of it, but they are under no obligation to do so.

If you have a survey done it is worthwhile to try to arrange to be present when the surveyor comes, to go round with him - in this way you will learn a lot more than you will get from the formal report.

If you decide not to have a survey done there are other ways to find out about the state of the structure and the vital services (e.g. electrical wiring, plumbing, etc.) and to get some idea of how much it will cost to make the house satisfactory to live in.

First of all, go and have a look at it - a thorough look. Ignorance is no barrier to being able to detect damp or serious leaks in the roof. When you go surveying take a set of old clothes, a torch, a sharp spike and, if possible, a step-ladder. From outside look critically at the roof - does it sag? Are there many loose slates or tiles? Look at the gutters, examine the timber of the door and window frames. If the wood looks doubtful stick the spike gently into it to test whether it is soft. Inside, rising damp is shown by discoloured walls and rotted skirting-boards. Again, test any doubtful wood with your spike. Go down into the cellar and up into the attic if possible. If you see anything that worries you make a note to ask one of your free experts:

1. Most firms specialising in timber preservation or damp courses will visit the property and prepare a free report and estimate. Rentokil are the best known but there will be several others in the Yellow Pages. If at all possible, meet the inspector at the house and go round with him, so as to learn about any-thing which he doesn't write down. Get at least two firms in; competition is fierce and prices vary considerably.

2. The Council. You may be inclined to have nothing to do with them at all and it is true that public health (and other) legislation gives them awful powers over your home, but they can also be very helpful with advice and there is a lot of money available in the various grants. As a first step, the Home Improvement Officer will inspect the house and indicate what he would require you to do as a condition of a grant and what additional works would attract grant aid if you choose to do them. He is, of course, another free surveyor. To get involved with a grant is both good and bad; difficulties include:
- The authorities may require you to do things that you don't want to do, (or to a standard higher than, or different from, what you think necessary).
- There is a lot of paperwork involved, particularly in cost-ing and describing any work you do yourself.
- There are long delays, during which you are not supposed to start work.
- If you sell the house within five years you may forfeit the grant and have to repay it to the Council.

3. Local builders. It is quite accepted by the trade that in competing for jobs, builders are expected to give free estimates in competition with other builders. You need, therefore, have no qualms about getting estimates from several firms for any major work you want doing. By meeting and talking to the builders about the job you can learn a great deal. Very often by employing a builder to do the jobs you feel you can't tackle you can get valuable advice about how to do the ones you feel you can tackle.

Employing professionals is very expensive; you can do everything yourself, if you have enough time (about three times as long as you think). If you decide to use professionals, don't get them to do things which you think are too complicated or difficult because after you've seen them do the work you will realise that you thought wrong; get them to do the jobs which you hate and sit back and enjoy it. Employing others can be difficult-but there is a very good section on it in Terence Conran's flashy 'House Book' (pub. Michell Beazley). Books you might consider buying:

'Technological Self-Sufficiency' by Robin Clarke, is good for inspiration and its general approach, as well as for the odd detail. 'All About Home Repair and Maintenance' and other 'All About..s' on wiring, plumbing and other subjects are by Roy Day, published by Hamlyn at £1.95.

The library is an invaluable source of specialist books written for tradesmen or apprentices, for example: 'Building Construction' (several volumes) by W.B. McKay, gives clear and detailed illustrations of how houses are put together; excellent for the ambitious improver who likes to cut a dash at the builders' merchants by using the right words:

For further information and books about building and renovation see section on Building Regulations.