Black mould and dampness at the bottom of a wall
Hilary

If you’re buying or selling a house with damp, the short answer as to whether it will affect your property resale value, is yes. As a damp specialist though, we can’t just leave it at that…

How much value could I lose?

In some ways you could lose 100% but that just means a bank won’t lend against it in its current condition, and a statement like that doesn’t really mean anything. You need to get advice from a damp specialist, a chartered surveyor, mortgage broker or estate agent to really understand how much value you could lose, and only after you understand the full extent of your damp problem.

Get a damp survey

Property Conservation Services offers no-obligation damp surveys at a minimal cost* and from this inspection of your property we generate a detailed (still non-obligation) report on the extent of the damp problem and a quote for the work required to rectify it.

You can show this quote to your estate agent or mortgage broker or use it to engage a chartered surveyor and begin to calculate the cost of either doing the work or taking a loss on your property resale value.

One mortgage broker told us, ‘If the lender chooses to send someone to the property to value it as part of the mortgage process and they detect damp they will generally request that a damp and timber report be carried out.

If it’s minor it may not cause any issues, but it could be a problem if the damp were more significant.

Within the mortgage industry a lender will rely on the valuer to make a judgment call/decision on such matters.

This will generally be referred to as “subject to valuers comments” so they are the ones who can have the greatest impact.

Having said that, if the mortgage is straight forward, low loan to value and the lender already holds enough data on properties of your type in the area they may not send someone to physically value it – they will simply use the data held and make a call on whether they are prepared to take on the risk.

Great for the seller, not so good for the buyer.

This is where a more detailed home buyers report can be key in the buying process.’ Marc Kavanagh, MK Mortgages

In summary:

  • A lender may send someone to value your property
  • If damp is detected, you will need to provide a full report (that’s us)
  • If the damp problem is deemed significant by the lender, you’ll need a chartered surveyor to also inspect the property
  • The chartered surveyor and the mortgage lender have the greatest impact on your property valuation.

So, is the cost of damp proofing your property worth it?

Here’s where the maths answers your question… Your first enquiry confirms the cost of your inspection survey*. If you go ahead with the survey, you will then know the cost of the remedial work (including all time and materials), you can weigh that up against what your chartered surveyor, or mortgage broker/lender value the property at.

If you intend to remain in your home for some time before selling, we’d advise it’s definitely worth addressing as soon as possible as damp isn’t a singular issue, it continues to worsen over time and can bring significant health risks with it.

If you’re hoping to sell in the near future and are taking a damp problem into account for the property resale value of your home, then get in touch with us. If you have damp now and intend to stay in your home for a while before selling, you need to act fast to protect both your property’s value and your health.

*The cost of your survey is removed from the final bill for remedial work.