UK Landlord Forum / Life

Hello All 

This is my first post on this website so I hope I am doing it correctly.

I am about the purchase my first Buy to Let Property and I have done quite a bit of Research into what needs to be in place before I can rent it out.

A point that crossed my mind was, being an old property (built in around 1900), I was wondering if there was any structural Surveys that need doing before I put tenants in incase the joists or anything are unsafe?

Thanks in advance Guys!

Regardless of the safety of the tenants why would you buy a house that has structural defects?

No special type of survey is mandated for you to consider letting a property out to Tenants, but you would want to protect your own investment I'd imagine... so on any kind of suspect property I would be - at least - getting a HomeBuyer Report completed... this will highlight anything glaring. Can be got for less than £300, I paid £285 recently and I figured it was money worth spent when I eventually dropped-out of the purchase... a 40 page (or so) report with a traffic light system is the output... it can save you quite a bit of angst. Don't be afraid to walk away if the report frightens you, but don't let it frighten you unnecessarily.

Thanks for the replies Guys!

Riptide - I didn't say it has any structural defects, I just said the house was over 100 years old so i was unsure of the condition of the Joists etc, so I wanted some advice if there was anything that had to be put in place, some sort of certification that the house was in good condition to rent out incase anything did happen.

Hippogriff - Thanks for the information. With a home-buyer report, if points were brought up and I repaired all points, and something still did happen (touch wood it doesn't) would I be covered because I fixed all the highlighted concerns at the time? A property could look amazing and still have a problem that is hidden away and nobody can see until it goes wrong.

I am just trying to think of the worst case scenario, and cover all angles, I probably am thinking too much about it but being my first rental property I am in need of advice.

Thanks Again

You would be just as covered as if you didn't have a HomeBuyer Report.

I think you're over-worrying, it doesn't bode well. Buy property, let it out, take money... repeat. What do you think all those people who own their homes do? They get insurance to protect them from things that they can't handle... Landlords do the same.

Yes i think i am over-worrying because its my first rental Property

Thanks for your help Hippogriff 

Much Appreciated

A home buyers report is a 'state the bleeding obvious' report.  They will not be removing anything or making holes in walls to examine anything and that is their caveat should anything go wrong in the future that they didn't spot.  You'd need a full structural survey to cover these things.  Instead of looking at houses that could potentially have these problems why not look at newer housing stock such as 1970-1980's houses, which are simple, insulated and have very little to go wrong in them.

Or not.

These sorts of houses are sound.

Look for damp and cracks, state of the roof , do the floors slope creak bounce etc Make sure you get the gutters cleaned quickly and regularly.

Problems don't hide themselves, sellers hide them, but not often. Most big issues are really down to zero maintenance, and dont take allot to address is done quickly.

Personally I never get surveys done, as they dont cover you is a problem arises, and they are full of "mights" which is of no use at all.

Make sure you get proper landlords buildings insurance mind.

That's not the case in my experience. Both times I have had a HomeBuyer Report done they have highlighted things to me that weren't obvious to me (just as a layman home buyer) and both times the results have helped me negotiate on either getting things remedied or reducing the price... or, indeed, helping me decide to pull out of the purchase altogether. If you were a Builder by trade then the things identified might be obvious... if you're just someone who mostly lives in houses, a user of houses, then not. They do not drill anything, but they do look under carpets and inside cellars and on the roof at tiles and suchlike (citing an expected timeframe for complete replacement etc.) and address pipework and various other things that you don't see on the viewings.

I don't think I would ever get a standard valuation again... except probably on a brand new build, which I'm not in the market for. You aren't protected by the Survey, but it gives you a much better insight into real problems today and potential problems in the future.

The reason why I am looking at these sort of houses is because they are in my local area and a 10%+ Rental Yield.

There are little bits of damp which I saw on the viewing. One part in the kitchen caused by a leaky kitchen roof which has since been fixed by the current owner. The other in the loft which I think it down to the lead on the chimney and also the pots on top of the chimney are open to the elements.

I think the above points can easily be fixed as I have a budget of £5000 to fix anything that needs doing.

Any recommendations in which insurer to use guys?

Thanks for the input

Direct line are cheapest, but their customer service when claiming is shit.

It can actually save you money to use a broker.

Old School.