You’ve put an offer in on a flat, and you’ve just got the call to say it was accepted. Yay! Celebrations all round. You’ve been round the flat twice with the estate agent and the place looks like it’s in good nick.You’ve decided where to put your furniture, and have even convinced yourself that the suspicious stain on the hallway carpet will come out with a couple of shampoos. Probably.
What could possibly go wrong?
Well, sadly you’re not at the finish line just yet. As surveyors, we regularly get asked to inspect flats. We always start with looking on Rightmove to see what we’re in for. Every now and then, we spot an older block, or a famously ‘quirky’ one, and we feel that familiar sinking feeling.. On other blocks, we’ll happily book it as the first job on a Monday morning, expecting an easy ride. There are all sorts of things that can go wrong in a flat, and in this post we’ll be looking at what kinds of issues are common, and how you can look out for them.
This might surprise you, but the biggest area we find problems in apartment blocks isn’t in the flat itself, but in the common areas. These are often things like balustrading not being compliant with current building regulations (which will have safety implications for very young children), or leaking gutters. While these issues may seem trivial now, if you’re a recently engaged couple buying your first home. You might be more interested in the safety of young children in a few years. And with things like a poorly maintained gutter, can signal bigger problems with the overall upkeep of the building.
Something a bit more sinister, but sadly just as common is fire safety issues. When you were there with the estate agent, did you notice that propped open fire door? Everything might have looked fine, but there were storage cupboards meant to be kept locked that were ajar. Door closers that weren’t strong enough, or even fire doors without the correct gaps between the doors and their frames (yes, that’s a thing, it’s surprisingly common and can have devastating consequences). Flat owners should always be sure that fire compartmentation is all functioning properly. Especially in the wake of the Grenfell disaster.
In most cases, the management company will catch these issues, and the service charge will cover the remedial work, meaning you’ll only pay a portion of the cost. However, depending on your lease terms, you could still be caught out. For instance, if the door between the flat you’re buying and the entrance hallway is damaged or wasn’t installed properly. You’ll be picking up the cost of a new fire door on purchase. That’s one weekend break this year you now can’t afford!
If in doubt, you should always ask your legal adviser to explain what the service charge covers, and what this means for you. Surveyors don’t usually receive the lease agreement, so this information has to come from your legal team.
Now, let’s move inside.
When you’re looking around a flat, there might be some indications that the flat was previously a rental property. Telltale signs include seeing neutral colours everywhere, or perhaps kitchen units which, on closer inspection, have peeling cupboard door fronts. Not the end of the world, since the flat has to receive at least a minimal amount of safety checks in order to be legally let. But we do find that former buy-to-lets often haven’t been looked after quite as well as it seems on first glance.
This could mean a lot of different things for you. You might need to renew more of the kitchen than you first thought, have to rake out and renew horrible gunky silicone sealant from around the bath. Or replace light fittings that were last in style in the 1980s. But from a surveyor’s perspective, this level of apathy could mean we find bigger things.Like unreported water ingress and maybe condensation mould as a result. On that note, heating in flats can often be a bit hit and miss, since many blocks won’t allow gas to be installed. That means relying on electrical heaters which can be expensive to run.Which is a cause for concern especially with rising energy costs.
Then there are the more subtle things we look for. For example, if a surveyor notices that they can hear next door’s TV particularly clearly.Then it tells them something about the sound insulation. Unfortunately, surveyors might miss this if they visit while the neighbours are out or at work. That’s why we recommend you visit the flat at different times of the day yourself. Sound proofing can be expensive and difficult to rectify, so ideally you want the flat you’re buying to have been built properly.
Zooming right back out, we also look at the height of the whole building. Depending on how tall it is, the block might be subject to additional legislation and documentation, which your mortgage lender will want to see. This could include things like EWS1 documents relating to the fire safety of the building’s envelope. Timber balconies stacked on top of each other could pose a safety risk, so make sure to discuss this. If you find that the relevant documentation and fire risk assessments aren’t in place then it could be very difficult for you to actually purchase the flat. That’s why you need a good surveyor on hand.
Finally, flats can harbour similar issues to houses. There could be asbestos in the ceilings or very old electrical installations , safety components like RCD protection missing and more. If you’re buying a flat and you want to make sure that it will live up to your hopes and expectations, it’s worth having a survey done. Our friendly team of expert surveyors are always happy to help, and you can reach us on 020 8153 1233.
For more expert advice on surveying and property matters, check out our range of informative videos on our website or YouTube channel. Harrison Clarke Chartered Surveyors is here to guide you every step of the way!
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Tim set up Harrison Clarke Chartered Surveyors in July 2017 following a series of public and private sector surveying roles, having previously worked for the University of Cambridge, Rund Partnership, Goadsby, and CBRE.
Tim has degrees in building surveying, construction project management, and business administration.
