Have you ever considered whether your ideal house might cause a financial tragedy? Imagine this: you recently moved into what appeared to be the perfect home, but within months, unexpected repair costs start piling up. It happens more often than you might think. When buying a property, a professional survey can uncover issues that aren’t visible to the naked eye. Common findings in surveys often include structural problems, dampness, or roof defects—issues that can help you negotiate a better price or save you from costly surprises.
If overlooked, these problems can quickly drain your wallet with repairs or renovations that could cost tens of thousands of dollars. Today, we’ll highlight the common problems that surveys uncover—issues that, if ignored, could turn a seemingly perfect property into a financial burden. By the end, you’ll know exactly what to look for and why a proper survey could be your smartest investment before buying your next home.
Cracks in walls are never a good sign. Many people, however, are unaware that these cracks could indicate something far more profound hiding under the surface—subsidence.
When a house begins to sink into the ground—that is subsidence—it is not only a minor visual flaw we are addressing. “Oh, it’s just a few cracks in the paint,” you could remark, but early on, neglect of subsidence could cost tens of thousands of dollars. Moreover, foundation problems can lead walls to buckle and floors to move, transforming a house into a structural nightmare rather than only fixing gaps.
How Subsidence Can Sneak Up On You
If a survey uncovers signs of subsidence or foundation failure, the sooner you act, the better. Ignoring it could mean spending money on costly underpinnings or rebuilding parts of your home. We’ve seen it repeatedly—buyers who didn’t get a proper survey pay the price later. A professional survey helps spot these issues before they become overwhelming. Wouldn’t you rather catch a problem when it’s a crack than a crater?
Nothing quite like that musty stench permeating the house. Although you could dismiss it as “just old house stuff,” the cold, hard truth is that humidity, rot, and mould aren’t little annoyances. They are the mute demolishers of houses.
We’re not referring to a little winter condensation on the windows. From the inside out, dampness can undermine the foundation of your house by seeping into the floor, ceiling, and walls. It encourages black mould, which ruins surfaces and your health and invites damp rot, the biggest enemy of wood. Problems with breathing, allergies, and frequent colds? That would be your house alerting you to illness.
Signs of Trouble
Let’s not sugar-coat it: if left unchecked, damp issues can lead to rotten timber, sagging floors, and even structural collapse. Mould can make your home unlivable, forcing you into costly repairs or health issues. Fixing damp after it’s set in can drain your savings faster than you realise.
A professional building survey digs deeper than a DIY inspection ever could. We use moisture meters to detect dampness that’s invisible to the eye. Trust us; early discovery can make all the difference between a temporary restorative and a complete ruin of a house.
The damp is sneaky. It hides behind plaster, grows in dark, forgotten places, and slowly eats away at your biggest investment. This is why a proper survey isn’t just nice; it’s essential.
While most of us do not spend our weekends gazing up at our rooftops, this is exactly why roof problems are so dangerous—they are invisible and, hence, usually out of mind. Still, just because you can’t see the problems does not mean they are absent. And your wallet will feel it strongly when a roof collapses.
What Can Go Wrong Up There?
Small roof issues have a nasty way of turning into big, expensive problems. A missing tile that’s not replaced today could lead to a full-blown leak tomorrow. And the thing about water damage? It doesn’t stay on the roof—it trickles down into your walls, ceiling, and foundation. Every bit of delay in roof repairs multiplies the cost exponentially.
We’re not just talking about glancing up at your roof from the street. A proper survey involves getting up close, using drones and thermal imaging to check every corner for weaknesses you can’t see from the ground. It’s like giving your roof an X-ray.
People have paid for roof repairs whose preventability with a timely inspection may have been avoided. A comprehensive survey comes out less than repairing a failing, leaking, or sagging roof. Knowing the actual condition of your roof will ultimately save you thousands of dollars and a great deal of worry.
Has a pipe burst in the middle of the night, or have flickering lights caused shivers? If plumbing or electrical systems fail, it is inconvenient and can destroy your house.
When Water Turns Against You
Wires Ready to Fail
Plumbing and electrical systems are your house’s veins and nerves. If something’s wrong with either, the whole house can shut down. A small electrical fault can become a full-scale fire, and a tiny pipe leak can flood your quicklime.
A thorough building survey checks the things you’d never even think of—like pipes behind walls or the wiring in your ceiling. Without that expert eye, you’re left hoping your home’s most vital systems are in good shape and hope it doesn’t fix a broken pipe.
Imagine yourself recently purchasing an older, comfortable house. You are ready to settle in and possibly paint it again. But under the appeal, something fatal could be hiding—asbestos. Most people have no idea this is a real issue; it is not only relics of the past.
Why Asbestos Is a Big Deal
Not only should we be concerned about asbestos. Older homes may have led-based paint, which is particularly hazardous should it begin to chip or break. Particularly in children, lead exposure can cause lifetime medical problems. Not to mention radon gas, an unseen, odourless gas that could seep into your house from the earth, raising your lung cancer risk.
We cannot stress this enough—that ignorance of asbestos and toxic materials is perilous rather than pleasure. A good building survey will find these latent hazards so you may legally and safely manage them. You are gambling on your health and money without it. Don’t let the warm atmosphere of an old house deceive you into believing it’s benign. It might be concealing hazards that no new layer of paint can cover.
Let’s discuss the one thing we all hate—sky-high energy bills. You might think your home is cozy, but poor insulation could be why you pay more than you should.
What’s Going Wrong?
Every winter, you waste money. In addition to making your house uncomfortable, inadequate insulation causes enormous energy waste. And month after month, you will continue to pay for it.
A good building survey will highlight areas of energy loss in your house. Thermal imaging lets us find places of heat escape and offer solutions. Though adding insulation or changing your heating system would seem like an investment, the savings on your energy bills will more than cover costs. None of us enjoy paying more than we need. A construction survey will prevent you from wasting money if the insulation in your house is inadequate.
At Prowle & Co., we defend your investment rather than only looking at your house. Our knowledgeable staff specialises in revealing hidden problems that can cost you a fortune. With over 20 years of expertise, we use cutting-edge technology to provide thorough, tailored reports that empower you to make wise property decisions. Whether structural problems or dangerous materials, we have covered you.
Don’t risk it—book your building survey with us today!
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