Thinking of Becoming a Buy-to-Let Property Owner? Find out how this tool could save you money

Thinking about going into the property business? Looking at potential buy-to-let properties?

Damp is a serious issue with properties. If not identified and fixed on time it can lead to devastating consequences. It is a health hazard, and you would not want anyone living in the property affected by damp.

There are quite a few indicators which give you a clue of the presence of damp like a musty smell, mould infestation, leaky roofs and porous walls etc.

Rising damp can even be found in newly refurbished property as well. Rising damp may not be checked and a damp proof course not completed correctly during the refurbishment of a property. It is always a good idea to check for rising damp to avoid a bill for thousands of pounds later.

I would highly recommend carrying a damp meter, costs around £20, to save you so much hassle later on and also thousands of pounds to get the damp proof course installed correctly. If you know, beforehand you could include that into your refurbishment costs. Most of the damp meters have indicators between green to red to indicate the presence of damp and most with a bleeping sound indicator when damp is detected.

How to identify damp in a property

Firstly, beware of those properties which appear as distressed but are newly painted or wallpapered to give an impression that minimal work is required to refurbish the property. You MUST check for damp on your very first inspection of the property. One thing for certain is that when you pull out the damp detector it will certainly increase the heart rate on any estate agent or vendor.

However identifying dampness is not that difficult. If you come across any of the following then you know you are in for some serious refurbishment work.

·        Musty Smell

·        Brownish stains appearing on walls

·        Nails or Screws that appear rusty

·        Powder deposits on walls as patches

·        Mushroom growth on walls

·        Discoloured areas or tide marks on walls

·        Deteriorating paint and Loosened wallpaper

·        Visible moisture deposits on surface

·        Mould infestation

·        Leaky roofs and Porous walls

·        High humidity levels

It is important to identify the root of damp and fix it correctly. You cannot get away with a short term fix.

It’s not about realizing that there is a damp in the property but understand that fixing it also involves going back to the brick to fix and replaster and repaint. All of that will cost money. If the source or root of damp is not fixed you will need to complete the process all over again until it’s fixed.

I’m always happy to help anyone interested in looking at buy-to-let properties.

☎01777 237310 ☎ Messages to ☎07981 744003 ☎
geraldbowers@thegoodea.co.uk