Is this house best left alone?

[Avaloniafunk]

Been to view a house this morning which I really quite like. It's had the same owner for 30 years so will need some doing up. I'm a single woman, 3 children and I work shifts so there's a limit as to what I can manage both physically and financially.
I noticed a couple of issues as i had a quick glance around. Firstly the plaster around the base of the chimney breast next to the fireplace is crumbling away into powder behind the wallpaper. There is a rip in the wall paper at one point with powder falling out.
Also in an upstairs cupboard the ceiling board is cracked as if something has happened above it in the loft or possibly a water leak has damaged it from above.
Are these things reasons to walk away?

 

[Notch7]

Hi, welcome to the forum. Unfortunately it's hard to comment without images.

On the face of it, those things aren't dealbreakers, they could be trivial.

How old is the house?

 

[StephenStephen]

Wow - if I was looking at a house which I could only see those 2 issues I'd snap it up straight away!

 

[johnny2007]

Not big deal.
Maybe best to get a survey done so to discover any hidden trouble.

 

[ted456]

Ask the mods to put your post on the Building forum?

Get as many pics as you can and then put them on here and you'll get helpful advice.
But, as above, its always best to get your own surveyor and ask for a modern survey - pics and text and if anything is wrong your surveyor tells you why its wrong and what to do about it.
Dont rely on mortgage company surveyors and dont be in a rush.
Have the kids seen the place yet?

 

[Avaloniafunk]

 

[Avaloniafunk]

Thanks for all the replies.
( ted456....I thought this was the building forum so a bit confused)
Here's a pic. Easy to see the wallpaper damage and powdery plaster falling out but it's just possible to make out the level of expanded plaster under the wallpaper the whole way along. It is on both sides of the fireplace.
I would definitely get a full survey if I decided to offer, but trying to gather opinions before deciding whether to offer at all. I guess I could do with a person knowledgeable in building to accompany me on a viewing but unsure how to organise this. Would I ask a local builder? local plasterer?

 

[Avaloniafunk]

Really not sure how old the house is. I'm guessing 1920-1930.

 

[kingandy2nd]

That's nothing to worry about.

The likelihood is the with a house of that age a survey will tell you that it is damp, and needs a new damp proof course. That's not specific to your house/picture, just standard operating procedure.

As its a chimney breast, it might indicate some work needing to be done on the chimney (such as repointing), but that's such a small patch you could most probably just scrape off the flakey bits, paint with damp proof paint, and worry about it again in a year or two when the paint flakes off again.

If the house ticks all your boxes for what you need in a property, go for it. Best of luck.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

As its a chimney breast, it might indicate some work needing to be done on the chimney (such as repointing), but that's such a small patch you could most probably just scrape off the flakey bits, paint with damp proof paint, and worry about it again in a year or two when the paint flakes off again.

It could also be rising damp, is the ground floor a solid floor or a suspended floor (wooden floor boards)?

Are there any water stains where the ceiling is cracked, in the cupboard? No stains, might suggest it is simply a joint in plasterboard which has parted.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

It could also be rising damp, is the ground floor a solid floor or a suspended floor (wooden floor boards)?

Are there any water stains where the ceiling is cracked, in the cupboard? No stains, might suggest it is simply a joint in plasterboard which has parted.

Is it a detached, semi, or terrace?

 

[Diver Fred]

The plaster state by the fire place is caused by damp. The damp is occurring because the house was built when fires where the primary heat source in a house and the area of the chimney breast would by dried out by the heat from the fire hearth. My cottage had the same issue when I changed to a modern heating format.
The fix is a plastering job.