Long vertical cracks in render from roofline to windows on gable end wall

[LemonDrizzle]

I'm looking at buying a new house and have seen a three-storey one that I quite like but am concerned by the fact that it has long vertical cracks in its render running from the roofline all the way to the ground floor, hitting the corners of the windows on each floor. The house is on a development built in the last couple of decades, so it could just be down to minor movement as the house has settled, but what is the likelihood of it being something more serious? I've attached an image showing the wall in question.

 

[Wayners]

Probably just settlement but get a survey done to be sure.

 

[Harry Bloomfield]

Probably just settlement but get a survey done to be sure.

Those lines are far to straight and regular, to my eye - I would guess at it's where the render has been finished, then later continued. Poor render joins. Was there any sign of cracks indoors?

 

[LemonDrizzle]

Those lines are far to straight and regular, to my eye - I would guess at it's where the render has been finished, then later continued. Poor render joins. Was there any sign of cracks indoors?

No visible evidence of cracks inside, but wallpaper and filler can hide many sins. I agree that it's odd for the cracks to be so straight, so you may well be right about the rendering having been done piecewise. Thanks for the help!

 

[jj4091]

Those lines are far to straight and regular, to my eye - I would guess at it's where the render has been finished, then later continued. Poor render joins. Was there any sign of cracks indoors?

I agree they look like expansion/contraction joints to me. Often used in a large area like that to prevent random cracking