The dwelling I need to purchase has cracks on the ceiling: Should I be nervous?

I’m a first-time buyer and have been viewing flats. I’m looking in the south-east of England and my money won’t get me very far.

Some of the flats I’ve been looking at need a fair amount of work doing to them. Some have a few cracks on the ceilings and one had a few cracks on the walls.

When it comes to cracks on ceilings and walls, what do I need to be worried about? What problems could cracks be concealing and how much would they cost to fix?

I know you need to get a survey done when buying a property, but is it really necessary to get a full survey done even for a small two-bed flat? How much will this cost and what happens if it reveals the property is a horror show?

Jane Denton of This is Money replies: Buying your first home is daunting and expensive. You’ve provided me details of the areas you are looking to buy in and they are among the most expensive in the country. I understand you want to be near family, friends and work. 

The cost of getting repairs, renovations or extensions done is high, with costs varying depending on a number of factors including where people live. 

Trades in the locations you are looking at are likely to charge higher fees than elsewhere. 

There’s scant options for people like you looking to buy in pricey areas. You told me that some of the flats you’ve looked at are less than 500 sq ft. 

Others you’ve seen are in an uninhabitable state, with a few, estate agents informed you, having been owned by elderly and vulnerable people who could no longer cope. 

Turning to cracks in walls and ceilings, these can be concerning for prospective buyers and you are right to be cautious. 

But, alas, not all cracks are equal. Some are trivial, while others can be a sign of serious structural issues.

It is sensible to get a full survey done. In some cases, buying a ‘project flat’ which needs a lot of work doing to it can end up costing buyers dearly. Some properties are money pits. 

Before putting in any offers you will need to know how much any defect repairs or renovation work, including getting rid of cracks, will cost. 

Fix Radio host Clive Holland, said: Best of luck with your first-time foray into the property market. 

You’re right to be cautious, particularly when it comes to new-build properties.

This is because, the majority of the actual structure is made from timber, the wood is, in a sense, a living, breathing product and swells and shrinks with the seasons. Newer properties also tend to use younger wood, which means that unlike in older houses, the wood hasn’t had the opportunity to mature and season before it was used in construction.

This contraction and expansion means that brickwork, blocks and plaster get pushed around, which can lead to the cracking you describe. 

These cracks actually do take a few years to settle down and are known as hairline fractures, which can be easily sorted with filler. They can come back too, so are worth sitting on for a while.

With older properties, if you see cracks in the plaster it can be a different story, because there could be issues such as subsidence. 

I would never be worried if fractures in older homes are following the mortar line, in other words if the cracks are not permeating the brick. 

If they are, it’s an indication that you have some sub-structural movement, and if the bricks are splitting then you would need some serious investigation work to be carried out.

Small cracks though are fairly common in buildings and usually not a concern because materials shrink over time, but it’s unlikely to be a horror show unless you can fit your index finger in them. 

If you do have any concerns, then consulting a professional for a full survey is always the best option. The cost will depend on the size of the property, and reputable surveyors will be able to give you an indication in advance of any work.

> Do we have to get a home buyer survey if we’re buying without a mortgage? 

Bradley Mackenzie, a chartered surveyor at Stokemont, said: Cracks are a normal occurrence to properties, the severity of the cracking comes down to their cause.

Less serious cracks, such as those that are hairline in width tend to reveal themselves to the junctions of walls and ceilings, or at the junction where one plasterboard meets the other. This is conventional movement as the plastered surfaces adjust to the yearly thermal changes over summer and winter.

It’s when larger cracks of a diagonal or stepped manner occur that the issue can be more severe.

These cracks are usually indicative of some form of structural movement and can be caused by a wide range of issues that typically include; shallow foundations or footings, vegetation or trees in close proximity to the property, swelling or shrinking soil, to name a few.

In order to best assess the severity of the crack, the likely cause, the necessary remedy and cost of the remedy required, the input of a chartered surveyor or structural engineer will need to be called upon.

For property buyers this input is often obtained via a pre-purchase survey with the most common on the market being Rics home surveys.

Instructing a surveyor to complete a home survey will ensure inspection and diagnoses takes place, which will advise and report on all issues within the property. This also ensures the buyer is fully aware of the implications of defects such as cracks.

It’s not uncommon for surveys to flag up issues that often result in the sales price being renegotiated to account for the cost and nuisance of the repair required. With this in mind, in many cases the reduction in the agreed sales price will often far outweigh the cost of the survey itself.

Average survey costs tend to be upward of £700. While this is large expense, it can save the buyer tens of thousands of pounds in property repairs.

In a scenario where the survey does flag up issues and defects, if the buyer wasn’t aware of these and isn’t prepared to take on the necessary remedy work, or the seller isn’t agreeable to reducing the sales price to reflect the issues, I would advise careful consideration is given to the property purchase.

While the buyer will be out of pocket for the survey, it’s a small price to pay in comparison to the ongoing issues, cost and nuisance that they may be buying into.

Dave Sayce, managing director and founder of Compare My Move, said: Cracks in the ceilings and the walls do not necessarily mean that there are structural problems with the property. 

In some cases, they can just indicate the age of the plaster or the paint and are common in older properties. 

It will largely depend on the size of the cracks, if you find a hairline-looking crack on the walls or ceiling that is thin and shallow, it’s unlikely to be structural, especially if you are looking at an older property.

However, there are some signs to look out for to tell if a crack is a structural issue and not just surface level. 

A crack could be a cause for concern, if, for example, it is wider than around 3mm at any point in length, but especially toward the end of the crack. If the crack is noticeably deeper than the plaster or paint, that could also be problematic, as could cracks close to windows or doors, or spanning form where the wall meets the ceiling.

If you see any of these signs, alarm bells should be ringing. The costs of the damage shown by cracks can vary greatly. If it is purely a cosmetic issue such as paint and plaster cracks you can expect to pay around £175 to fix them – but structural issues can cost much more.

Different types of cracks can mean different issues for the structure of the house. For example, if you spot a crack close to the window or door or a crack that has a yellow or brown stain surrounding it you’re likely looking at water damage due to a small leak either externally or through pipes in the structure of the property.

If the crack is surrounded by sagging when on the ceiling or when the surface around the crack is noticeably damp, it could be caused by a larger leak or a leak that has gone untreated for a while and caused water damage. 

Water and moisture damage can cost anywhere from £500 to £5,000 depending on the severity of the damage and the volume of water needing removal.

If a crack is wide, and deep, and can be seen both on the interior and exterior of the property. Then you may be looking at signs of subsidence, which is another costly issue to fix. Subsidence happens when the ground surrounding the property loosens and the structure starts to shift and can cost anywhere from £5,000 to £15,000 to repair.

If you notice cracks on a property you want to buy then we recommend getting a survey no matter the size of the home. 

If the property is fairly new and the cracks look like they are simply cosmetic then you can opt for a Level 2 survey which will cost you around £422 depending on the size of the property and will highlight whether further action needs to be taken surrounding these cracks.

If any of the listed signs are present when looking at cracks in the ceiling or walls then we highly recommend a Level 3 survey, which is the most in-depth survey and will cost an average of £561. 

A Level 3 survey will analyse the deeper structural problems that are causing the cracks, and advise you on the next steps to fix these problems.

If the survey reveals that there are issues with the property that you’ll need to fix, it allows you to make an informed decision on whether to continue with the purchase.

 If the cost, time and effort to fix the structural issues is too great you may want to pull out of the purchase. Alternatively, you can leverage the money you would spend on fixing these issues to get a reduced price on the property.

For example, if a Level 3 survey found that the house was being affected by subsidence, you could argue that there should be a reduction of up to £15,000 in the asking price.