Renovating an old house

I am looking at a house next week. It dates from the 20s/30s, it is mid terrace, and it has been subdivided into bedsits. Apparently it is in awful condition (so the estate agent tells me!).

What should I look out for? I have read older posts here which talk of rising damp, damp in the walls and wood, lead piping, iron water tank etc. But on my first view of the place what are the questions I should ask, and the immediate things I should look for?

Also, does anyone here know any engineers they could recommend in Cork city? Just in case I decide to take this further!

Thanks!

Don't worry about things like lead piping, old plumbing installations etc-you'll be ripping these out anyway, presumably. You're main area of concern should be the structure of the house- i.e. the foundations, walls and roof. If you are unfamiliar with building or what to look for you should really get a competent friend or builder to have a walk around with you. Obvious flaws will be readily visible to someone in the know, once you've got past the first stage you can consider engaging an architect or engineer to give a more thorough, professional opinion. I'd be looking for serious cracking in the walls, around window and door opes etc. anything larger than 1.5mm needs further investigation. Is the roof sound? Rotten timbers are easily spotted, go up into the roof space (bring a step ladder, camera and a torch with you) and examine the rafter where they meet the wall plate. Is the old water tank leaking? Has it caused damage to ceiling below? Look at the chimney stack in the attic, any evidence of smoke penetration? Are timbers sound, dry and do they smell ok (neutral). Wet rot is not a major worry but dry rot is. Look for evidence of settlement in the walls, are doors out of square, hard to close? Can windows be opened easily? Is the area prone to flooding (Cork is a particular risk, isn't it?) Has the house ever been flooded, will it be possible to get buildings insurance? Ask the agent all these questions- he may not want or be able to answer all your queries but he can't lie to you either. Once you given the place a basic look over then you should get a structural survey done, good luck.

Thanks for all that, Carpenter. I printed it out so I don't forget anything. I'll have a word with some friends of mine who are in the trade to see if they will come along. I walked up to the house last night and it is in quite bad nick. The houses on either side of it are both well done up so I suppose that means the walls on the left and right are okay. The front of the house though has a lot of cracks - over windows mainly. That doesn't look good.

If you were buying it as a PPR you could try and knock on the neighbour's door and ask them about the property, they might be glad of an owner occupier and may volunteer information the agent won't/ or can't tell you. I know someone who bought a terraced house which had suffered minor smoke damage in the past because of a chimney fire. The neighbour was able to alert the potential buyer to the problem, when questioned the agent was able to furnish full details of the incident and the repairs undertaken. Do the neigbouring properties have evidence of cracking around windows also? This type of cracking is difficult to conceal very well so should be quite obvious. Caveat emptor as always...

I had thought of calling to the neighbours alright. The ones on either side have their houses well done up, and there is no evidence at all of cracks around windows etc. I will try to get a look in daylight so I can get a better idea. The agent told me the house hasn't been touched by the owner in 25 years.