Beeny knows best - Week 26

Jul 6, 2016 | Categories: Sarah

Beeny knows best - Week 26

Week 26 of Beeny Knows Best, where our very own Sarah Beeny takes to the blog to answer your property-related questions.

 
 
I bought my 3 bed terraced in Devon 9 years ago but unfortunately fell on hard times almost immediately and now the house needs work, some fairly urgent, some only decorative. My question is, whilst I know potential buyers will undertake a survey, would it be sensible to flag everything up for viewers so that no time is wasted or should I leave that to a survey?

I cannot afford to spend any money on the house other than a quick paint, I really want a quick sale and will not be entering a chain as I hope to rent. - Lea
 

It sounds as though it is pretty self explanatory as it needs general improvement, so I should just make sure that when you list your property for sale you say on the details that it 'in need of some modernisation'.  This will make it more appealing to many buyers who are looking for a project to get their teeth stuck into, so you may even find that this aids your sale more than anything!

 

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I am having difficulty with my garden retaining wall which is bowing, I think due to lack of drainage in the wall. My wall is approx. 10 metres along and approx. 1.5m tall and made from breeze block. I wonder if you could advice me if wall anchors would be suitable to fix the wall or if you could recommend a different solution please. - Mandy
 
It really depends on whether it is caused by land heave from a higher garden behind or not.  If it is not, as long as bow is not too significant ties or even buttresses built along the wall would be likely to hold it in place.  If it has the weight of soil behind it then you probably do have to do a more expensive and permanent job involving digging out behind and rebuilding the wall.
 
 
 
If you have a question that you'd like Sarah to answer in next week's post, email it across to [email protected] with the subject line 'Beeny knows best'.