Dear Phil Spencer, is commuting to London from Devon a terrible idea?

In his regular column, The Telegraph’s property expert Phil Spencer has provided advice on running buy-to-lets, how to boost your house price and the property gems to look out for. 

Today, he answers your questions and helps readers with choosing where to downsize, how to make their home more marketable, and how to deal with issues missed by a survey. 

If you have a property question you would like Phil to answer, get in touch at phil.spencer@telegraph.co.uk.

‘Is commuting to London from Devon a terrible idea?’

Dear Phil

We are now in our mid-50s and returned to the UK two years ago after more than 25 years working overseas.

Currently, we are renting a house near Kingston-upon-Thames, but we are keen to buy our first home together as soon as possible. We have three buy-to-lets elsewhere in the UK as a top-up to our pension.

I will need to work in London for another six to eight years, working three days a week in the office. However, we would ultimately prefer to retire somewhere on the south coast.

Should we buy a “stop-gap” home within commuting distance of London, accept the costs of purchase, then sell later on? Or should we buy a home in Devon now, and deal with the commute?

Quentin

Dear Quentin,

I am afraid I must start with a word of warning here that there are so many variables and moving parts there is no clear answer. If the requirement was two days in the office rather than three, or only five years rather than up to eight I think it would be easier to decide. 

That said, my gut instinct is to look in Devon and see if you can find your dream home down there that might make you feel the commute was worth it. If you were able to find somewhere really special it would perhaps make the decision a bit easier. At the moment you’re trying to make the decision without the knowledge of viewings and an idea of what you would be gaining in exchange for the commute. 

My other concern is that moving twice in under a decade is a hugely costly and stressful undertaking. As you said in your full letter, stamp duty is a big expense on top of all of the conveyancing and agent fees you are likely to incur in some instances twice over. 

Just a thought – you could always spend one or two nights in a hotel to break up the commute. I reckon you would still save money over moving twice. 

Either way, it’s not an easy decision to make, but my preference will always be for owning over renting – especially as we seem to be over any major risk of a house price crash for the foreseeable future. I hope you find your dream home. 

‘Why didn’t the survey mention that the property is wonky?’ 

Dear Phil, 

My wife and I recently purchased a Victorian end of terrace property. And, while the house required a lot of upgrading, we were looking forward to the project. I was advised to have a full structural survey and the result was a report that said overall the property was in reasonably good condition for its age.

Upon moving into the property it soon became apparent that it was leaning approximately four inches across its 4m width. To my mind, there was no mention of this in the survey.

When I complained the response said the statement in the report that “the floors have some unevenness” covered this matter.

I would welcome your thoughts, as I am now spending significant sums to rectify the floors, and have concerns about the security of the property.  

Kind regards, 

Nigel 

Dear Nigel, 

Lots of old houses have sloping floors – it is actually more common than we think. However, a lean of four inches over 4m should have been noticeable on both your viewing as well as a survey. That said, the surveyor wouldn’t have used a spirit level to test the floor levels, and would have been more focused on looking for signs of current or ongoing “structural movement”, which could explain why it was missed.

It may also be the case that the house was actually built like this in the first place. As a result the defect is unlikely to get a mention in a homebuyer survey, even a full structural one. This is especially likely in a situation where the property required lots of upgrading anyway, as it sounds as though yours is. 

Frustratingly, it is often the case that unforeseen issues crop up when working on a project. I always advise having a contingency of 10pc extra money put aside to allow for these circumstances, although I appreciate this isn’t always easy with renovation costs rising and mortgage rates adding extra pressure. 

Adding your own mark to a property through work and renovation is a wonderful thing to do – I hope this hasn’t put too much of a strain on the project.