RICS Level 2 Survey in Martin, North Kesteven

Our Level 2 HomeBuyer Report is a close visual inspection of all accessible parts of the property. We check the walls, roof, floors, doors, windows and damp-proof courses, looking for signs of subsidence, damp, rot and structural movement. Each main element is given a clear condition rating, from "perfect" to "requires urgent attention". Because we know Lincolnshire housing well, we also spot issues that can be easy to miss, including the early signs of movement linked to foundation trouble in homes built on the local clay geology.

As part of the report, we include a market valuation and an insurance rebuild cost, which is useful when arranging buildings cover. We flag urgent defects, along with problems that could affect value or mean setting aside money for future works. In Martin, that often means checking for clay-soil issues such as subsidence risk caused by tree root growth, and reviewing the condition of older homes with electrics or plumbing that may be typical of pre-1919 housing stock. With the recent 26% year-on-year price drop in Martin, and values now 43% below the 2022 peak of £357,526, buyers need a clear picture of the property's real condition.

In Martin, we also look at environmental risks that matter locally, including possible flood risk from the River Witham and the surface water flooding often seen in Fen-edge settings. Where further checks are sensible, we set that out plainly, whether that is a structural engineer's assessment, a damp and timber specialist, or electrical testing. We want you to have the detail needed to make a properly informed purchase decision. And because Martin has everything from listed buildings to modern developments, we adjust our inspection approach to suit the individual property.

• Visual inspection of all accessible areas
• Condition ratings for key building elements
• Market valuation and rebuild cost assessment
• Identification of urgent defects and maintenance issues
• Environmental risk assessment including flood risk
• Practical recommendations for further investigations

From our work in Martin and across North Kesteven, a few issues come up again and again. Homes built before 1919, which account for a sizeable share of the village's housing stock, often do not have modern damp-proof courses and can be vulnerable to rising damp. Older cottages built in traditional brick and stone may also suffer from penetrating damp, especially where render has broken down or pointing has failed. Along High Street and through the village centre, many of these properties were built in local red brick and limestone, and those materials need the right sort of maintenance.

Roof defects are common in older Martin homes. We regularly find slipped tiles, worn leadwork around chimneys and rotted timber in roof voids. A good number of the village's historic properties still have original timber windows that may need repair or replacement, and outdated electrics and ageing plumbing are also standard concerns where a house has not been modernised. None of that automatically makes a property a bad buy, but knowing the scale of the work helps with budgeting. Safety matters too, particularly where original Victorian-era electrical wiring is still in place in Martin.

The clay geology beneath much of North Kesteven brings a real risk of subsidence and ground movement. Homes with shallow foundations near trees or hedgerows can show signs of settlement or subsidence, so our surveyors examine walls, floors and external areas for cracking, movement and related defects. If we see anything that calls for a closer look, we recommend the right specialist investigations before you go ahead. During dry spells, the shrink-swell behavior of clay soils can be especially hard on older properties with shallow foundations, which is a known issue in Martin.

Martin's housing reflects the agricultural history of North Kesteven, and many traditional cottages and farmhouses were built from local materials. In older properties, the main construction type is usually solid wall construction, with external walls commonly formed in red brick or rendered limestone. Unlike modern cavity walls, these solid walls do not have a cavity space, so they are often more vulnerable to damp penetration and need a different approach to insulation and moisture management. We know these traditional forms of construction well and inspect them with that in mind.

Some of Martin's oldest cottages, particularly those dating from the 18th century or earlier, include original timber-framed construction with wattle-and-daub infill. They need careful assessment. Moisture can leave the timber frame open to wood-boring insects, wet rot or dry rot, and the thatched or slate roofs found on certain historic properties weather in very different ways from modern tile roofs. We have inspected many older homes in Martin, and we know the quieter signs of structural movement that can point to trouble in these traditional buildings.

Newer development in Martin, especially homes built since the 1990s, is usually of conventional cavity wall construction with a brick external leaf and blockwork internal leaf. These houses tend to have fewer structural concerns, but they are not free of defects, and we still see issues with window seals, roof ventilation and general building movement. A Level 2 survey suits this type of property well, picking up defects and giving a clear picture of condition. On some of the village's more recent developments, our surveyors also find snagging issues that they are used to spotting.