Potential water damage?

Hello,
I'm currently in the process of negotiations of purchasing a PPOR, which is an apartment that will require a lot of renovation. However, as I was flicking through the photos I took at the inspection last weekend, I noticed a bit of a bulge behind the toilet that made me think that there might be water damage in the bathroom.

Can anyone confirm or provide some thoughts/advice?

Thanks in advance.

P.S. Sorry if this is the wrong thread to post this in.

 

on top of the cistern? that is strange, i'd take the cistern lid of and inspect.

 

Thanks Elives, I'll try to do that this weekend. Do you think there's anything I should look for specifically? Sorry, just not sure I'd know how to spot anything wrong if there was something to look for.

 

Looks like water damage to the particleboard riser.

Ideally, this should be made of villaboard or fibre cement so it doesn't suffer water damage.

As you're going to refurbishing the bathroom, If the leak is from above, ripping out the duct will help with access.

 

Look for mold, if there's mold or evidence of a cover up of mold, it means there is a more fundamental problem. If there's not, then there's a chance there was at one stage a water issue that has since been fixed, and the residual damage has caused the bubbling (but is not a long term concern).

 

is the bubbling below the cistern as well on the paint? i'd poke/stab it to see if it was wet. could be a concealed leak if wet/damp also the building and pest inspection should do a thorough inspection to check for this i think they use a moisture camera/reading device to tell if it's a current ongoing leak or damage from a previous leak thats been fixed and is dry.

 

Thanks for the advice everyone! I ended up inspecting again on the weekend and poked around, it seemed dry (as though there was an air pocket) where the bubbling was. We tried to lift the cistern but couldn't get it up, it felt as though it was glued down :/
There was a very small amount of mold at the bottom (pictured), although I'm not quite sure if it's rust or mold, I'm guessing maybe the latter.

The vendor is asking 20k more than the price we offered. We're just wondering if we should walk away because of this potential leakage which may have other underlying damage that could be costly.

We're fence sitting on this property as it has taken over a year to find a place that we like, and although it doesn't tick all the boxes, it ticks quite a few. At the same time, there's a lot of renos required (practically every room) and the costs might be too great for what it's worth in the long run, also seems like more supply is coming online now due to spring season.

Any thoughts/advice is appreciated

 

These seem contradictory. Or your budget is simply too tight.

 

@Trainee yeah quite possibly, perhaps our budget is too tight. It is hard to gauge as well, because this is a 3bdr red brick walk up and I've never seen any in the area, so hard to guess how much the renos will add value, but it is a PPOR that we'd live in for at least a few yrs before renting out and later down the track potentially selling.

To clarify, we were looking for a place to add value, this place has good bones (layout, decent sized bedrooms/rooms) but this place requires almost a full gut, flooring, ceiling (popcorn ceiling), bathroom and kitchen reno.

So I guess with the potential added cost of water leakage, it might just tip us over the threshold of too much money/risk. Hope that makes sense.

 

A building and pest inspection would enable someone with the skill to identify the potential issue and its expected cost. Its probably not a massive issue to rip that bulkhead out. Fix the plumbing to better standard fittings and re-bulkhead it with a new cistern if thats needed. Maybe even a concealed cistern ?

Defects like this are terrific as they scare off buyers who panic about something that may cost $500 and a weekend to fix. Then the vendor sells it for $5K less. The vanity looks well aged so a new vanity at the same time that isnt hard against the loo. Moving the vanity to the side a little means the loo roll dispenser doesnt need to sit strangely on the floor. Just check whats under the vanity . Looks like its sitting on tiles but... ??