Hi, I've hoping someone can give me some tips on identifying the cause of damp in a potential flat purchase i'm looking at.

I'll try give as many details as I can but it may be sketchy as there was a lot to take in when I viewed and i'm going off memory!

The property is a repossession flat on the 6th (top) floor of a 6yr old build.

Both of the bathrooms have signs of dark (brown/black) mold in places.

The first bathroom isn't too bad, this mainly seems to be along the very top of the wall above the bath/shower.

The second bathroom has similar, but worse, it appears to have rotted the plasterwork to some degree about half way up the wall.
This bathroom also has the mold along one (possibly more, it was dark) of the walls away from the bathroom. This is from the floor up though, and rises to one or two foot off the floor.

I've been thinking about it, and I don't really know, but black mold would suggest to me condensation rather than damp coming from the walls? Not sure if the walls had been painted/sealed properly which would explain the plaster rot.
The flat has been quite mistreated so the bathrooms may have been left wet or extractor fan not used/broken (can't check as elec is cut off).

My thinking is: if it's damp coming from the walls, this could mean serious issues. Whereas if it's from within the bathrooms (condensation) this is something I can fix and prevent relatively easily.

I've looked at getting someone to have a look for me but i've been quoted £200+ just to look at it! I'd prob try get some kind of tradesman to have a look further down the line if I progress But at this stage i'm just trying to work out if i'm making some majorly wrong assumptions which could cause problems!

Any advice much appriciated.
Also, i'll be viewing the property again so any tips to further diagnose would help.

Thanks,

Geoff

Pics would be the best advice first.

I would agree with you, that damp and condensation is the likely cause, especially if there's no sign on any of the other walls.

If it's been left through the winter with no heat or ventilation could be another.

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This is most certainly condensation and lack of ventilation, pics would be very helpful to ascertain the extent of the damage,
Areas like bathrooms require could ventilation and good extraction i usually find 150mm fans are really the min requirement in bathrooms or shower rooms

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Thanks for the replies. Will definately take some pics when I view again and post them up.

The more I look into it the more confident I am that it's not a major issue and is something I can sort out.

Thanks again,

Geoff