A survey can't possibly do an in depth study of everything. You'd have to take the house apart to do that. You'd need a good electrician to do a check and test on the electrics - and a good roofer to look at the roof.
That statement applies to most roofs.
I didnt waste money on a survey, After a year of living in the house in all weathers you should have a list of what needs doing.
Much more important is the view out the windows - that you cant fix!
And if you use heating and windows differently then the previous occupants then you may have different condensation patterns.
[g]
Well, yes. Indemnity is one of the benefits of having an expert make an assessment. However, there were so many areas that were either excluded or made wishy-washy observations: "may" "could" "might" etc. that I doubt any action could be brought for the superficial and inconsequential observations that filled the bulk of the reports.
Indeed.
At the end of the day the price is a negotiation. Some people like to have a surveyors report to give their bargaining position credibility. When I bought this place it was in dire condition, but I couldn't be bothered to nitpick. I juts said 'all the mortgage company will lend me is X, take it or leave it'
They took it. It was a complete lie.
When my friend sold his house he told the new buyers that they could have the crap plastic garden furniture if they wanted it as he did not have space for it when he moved out.
The buyers then got their solicitor to write a letter to my friends solicitor asking for this offer to be made in writing so that they did not miss out on such a bargain. The letters cost more than the furniture.
Adam
I wish.
I've never had a surveyor's report that gave me any confidence they'd actually visited the property, nor have any of them ever stated anything with any certainty that would give you a chance of suing them in the future. Confusing wooden & concrete floors was one, querying gas boiler safety on a rural house with no mains gas, simply getting the address confidently wrong throughout.
Why not just be properly insured?
[...]
Mine told me that the condensate drain on the boiler was inadequate, when the boiler is not a condensing one.
Pete
Agreed. There's a small chance the survey may spot something you didn't notice but the report will be 99% full of "I was unable to check X" and "I recommend you get the wiring/CH/etc. checked by an expert". I doubt you would find any surveyer willing to make a useful comment on a flat roof at all. Always budget to replace a flat roof immediately you move in. If it lasts longer that's a bonus.
Had sight of a U.S., California house purchase survey, cost the potential buyer 350 USD done by a chartered building engineer.
Wow, if only U.K surveys were like that, detailed photos of every single problem however slight with analysis of cause and possible remedies.This was a survey not a quote by a contractor, Everything, including uneven kitchen step, with photos , was in it, very impressive.
Been a few exposes of surveyors on TV, one that remember was full structural that came beautifully bound for 800 GBP + VAT, reporter phoned surveyors:
Roof, you recommend consulting a roofing specialist.
Electrics,you recommend consulting an electrician for testing.
Plumbing,,you recommend consulting a plumber for testing.
Heating, you recommend consulting a heating engineer for testing.
Timber and rot, you recommend consulting a timber specialist.
Damp, you recommend consulting a rising damp specialist.
As the reporter asked , exactly what are you a specialist in?
If you require a survey for mortgage purposes employ a panel surveyor whose valuation will be acceptable to your lenders, the surveyor is then working for you and probasly has time at moment to spend a while on the phone going through the survey for you, my experience is they are happier to talk about some things than commit the whole opinion to paper.
Back in the day was such a thing as 2nd Gear survey, slowed down to
2nd gear whilst passing the property....Cheers Adam
One advantage of using an experienced LOCAL surveyor is that he knows the gound conditions in the area and where subsidence has been a problem. He will probably have surveyed many of the nearby houses himself and knows what typically goes wrong with them.
When I have had surveys done I always made it clear I wasn't intersted in being told how big the rooms are an so on. iw anted to know if there was a danger of suibsidence or any signs of it already happening. I also wanted to know about any structural changes that had been bandly done: one house had a chimney breast removed on the ground floor with no support for the chimney above. The gable wall had bowed out as a result
Finally, ring him up afterwards for a chat. You often et the most useful information from that chat. That's when he will say "I wouldnt' touch this hous eif I were you" or "basically this house is fine".
Foinally (really), you can ask for a list of estimated prices to get things fixed. This is usful when discussing the price with the vendor. As a serious buyer I have often had the survey done BEFORE making my offer. Your offer then gets the sellers estatgents approval becuase he knows it's more certain.
Robert
A building society valuation is not really a survey at all IMHO. Often they just drive by and look at the outside of the front of the house and never even enter the premises.
I've just had a mortgage valuation survey, as the vendor. He spent longer than I thought he would. His damp meter was used extensively. He measured up. He went into the attic. He paced out the length of the garden and asked loads of questions etc. I would have preferred a 'drive by'.
mark
A lot of mortgage valuers have lost their jobs. The ones that haven't are very keen not to, take their time and actually produce accurate reports.
Maybe it wasn't just a valuation. Sometimes the lender will allow you to pay extra and have a homebuyers survey done at the same time as the valuation survey.
R
Anoth r thought: since the recent financial upheavals, perhaps lenders are requiring a full 'red book' valuation. I had this done for probate once and it was very thorough. It was supposed t oinclude measurements of the plot and floor areas and had deductions for the costs of fixing problems.
Robert
Thanks for everyone's opinions and experiences regarding the various aspects of surveys; mine's due imminently and this thread has helped me to measure my expectations.
DDS
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