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Surveyor.. Awkward situation.. Help

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Dumpydoodle
Dumpydoodle Posts: 21 Forumite
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi all

After much looking around, and speaking to various surveyors, I finally instructed one today to do a homebuyers report and paid by bank transfer. He's a really lovely guy and and a frics surveyor.

However:(, i had a call today from another surveyor, who's answer phone I left a message on yesterday, but he's only just got back to me. He doesn't know how much the other quote is, but has quoted me the exact same price to do a full structural, and inspect the lease etc and take up any queries with my sol, I really like this guy too, he really knows his stuff, and was saying about how mentioning about how a roof in a block can be the responsibility of the top floor, of which I'm buying,and the ground floors responsibility for the foundations, and its important to find out. He is also frics.

Thing is.. What to do now?? Do I cancel the other one, if I can get my money back that is and go with this guy or keep it how it is due to the property only being 7 years old.

The homebuyers will give me the valuation too, that I thought may be handy for if I sold anytime, but I feel like I need the thorough inspection into the paperwork by the other surveyor, due to not being totally confident in my sol picking everything up. Help please:(

Thank you
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Comments

  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    From what you say you have a contract with the 1st surveyor. You 'instructed' AND paid him.

    So it up to his discretion to decide whether to release you from this contract and return your £.

    Either ring, discuss and see what he says, or leave things as they are.
  • kingstreet
    kingstreet Posts: 39,256 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Dumpydoodle wrote: »
    inspect the lease
    What qualifies a surveyor to comment on a lease?
    I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.
  • G_M
    G_M Posts: 51,977 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Combo Breaker
    kingstreet wrote: »
    What qualifies a surveyor to comment on a lease?
    It's a fair point, but a lease could indicate whether the survey needs/does not need to include the rof.

    Having said that, most leases require leaseholders to share roof-costs, and those that don't place liability on the top floor flat.....
  • Dumpydoodle
    Dumpydoodle Posts: 21 Forumite
    I'm not sure what qualify s him to do this, I'm new to all this I'm afraid. But in addition, I have just looked on homecheck.co.uk that someone very kindly put up, and the postcode I'm buying in has flagged up as high, for inviromental pollution, and there being past industrial use under that postcode. Also it mentions a landfill site, so this has worried me. Am I worrying unduely or are these reasons to rethink the purchase?? It also flagged up as medium risk, subsidence in that postcode. Confused :(
  • kingstreet
    kingstreet Posts: 39,256 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Your solicitor will carry out an environmental search which will cover those issues.
    I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.
  • kellyt86
    kellyt86 Posts: 174 Forumite
    kingstreet wrote: »
    Your solicitor will carry out an environmental search which will cover those issues.

    Can I just ask (without hijacking the thread) whether this is a given in house purchase? I have only paid for local authority and water searches. Will the solicitor also automatically do environmental?

    Like the OP, I had industrial site and landfill come up as high on the homecheck site!

    Thanks all.
  • Dumpydoodle
    Dumpydoodle Posts: 21 Forumite
    Kelly86, I think I also requested an environmental search. I know they done some as standard, but others I had the choice if I wanted them. I thought environmental was an important one. Not sure how I feel about buying on a former industrial site, with contaminated land.. Depends if it was all delt with properly, and its a possibility that there is a disused railway line there, from what I can make out.. But that's just me being nosy and googling. Another poster put up a link for homecheck.co.uk and I tapped in the postcode just now, that's when it came up. Try it now and see if anything flags up
  • kellyt86
    kellyt86 Posts: 174 Forumite
    Thanks dumpydoodle! Yeah that's what I did on homecheck and said high for landfill and industrial area. Will speak to solicitor tomorrow.
  • kingstreet
    kingstreet Posts: 39,256 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    kellyt86 wrote: »
    Can I just ask (without hijacking the thread) whether this is a given in house purchase? I have only paid for local authority and water searches. Will the solicitor also automatically do environmental?
    Solicitors do an indicative environmental report and if there's anything untoward on there, will ask your permission to spend the £40 on the full environmental search.

    Ask your solicitor if in any doubt.
    I am a mortgage broker. You should note that this site doesn't check my status as a Mortgage Adviser, so you need to take my word for it. This signature is here as I follow MSE's Mortgage Adviser Code of Conduct. Any posts on here are for information and discussion purposes only and shouldn't be seen as financial advice. Please do not send PMs asking for one-to-one-advice, or representation.
  • kellyt86
    kellyt86 Posts: 174 Forumite
    Thank you, will do tomorrow.
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