Bought huose but Survey Didn't spot the dry rot - help!

mike555

Hello , friends of mine bought a house 2 years ago, they had a survey done and nothing untowards was found. They found out they had dry rot about 6 months after moving in but tell me they didnt get anywhere when they complained to the people who carried out the survey (I think it was the building society, not sure though). They paid for expensive work to fix it at the time but they keep finding more and more rot in different areas of the house and it looks like being a very expensive job to fix.

I don't know the full story at this stage but is it correct that if the problem wasn't spotted at the survey you have no comeback whatsoever?

Thanks in advance for any help.

Browntoa

which survey ??

a valuation survey for the mortgage or a full structural one ??

the first one is only a fleeting glance at the property

mike555

Hi, I'm not sure but I think it was a full survey.

Debt_Free_Chick

mike555 wrote: »

Hi, I'm not sure but I think it was a full survey.

Beore they take any action they must establish what survey they paid for. Usually, the lender's "survey" is not a survey at all - it's simply a valuation to establish that the value of the property is worth what the lender is lending (IYSWIM)

mike555

I'm amazed at the fast replies, thanks. I shall find out what exactly they paid for.

marshmallow79

I'd be interested in how they go because I bought my house 18 months ago and had a survey done that was somewhere between to the 2 mentioned here (don't ask what it was called!) and they didn't even pick up that this place had subsidance issues 20 years previously (have you ever tried getting building insurance on a property with a subsidance history!!!:eek:). I would have thought that they would have realised there had been a problem even with a basic survey. I didn't find out about the subsidence until after I had moved in and my solicitor forwarded me the property details, needless to say I was not impressed that even he hadn't mentioned it!:mad:

PasturesNew

There are generally 3 surveys, in order of price:
1] Basic Valuation, surveyor pops round to check the house exists and what it's roughly worth
2] Homebuyers', surveyor spends 2-3 hours in the property, poking things about before telling you that you need to get a damp survey, electrical survey, roof might need fixing. They will usually spot things like chimneys that have been removed but not supported properly or if there's been movement at some point. But mostly it tells you stuff is old and you need to get each of the other professionals in to check
3] Full Structural Survey. This is the biggie. This one checks everything.

I always understood that only the last one would be one you can sue over if they got it wrong, but I am no expert.

Most surveyors will also state things like: Couldn't really see as owners had too much stuff; couldn't see as there was carpet down. So can be of limited use.

marshmallow79

So would I have no come back? They did say there was a crack under the bay window but it was long standing but as someone who's never come across subsidence before I wouldn't relate a long standing crack to something so drastic. Maybe I should have asked the question but I thought it was just something to do with property settlement or something trivial like that and not the whole corner of my house disappearing into a big hole in the ground!:eek:

poppysarah

Most surveys simple consist of a series of preset statements regarding getting professional detailed advice from a damp surveyor, electrical surveyor etc

silvercar

Marshmallow,

One of the questions on the solicitors pack is "has there been any subsidence, past or present". I would query this with your solicitor, it is really important for insurance. without declaring a previous subsidence issue, your insurer won't cover it.

Ian_Griffiths_Halifax

The only level of inspection that has any comeback is the Full Structural Survey, which is carried out for the person instructing it, ie. the buyer.

Both the Homebuyers Report and the Valuation for Mortgage Purposes (basic valuation carried out by the lender) are unaccountable.

If the vendor said they were not aware of any Susidance and it can be proven that they did know, then you can take legal action against them. Speak to the Solicitor who did the Conveyancing to see what he was told.