Survey Back - Bad News?

poppysarah

You've be wise to pay the surveyor and move on to find a better house.

Drains and subsidence. Might be related. Nightmare. Expensive. Depressing.

TomsMom

huntersc wrote: »

If only it worked like that. When I went back to the agent he said that he wasn't allowed to pass on the info because the previous survey had been confidential. I spoke to my solicitor and he said it wasn't worth chasing. I'd be surprised if many EAs pass on negative survey info.

I wonder if things have changed now because of HIPs. I haven't seen a HIP form so am wondering if this sort of problem has to be declared now.

We had a "round the table" discussion over this property with the vendors' solicitor and agent in attendance, along with the vendors, and the agent stated quite categorically to the vendors that as they were NAEA registered she was obliged to pass this information on to any other interested purchaser and if they changed agent she would have to inform the new agent too.

There wasn't a HIP with this property because it has been on the market for two years, just as well we had a full structural survey. Ours cost £705 for a £190,000 purchase price and although the surveyor's Ts and Cs stated that it was confidential, he said that he was happy for any relevant information to be passed on. We met with the surveyor on the day to discuss his findings and he was most helpful with pointing out the way forward.

groundforce_2

Thanks to all those who replied to my concern. I have spoken to my solicitor today who has advised to wait until we have the actual survey in our hands and then see what recommendations he has. We are expecting this tomorrow or Wednesday at the latest. Then we will take it to the next level - the estate agent is already on standby that action may well need to be taken. Apparently where an extra bedroom has been added on this side of the house where there is "slight cracking" (Surveyor's words), the building inspector has signed the work off so I'm assuming that he would have noticed the cracking if it was a cause of the extra bedroom. Anyway, lots of "ifs", "buts" and "maybes" at the moment - so will sit tight and see what our next step is.

planemad

Keep us updated groundforce.

JayZed

groundforce, I agree with the above. Assuming the survey does refer to possible subsidence, you should definitely get a full structural report from a structural engineer. It's quite expensive, but absolutely worth it.

Surveyors tend to err on the side of caution, and it could turn out that this is a minor settling/cracking issue - in which case it would be a shame to pull out of the deal if you like the property so much. A structural engineer's report will give you a much better idea of whether this is the case, or whether there's a genuine risk of serious subsidence - in which case you should cut your losses and walk away from a potential nightmare.

poppysarah

JayZed wrote: »

groundforce, I agree with the above. Assuming the survey does refer to possible subsidence, you should definitely get a full structural report from a structural engineer. It's quite expensive, but absolutely worth it.

It is expensive and they should consider whether there is a similar house without the problems and how they'll feel when the owners won't drop the price to take into account any works needed.

groundforce_2

If the owners don't pay for any necessary works needed, then we will walk away - pure and simple. Like somebody else posted - there are plenty of other houses out there! What will be, will be, and all that!

Doozergirl

TomsMom wrote: »

I wonder if things have changed now because of HIPs. I haven't seen a HIP form so am wondering if this sort of problem has to be declared now.

No it doesn't mean that at all.

Being a member of the NAEA means nothing legally. It's a self-regulatory body. I suspect that you simply ended up with an EA who wasn't going to accept any rubbish from the vendor and wanted it sorted one way or another. Many people would feel morally obliged to disclose, many EAs would consider commission first. I think your EA was considering wasted money spent on marketing an unsaleable property.

People pull out all the time and I've never once had an agent give me a 'concerning' reason why they might have done.

kazbrett

Guys - hoping to get the copy of the survey today so will be able to specify in more detail any concerns raised in the hope that somebody will be able to advise further.

In the meantime, have a quick question. When the surveyor does your survey and passes it onto you, does he have to submit the survey somewhere i.e. is there a central database where surveys are stored like insurance companies store information regarding houses. Or, once the survey is sent to us, is it our responsibility to keep it safe whilst living in the house?

Many thanks.

poppysarah

The survey is a pile of whitewash. Seriously it will only recommend that any concerns he has should be looked at in detail by other types of surveyors.

It's not important to keep it unless in ten years you want to find it and say "he was right about that blinking wiring!"

Use it as a rough guide of problem areas and take expert advice - or get a builder in and get a quote for doing the work to fix the problems.