Valuation fees and surveys

StarX_2

Hi group!

Does anyone know if lenders normally allow one to carry out his/her own survey (structural/homebuyer), and have the fees to be paid for valuation waived from the lender's bill?

I know I could just ask my lenders, but was wondering whether this is common practice, and what to expect from the lender.

Thanks
StarX

alanobrien

Hi group!

Does anyone know if lenders normally allow one to carry out his/her own survey (structural/homebuyer), and have the fees to be paid for valuation waived from the lender's bill?

I know I could just ask my lenders, but was wondering whether this is common practice, and what to expect from the lender.

Thanks
StarX

You can employ anyone to carry out your own survey BUT whatever mortgage provider you use will still require a valuation to be done which they will likely charge you for.

Unless that is, you are a "new" customer in which case some mortgage deals waive the valuation charge.

One thing to think about is that it can be cheaper for you to have your survey done by the same people who are doing the valuation for the mortgage. Doing this saved me £200 recently.

terrierlady

this also applies to new homes, they also require a survey .

sshnuke

this also applies to new homes, they also require a survey .

if it is a new build and covered by an National House Building Council (NHBC) 10 yr guarantee afaik this isn't always the case.

terrierlady

New Homes do sometimes, just sometimes come with faults,  also if you are having a mortgage then you usally have a valuation done, some people even have a homebuyers survey and i have had people doing a full survey and discovering faults, read the 10 year NHBC guart; careful, it doesnt cover everything, most developers will come back for the first year and some the first three years but then its over to the NHBC or the Zurich scheme etc.
As in all things brought Buyer Beware.!

bunking_off

My lender didn't require a valuation on the new build I bought, just a site plan, sales literature & price list.

Generally, new builds are under the builder's warranty for the first two years, then NHBC thereafter. NHBC cover is pretty limited, whereas you can reasonably expect the builder to put right any faults during the first two years.

What I did was to wait until 23 months, then get a full structural survey done : I'm now using that to beat up the builder about the few outstanding faults (most of these were ones which are supposed to have been resolved, but clearly not to the satisfaction of the surveyor). This has 3 benefits;

1) Gives evidence from a competent 3rd party to use against the builders
2) Gives peace of mind that when one comes to sell the property, there won't be any nasties on surveys commissioned by the buyers, and
3) If done via your mortgage lender, locks in any price rise (e.g. my mortage rate varies according to amount lent versus value of house : higher value house, lower rate - takes a few years to pay back the price of the survey, but it helps).

For these reasons, I can't see the point of a survey on a new build on moving in (unless the lender insists on it), better to give the builders time to resolve any issues then get a survey close to the warranty transfer.

Returning to the OPC's question, mortgage lenders insist on a valuation commissioned by them, but any homebuyer's report/structural survey is your own affair. In my experience it's been cheaper to combine the two into one visit (ie use the lender's surveyor), but it's probably worth ringing around a few independents to be sure. I'd imagine it probably varies according to how much your particular lender charges...