IFA says don't bother with survey?

Wickedkitten

Excellent Idea. I certainly would have given him the sack if he talked to me like that.

Mind as your offer hasn't even formally been accepted yet, you still have plenty of time to switch advisors and worry about getting the survey done.

martindow

My experience of paid for surveys has left me very cynical. Surveyors seem to spend lots of time sketching the position of furniture in rooms to cover themselves if anybody accuses them of missing hidden faults. The written report was full of possibly, maybe, etc. For example the textured finish on the ceiling may contain asbestos. They seem so paranoid about being sued that the reports were next to useless. I feel that it was a lot of money and I was not much further forward.

The next time I think I would rather buy a couple of hours of a decent builder's time to go around the house with him, getting an indication of faults, problems and an idea of their seriousness and cost of repair.

ihateliver

Hi,
Sorry if this is deviating a little from the nature of this thread but ...
My mum is downsizing and is buying an apartment (second floor) in a managed block of flats.
A valuation survey is not needed because there is no mortgage. Every "experts" we've asked has suggested that a homebuyers survey would be a waste of money - any faults with structure etc will be dealt with by the property management - covered by the service charges/agreement.
Is this a reasonable way to save money or is it as dangerous as it might seem ?