Survey - before or after offer?

ab7167

Have just seen gorgeous-ish house - don't love it yet, but have fallen in love with what it could be - family house for us etc. etc.

However - roof looks a bit dodgy to me, therefore I want to survey it prior to offering, as the price we offer will depend on how much work needs doing.

Do you think seller would mind this or would they be expecting to see an offer on the table before a survey of the roof is done?

Probably an immaterial question, but any opinions out there? Would it annoy you to have potential buyer wanting to survey before offering?

GDB2222

I would definitely offer and get the offer accepted before spending money on a survey. That's what vendors expect. Don't mention the roof to the vendor when you make your offer. If the survey comes back bad, you can then either walk away or reduce your offer and tell the vendor why. The fact the roof looks dodgy to you means that the vendors can see it too, and they will realise that any other surveyor is very likely to comment adversely on the roof.

overandout_2

Why would you want to do that?

First, it shows to the seller that you are keen on the house - they on the other hand wouldn't be as prepared to negotiate on the price when they know they have the upper hand

Second, you could potentially lose the money that you have spent on the survey since your offer has not been accepted. There might other potential buyers that could outbid you.

Third, once your offer is accepted, get a structural survey done. Any potential problems (including the roof) with the quotations for the works can be renegotiated with your vendor....

sarah_elton

When making an offer it's pretty standard to say "subject to survey", the implication being that a horrible survey will mean you'll drop the offer. If there is obvious work that needs doing, account for that in your offer price. If you're not sure, offer assuming the roof is ok and then drop the offer if the survey does find a problem. That'd be my approach anyway...

ab7167

Hmm, see what you mean about the upper hand. Property Bee says it has been on since April 07 and reduced by about £50k since then to current asking price.

I assume the vendors already know about the roof, there are obvious signs of damp in several places. However, what is obvious to me may not be obvious to other people.

OH and I are both structural engineers, so no outlay on survey "I want to survey" was literal in this sense! I personally will be up a ladder in the loft space going "hmmm, going to cost you....."

I think the comment about the perceived "upper hand" is probably the bit I have missed in this scenario - they may be desparate to move, but if it has been reduced by that much already, they may actually not be ABLE to reduce more, depending on their circumstances. So it is all a game really. Have only ever bought modern houses before, where the procedure is a bit more straight forward, to my mind.

pinkshoes

Have you been on houseprices.co.uk and looked up what they paid for it and when they bought it?

If its been on the market since April 07, then perhaps they are in negative equity and therefore in no hurry to sell? (or can't afford to sell below a certain price?)

Thrugelmir

ab7167 wrote: »

OH and I are both structural engineers, so no outlay on survey "I want to survey" was literal in this sense! I personally will be up a ladder in the loft space going "hmmm, going to cost you....."

Then why not just ask to view the loft area ? :rolleyes:

I've always taken a look just to ascertain storage area etc.

ab7167

does this only cover back to a certain date? the one I am interested in doesn't seem to appear here on houseprices.co.uk?

Cannon_Fodder

Might cost you, but an independently (even if you know the other surveyor in the trade) produced report may carry more weight than you coming down a ladder say "sorry, guv"...

ab7167

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Then why not just ask to view the loft area ? :rolleyes:

I've always taken a look just to ascertain storage area etc.

No access without a ladder, unfortunatley. Therefore second appointment necessary. I did have a torch with me for looking into interesting nooks!

ab7167

Cannon_Fodder wrote: »

Might cost you, but an independently (even if you know the other surveyor in the trade) produced report may carry more weight than you coming down a ladder say "sorry, guv"...

We would get a formal report done, probably by OH's boss - and we would have to pay a nominal fee for the PI cover on this. The looksee was really just a "is the roof going to have to come off or not" question.

Of course I would not expect the vendor to rely on my word. It would be nice, but we are living in the real world after all.

I would be wary if the roof actually needed to come off, we are looking at moving in January hopefully. Roof work would ideally want to be done ASAP, but baby no.2 due 22nd Feb (am really getting a bit fat for working in loft spaces!), and this would be a major inconvenience. Or 2 weeks of living with my in laws....