when will i get a copy of the survey?

wigglyworm

hi i have had a quote for building insurance but they won't give a definite price until the survey comes back with a rebuild cost on it.
my mortgage is with C&G via lloyds tsb, i have had the standard survey done but it was only a drive by valuation (the house was built in 1984, should i worry about this low level survey)? when i phoned the bank to enquire about the survey they said i would not get a copy until completion.
is this normal procedure? if so how do i get building insurance.
further to my early question i expected them at least to enter the house to value the property, should i at this stage get a independant survey done?
thanks

Debt_Free_Chick

wigglyworm wrote:

hi i have had a quote for building insurance but they won't give a definite price until the survey comes back with a rebuild cost on it.
my mortgage is with C&G via lloyds tsb, i have had the standard survey done

No you haven't - the lender has had someone value the property

but it was only a drive by valuation (the house was built in 1984, should i worry about this low level survey)?

Some of them don't even bother to drive by - they ring around a few local estate agents and ask "what do you think?"

when i phoned the bank to enquire about the survey they said i would not get a copy until completion.
is this normal procedure?

I think they mean completion of the mortgage offer - but check.

if so how do i get building insurance.

The Association of British Insurers working with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors has a calculator, which is probably all that the lender's valuer has used.

further to my early question i expected them at least to enter the house to value the property, should i at this stage get a independant survey done?
thanks

Nope - see above. But more importantly, you have not had a survey of any description and you should think carefully about whether you want more information about the real condition of the property you're buying.

HTH

lovelldr

You could phone them up, and ask them to look at what the surveyor wrote on his survey to the mortgage company, and get them to tell you that.

Failing that, you could just put down a value of roughly 75% of the value of the house, as that should be more than adequate...

trets77

i hope you are sure you only want a valuation survey.

a homebuyers survey covers YOU not your lender. i know all to well this is one of the few corners you can cut when buying and it is expensive. but ANYTHING found can be negotiated off the price you are paying. they very often pay for themselves
it,s not everyday you spend this much money !!!!

wigglyworm

thanks for the replies.
i thought i was getting a basic survey but obviously not.
how much do they cost, i guess i would need a home buyers survey.

lilyann1

We are getting a mortgage with the C&G and they did the valuation on the property we are buying and we never got a copy of it.We had out own homebuyers done as we thought it was worth paying the extra to get an independent surveyor, who was working for us and not the mortgage company.

cattie

Some insurance companies such as Halifax have a blanket cover which means you don't need to know the rebuild costs before you can take out the insurance. It does make life a little easier. Have you tried for an online quote from them as they are really competitive & you get a 20% discount for taking it out online?

As regards to a survey on a property built in the 80's, my choice is to go with just the lenders valuation survey if the property appears to be in good condition.

The trouble with homebuyer's surveys is that they are too full of generalisations & recommendations to get specialists in to check everything, & tell you very little for the hundreds of pounds they cost you. However, in saying that I do have one done each time I'm buying a property over 30yrs old.