Offer accepted.........

Plans_all_plans

Hi all

Our offer was accepted this afternoon and I have spoken to our chosen mortgage provider since, in order to get the ball rolling.

My fiance will be going in branch this weekend to submit the mortgage application and pay for valuation, find a solicitor etc (I am away this weekend, so will not be attending the meeting)

We have been told that the minimum valuation fee is £280, the homebuyers report is £460 and the cost of a full structural survey will depend on what we want looking at. Would you go for a full structural survey? Roughly how much would this cost?

The house is a 1970s mid terrace and the area we are buying in would have had a lot of mines around in the past and I worry that the house could possibly have been made unstable and fall into a mine shaft (!) because of this. Would the full structural survey pick up on this sort of thing? There is also artex up the stairs/hallway which could be used to cover cracks etc: would the full structural one tell us if this was an issue?

Thanks for any advice you can give.

Owain_Moneysaver

A structural survey is only likely to pick up mine workings if there are visible signs of settlement - solicitor's searches are likely to be more fruitful. Eg it may be possible to see if any neighbouring properties have had Building Regs applications in for underpinning etc.

If the survey mentions artex it will be along the lines of 'textured coatings of this era may contain asbestos' - without scraping some off and sending it to be tested no surveyor will know.

If you mean artex up the walls then I hope you plan to skim over it as it's cruel when you brush bare flesh against it.

A bit of surface plaster cracking is nothing to worry about, outside cracks around windows or door frames, or frames not square etc, would be more of a warning sign.

Plans_all_plans

Many thanks. Yes we intend to have the artex skimmed before we move in as it is up the walls in the hallway/landing. Is the possibility of asbestos in the artex anything to worry about, give that we will need to install central heating in this property too?

Owain, would you recommend a full structural survey?

Plans_all_plans

Can anyonw hrow anymore light on this please? Is the full structural survey the way to go?

alanmilstein

All surveys of the type you are looking at are visual surveys i.e. they do not remove material, dig holes or remove fixed panels.
Therefore, the only way to find out about mineworkings is to commission a specialist report. Your solicitor should be able to organise this and the cost should be £100-£150.
The only way to confirm if the textured wall and ceiling finishes contain asbestos is to have samples analysed by a specilist laboratory. The samples should be taken by a properly qualified asbestos surveyor who can also provide a complete report on the condition of any asbestos containing materials.
We offer a survey called a Home Condition Survey which essentially looks at the whole structure of the building and reports on the condition of all the main elements. The survey is quality assured by SAVA, the Surveyors and Valuers Accreditation.