Offer to buy structural survey

jabei

Hi all....I'm sure this has been covered but I couldn't find it.

I am at the point in a house purchase of arranging a survey. The estate agent tells me that a lady who was going to buy the house (& couldn't for chain reasons) is offerening me her survey at almost £1000 saving to me.

It seems to be too good to be true. Can anyone let me know the potential risk of going with a survey that was carried out for someone else?

clutton_2

i would buy it... as long as you can see if before parting with cash.. maybe arange to see it in the EAs office and pay for it then... or if the vendor does not like that, then ask the EA to look at it and reassure you that it IS a full structural survey... and to put that in writing

i have sold on my surveys to others when i dropped out of a sale... saves money all round

irrespective of who actually commissioned the survey, the facts contained in it should be pretty well the same - unless there is a huge gap inbetween the purchase and selling-on

PasturesNew

I'd buy it. It'd save a lot of time/money in having your own done. It will be the cheapest way for you to see what the potential issues are. If you buy it though, what isn't transferable is any rights you'd have if the surveyor missed something.... having said that, it's rare that you can manage to successfully sue a surveyor for getting it wrong.

So, buy it to put you in a more informed position before proceeding. I'm surprised the EA's offered it though as it's really 'going behind the back' of the seller if it contains anything detrimental. I think maybe that might be a good sign, that the EA doesn't expect you to pull out on sight of it.

eco-friendly_2

clutton wrote: »

i would buy it... as long as you can see if before parting with cash..

.. then say " let me think about it "

jabei

It's not even going behind the sellers back. She mentioned it before the EA.
I guess I'm most worried about having no recourse should a wall fall down or something.

Suing surveyors is a tough thing is it?

silvercar

£1,000 saving? How much do you think a structural survey cost you?

If you are getting a mortgage then you will still need to pay for a valuation.

By all means do it, but be aware that there is no comeback if the surveyor missed anything and your "saving" isn't really that much.

As a guide a full structural survey in the south east on a house valued in the 750k-£1m range would cost about £1000-£1250; so I suspect the saving isn't as big as you've been led to believe.

JQ.

jabei wrote: »

It's not even going behind the sellers back. She mentioned it before the EA.
I guess I'm most worried about having no recourse should a wall fall down or something.

Suing surveyors is a tough thing is it?

You won't have any recourse to the surveyor, which is why you're getting it cheap. Part of the reason for getting a survey done is that you can sue someone if it all goes horribly wrong. Alternatively, try to find out who the surveyor was and ask them if you can buy it off them - it may be a bit more expensive but but at least you'll have them to sue if it goes wrong.

It's a while since I bought a house but a £1,000 saving does seem expensive, I thought full structurals were around £800, but I may be wrong or you may be buying a 30,000 sq ft mansion.

sunshinetours

Just check it isn't a home buyer report rather thana full structural survey. I would do it as it saves money all round. if there is anything worrying in it you could always then commission your own survey purely to focus on those areas to get some reassurance (and potential comeback) which will still be cheaper than a structural survey probably

sonastin

I was about to instruct a surveyor when my buyer pulled out but I've been plagued by calls from surveyors desperate for the business ever since. They are quoting around £350 for a full structural survey for a £180k terrace in the north west. If you can save £1000, I would suggest perhaps the original price was too high. If the surveyors are so short of work, you could probably get your own survey done for the price they are selling this one for.

maninthestreet

Are you sure it's a 'full survey'???

dboswell

Further, some surveys that are passed on or shown to those not in the immediate circle of people (that need to know) are deemed a breach of confidentiality.

I recall a commercial survey being only shown to another potential buyer and the surveyor kicked the ceiling. You could pay the surveyor for a retype which should cost £100 or so.

Structural surveys can easily be £1500-£2500 in some areas and a commercial "homebuyers" style one can top £6,000.