Is it "dangerous" to get mortgage company to do homebuyers survey?

cheersmedears

Hi All

I am thinking about getting my mortgage company's preferred surveyor to do a homebuyer's survey as well as the general valuation.

However, I have been informed by HSBC that although our lending has been approved, our valuation MUST come out at the same as our offer or above, otherwise they won't be able to lend to us as our 90% LTV won't be met.

Is it therefore "risky" to get the same company to do the valuation for HSBC as well as the homebuyers survey for us (it's all one fee as far as I can tell)? If they find something as part of the homebuyers survey, won't that affect the valuation (when if they'd done just the valuation then they might not have found it)?

Help needed! Thanks

Leory

I was informed that the surveyor would do a valuation survey and then do a homebuyers after, and that only the first would be taken into account.

i did find this hard to believe however, as if he notices something, he cant put it to the back of his mind for the valuation!

wodgerdodger

The Lenders valuer/surveyor is normally independent, there are very few in house staff valuers these days, and as such are professionally qualified individuals.
When conducting a Home Buyers report there is a different contract in place compared to a basic valuation.
In the former the valuer is contracted directly to you and you have direct recourse against him if he overlooks/misses something which could reasonably have been evidenced. They would normally not look behind wardrobes, under carpets or do drain/electric tests. The full report he submits is not sent to the Lender only to you. He would mereley submit to the Lender the standard short form valuation report giving a precis of the condition of the property , current valuation and insurance value.
With the basic valuation report carried out on behalf of the Lender you have no direct contract with the valuer he is carrying out an assesment to confirm it is suitable security for the lenders purposes. If he gets anything wrong then your legal recourse is only against the Lender. Additionally this valuation report is anonymous and in reality your lender doesnt even have to supply you with a copy if they so wish.
In my opinion there is no conflict of interest choosing a home Buyer report via the Lender. However you should be aware that the HomeBuyer report is not in itself any guarantee that it will tell you all that may be wrong witht the property. If the surveyor has an inkling that there could damp,structural,electrical or drainage problems then he could well recommend/request more detailed reports from specialists in these areas.

As far as cost I think you will find that the basic report will be around a 1/3 of the price of the House Buyers report but a ful breakdown of the different costs should be on the explanatory notes supplied with the Lenders application form.

sonastin

get some quotes for an independent survey. The lender's "upgrade" charge to get a homebuyers survey isn't necessarily the most competitive around. See what it would cost you to have them done separately compared to the combined fee. If it isn't too much more (or possibly even less!) you might as well get an independent survey but if the combined one is significantly cheaper, you'll have to give some thought to the risk of the "valuation" being a bit more thorough!

cheersmedears

Thanks everyone, your input is highly valued.