Confused first time buyer - surveys?

trv9865

Hi Please Help!!!!

I am in the process of applying for a mortgage. The lender charges a valuation fee of £275 or a homebuyers report is £465. Am I OK getting the lender to carry out a homebuyers report or would any findings affect my mortgage application as they would see the report? Surely its cheaper for them to carry out the homebuyers report at £465 rather than paying them £275 & then getting someone else to do the report at approx £345 (this is the cheapest quote I've had so far).
I suppose I also need to double check that the £465 includes a valuation report which the lender needs?

Have I got it completely wrong? please help!!!!!

Eric1

£465 will definitely include the valuation.
However, just a homebuyers report may be a waste of money. It will only identify problems that you can see yourself if you look carefully.

G_M

Eric1 wrote: »

£465 will definitely include the valuation.
However, just a homebuyers report may be a waste of money. It will only identify problems that you can see yourself if you look carefully.

probobly true, though many people, esp FTBs, do not look carefully, do not know where/how to look, and if they DO look, don't see.

However reading a good book on the subject, preparing a checklist, and then viewing the property again carefully probobly WILL show everything a homebuyers report will show.

trv9865

Thanks Eric,
yes, but the property is terraced & really is about 50 years old, so structurally is should be sound & a further survey will cost more! but i still wonder if i should get a 2nd opinion by not getting a homebuyers report through my lender & appointing my own surveyor?

Eric1

G_M wrote: »

probobly true, though many people, esp FTBs, do not look carefully, do not know where/how to look, and if they DO look, don't see.

However reading a good book on the subject, preparing a checklist, and then viewing the property again carefully probobly WILL show everything a homebuyers report will show.

It probably also depends on the surveyor. Mine - selected by the lender - turned out to be quite superficial.

trv9865 wrote: »

Thanks Eric,
yes, but the property is terraced & really is about 50 years old, so structurally is should be sound & a further survey will cost more! but i still wonder if i should get a 2nd opinion by not getting a homebuyers report through my lender & appointing my own surveyor?

because of my bad experience, I will have a full survey next time.
I'd also ask the seller about any structural problems in the past.

sonastin

If you get the lenders surveyor to do the homebuyers survey, you save yourself about £150 but if the homebuyers bit picks up something that a valuation wouldn't have picked up, your mortgage lender will know about it and may take that into account when assessing your application. Then again, the surveyor might notice those same things if he just did a valuation report so it might be taken into account anyway even if you get an independent surveyor (depending on how conscientious the surveyor is and how obvious the problem is). Or there might be nothing wrong with the property and neither the valuation nor the homebuyers report will cause problems with your mortgage application.

You have to weigh up these risks and decide whether you are willing to stake an additional £150 on the outcome.

trv9865

Thanks Sonastin
I have dicided to go with the lenders surveyor, the more money I save, the more money I have to spend on the house! I gathered that if there is something wrong with the property I would still be faced with the decision of whether or not to continue with the purchase, regardless of who carries out the report (esp if its major structural work). And if I go with the lenders surveyor, I still save a bit of money (should I decide not to continue with the purchase) so all is not lost!
I've taken 2 people round to the property and the 3 of us havent found anything to cause any concern (and we checked every nook and cranny). We can only hope for the best!

Thanks for your comments!

brixham

Do you know a tame builder you can take round to cast a professional eye over it ? Someone you know who won't invent problems.
Don't be too paniced by the survey results as they always come up with something wrong with the place but will cover their bottoms by saying something may be a problem.

trv9865

No! i dont know any builders personally.... But a couple of people who have bought property before have said that surveyors have to "cover their bottoms" as you say & sometimes the report sounds worse than it actually is! Im hoping that'll be the case with this house.

sonastin

Read the report with a critical eye and notice the difference between "not checked" items and "checked it and it doesn't look right" items. For the "not checked" items consider how likely it is that it might be wrong (e.g. 30 year old original wiring - not good, central heating boiler fitted last year - probably OK). For the "doesn't seem right" items, decide whether it is a catastrophic problem or merely flawed and bear in mind the probability of the flaw turning into a catastrophic fault any time soon. For both, think about how much it'll cost you to get it changed now or what it might cost you to get it fixed after its turned catastrophic. And whether you can afford to do things now, later before they fail or later after they've failed.

And if you read the report with that in mind, you'll not be panicked by the backside-covering language and you'll be OK!