Survey company carried out the wrong survey

deadfish

Hi guys,

I am in the process of buying a house and I was given the option of 'valuation', 'homebuyers report', or a full strucural survey.

In the end I chose a homebuyers report. 10 days later I receive a very vague valuation report which says I need a specialist to carry out a 'BWPDA timber/damp inspection', a 'drains test' and that and to 'arrange for all mains services to be tested'. With zero justification of why and what the surveyor had found. I phoned them asking why I had just a valuation and not a homebuyers report and she said he was in the process of writing it up and that it would be with me by the end of the week. I also asked to speak to the surveyor so he could clarify what his vague notes meant. They promised a call back. An hour later I recieved a call from a different lady that said the suveryor had not carried out the homebuyers report due to a technical error .

So my two questions are...

a) Is it normal for a valuation to be so vauge to the extent that it is less than a paragraph of text with no justification of why a specialist would need to check the wood/damp, drains and all the main services? I am concerned that the homebuyers report might have gone into enough depth to avoid the need for the aditional specialists and now that the report has been sent to the bank I will end up paying more.

b) The surveyors said it would be another week until they can view the property thus delaying the process. Should I ask for some compensation, if so what should I request of them?

Thanks in advance.

Doozergirl

A valuation is very short and is simply a paragraph for the lender's purposes to state whether or not they think the house is worth what has been agreed. Surveyors aren't qualified to comment on damp, electrics, plumbing. They can't see the drains so those are standard paragraphs covering their backs.

Don't expect much comment on those things in a Homebuyers Survey either - they might tell you if they look old etc but won't tell you if there is a specific problem or what exactly needs upgrading.

PasturesNew

Even full structural surveys will often say "get this looked at .... need a pro to look at this .... couldn't get to this part of the building ...."

Surveys .... the unspoken scam

firstaspect

Even a full survey won't check the mains services more than if they are connected. The surveyors aren't qualified plumbers, electricans or gas engineers so they can't check that sort of thing.

dunstonh

a) Is it normal for a valuation to be so vauge to the extent that it is less than a paragraph of text with no justification of why a specialist would need to check the wood/damp, drains and all the main services?

yes. Its only to make sure the property exists and is in the ballpark as acceptable to lend against

b) The surveyors said it would be another week until they can view the property thus delaying the process. Should I ask for some compensation, if so what should I request of them?

A delay of a week probably wont make a bit of difference when it comes to the scheme of things. Especially if you are in a chain. You could ask for a goodwill gesture but compensation is a bit rich for something that you are not out of pocket on.

in the end I chose a homebuyers report.

Which would have given you the same information. Homebuyers report would not carry out the inspections recommended. It goes further than the valuation in that they check the services are working and look a bit harder. However, they dont go into the detail a survey would.

poppysarah

deadfish wrote: »

Hi guys,
Is it normal for a valuation to be so vauge to the extent that it is less than a paragraph of text with no justification of why a specialist would need to check the wood/damp, drains and all the main services?

valuation = look at it on google maps and recommend everything gets checked by an expert ...

If you've paid for a more indepth then make sure you get it.

They are all mostly wooly though.
If you have looked at the gas boiler and fuse board and done a bit of research you'll know how old they are ...
If there's any diy arches then check they've got building regs...
if there's no damp proof course then get that checked...
etc

deadfish

Thank you guys for the reply.

The surveyors aren't qualified plumbers, electricans or gas engineers so they can't check that sort of thing.

Which is why am confused that he even mentioned it.

poppysarah

deadfish wrote: »

Thank you guys for the reply.



Which is why am confused that he even mentioned it.

It's his job to mention it.

They might all be brand new but he'd still want to copy and paste in "get it checked"

deadfish

poppysarah wrote: »

valuation = look at it on google maps and recommend everything gets checked by an expert ...

haha, From reading the report thats what I feel they have done.