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Who is responsible: Building survey

ratchford
ratchford Posts: 4 Newbie
in House buying, renting & selling
Hi everyone, not sure if this is the right forum to post this question, but it looked like the only suitable one.
We purchased a house about two months ago and had a full structural survey ( building) done on the property, this cost us about £900ish.
We have a small river runner through our garden, and have found that one of the banks is severly undercut ( it has a drystone wall on one side of the river) at the bottom of one of the walls, also we have found that further upstream the bank is in danger of collapsing. This is very obvious now we have moved in, but we didn't notice it at the time and will cost an obsolute fortune to put right. Should the surveor have picked up on this? We've been right through the survey and it doesn't even mention the river! If he is responsible do we have any recourse aprt from sueing?

Hope someone can help!

Thanks:confused:
«13

Comments

  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 50,003 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    We have a stream at the bottom of the garden. The surveyor picked up on it and commented that it looked fine but we should get our solicitor to ask the sellers if it has ever flooded and what our responsibilites to it would be and "whether there are any costs associated with maintenance of it, now or in the future and that a requisite easement exists."

    I would have thought he should have noticed and commented on it, to bring it to your attention.

    It may be that it is your responsibility, it may not be. Should your solicitor have seen it on the deeds?
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • A_Nice_Englishman
    A_Nice_Englishman Posts: 2,301 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee!
    I think it would depend on exactly what you asked to be surveyed. You say you got a "full structural survey (building)". That sounds like you only asked him to look at the building (i,e. the house). A river isn't a building and I'm not sure whether a drystone wall would count or not.
  • PoorDave
    PoorDave Posts: 952 Forumite
    500 Posts
    A_Nice_Englishman wrote:
    A river isn't a building

    This bit made me laugh for a good 5 mins!

    The survey should cover everything you're purchasing in the transaction, i think
    Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen nineteen and six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds ought and six, result misery
  • A_Nice_Englishman
    A_Nice_Englishman Posts: 2,301 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 1,000 Posts Mortgage-free Glee!
    PoorDave wrote:
    This bit made me laugh for a good 5 mins!

    The survey should cover everything you're purchasing in the transaction, i think

    I would have thought that too, but it was the fact that the OP said "full structural survey (building)" that made me wonder.
  • Optimist
    Optimist Posts: 4,557 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture
    A quick google gives this definition of a Full structural survey.

    A full structural survey looks at all the main features of the property, including walls, roof, foundations, plumbing, joinery, electrical wiring, drains and garden.
    "The whole problem with the world is that fools and fanatics are always so certain of themselves, but wiser people so full of doubts."

    Bertrand Russell. British author, mathematician, & philosopher (1872 - 1970)
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 50,003 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    did your solicitor mention the stream to you? It would have shown up on the deeds and so he should have noticed it.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • clutton_2
    clutton_2 Posts: 11,149 Forumite
    when you view and buy a building you often know more than the solicitor ever will about the property and its environs because you have been there and he has not. Did you tell you soliticor/surveyor that the stream formed part of your land ? Or if it is not yours, was ownership of the stream established during the searches and enquiriies that your solicitor made on your behalf prior to completion ?
  • silvercar
    silvercar Posts: 50,003 Ambassador
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Academoney Grad Name Dropper
    clutton wrote:
    when you view and buy a building you often know more than the solicitor ever will about the property and its environs because you have been there and he has not. Did you tell you soliticor/surveyor that the stream formed part of your land ? Or if it is not yours, was ownership of the stream established during the searches and enquiriies that your solicitor made on your behalf prior to completion ?

    we never knew our stream is here and we visited twice before making an offer. Our solicitor noticed it on the deeds (or accompanying map) and our surveyor found it while he was walking round the boundary. TBH I was surprised the surveyor saw it as it is hidden behind the summer house at the bottom of the garden.

    I would say that it is both their jobs to find these sort of things out.
    I'm a Forum Ambassador on the housing, mortgages & student money saving boards. I volunteer to help get your forum questions answered and keep the forum running smoothly. Forum Ambassadors are not moderators and don't read every post. If you spot an illegal or inappropriate post then please report it to forumteam@moneysavingexpert.com (it's not part of my role to deal with this). Any views are mine and not the official line of MoneySavingExpert.com.
  • clutton_2
    clutton_2 Posts: 11,149 Forumite
    do i remember from years back that all water is owned by the water companies ? i wonder if they have the duty to maintain banks ? just a thought - any legal eagles on here ?
  • molerat
    molerat Posts: 35,123 Forumite
    Part of the Furniture 10,000 Posts Name Dropper Photogenic
    Surely part of the structural survey would have been to determine if an external influence, i.e. the river, posed any risk to the property including the grounds
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