Type of survey to get?

Julieg

I'm in the process of buying a house which was built in the seventies. As I'm not getting a mortgage but buying from the proceeds of the matrimonial home I was wondering if anyone could give me some advice of what type of survey to get.

I'm thinking of a homebuyers survey but was wondering about also getting a structural survey just to be on the safe side.

Any advice would be very much appreciated.

The_Drama_Llama

You don't need both, one or t'other will do - I would always go for the full buildings survey. For the sake of a couple of hundred quid, it's definitely worth it.

oneeye1

i would nt bother they are all useless office boys.do your self a big favour and get a good builder to have a real look and if you really want a spark and plumber save you money and be better

Yorkie1

A full buildings survey for a house which is less than 40 years old seems like overkill. I'd go for the housebuyers unless there is some specific reason to be concerned about the house's structural integrity.

G_M

A lot depends on you, and the property.

If you are confident, competent, and read up, you could do a lot yourself. Look at the roof. Tiles missing? Ridge at the top straight? Then work your way systematically down through the house checking everything. Get a book from the library to guide you. Take a builder as suggested by Oneeye1.

However if you don't know a builder, can't re-wire a plug and have no confidence........

And the property. A 200 year old thatched cottage is not the same as a 15 year old house on a modern housing estate. One needs more in-depth checking than the other. And what condition is it in? How have the previous owners treated it? Some you can tell at a glance will have fixed everything as they went along, other owners won't have touched it for years except to paper over the problems.....

Finally, remember a survey does more than tell you what is wrong. It gives you someone to sue if a problem arises which was not spotted by the surveyor.

sonastin

I got quotes for both. I was pleasantly surprised to find that the full structural survey wasn't much more expensive than a homebuyers (about £50 more). Then the surveyor told me that the survey work he does for each is exactly the same, it is only the level of detail that goes into the report that varies. In the end I went with the homebuyers because I knew the house I was looking at was riddled with problems and I didn't need chapter-and-verse on what they were. I only wanted to know if there were any others that I hadn't picked up on. On the other hand, a different house I had previously looked at seemed sound, but if there was anything wrong with it, I would need more detail, so I would have had a full survey done on that if the vendor hadn't decided to take it off the market.

It depends on what you want to know and how much you want the surveyor to tell you, as much as how much you want to pay for it.

Julieg

Thanks for all your replies. Unfortunately I know little or nothing about structure etc so definately want to get a survey. I'm going to get some prices for a homebuyers and structural survey and take it from there.

Being a worrier I'll probably go with the most comprehensive one!

oneeye1

complete and utter waste of money
they dont do nothing a builder could nt do in fact alot less

Birdy2011

The builder wont have the same type of insurance as a surveyor will, ie you will not be able to fall back on a builders advise.

Birdy2011

The builder wont have the same type of insurance as a surveyor will, ie you will not be able to fall back on a builders advise.

oneeye1

Birdy2011 wrote: »

The builder wont have the same type of insurance as a surveyor will, ie you will not be able to fall back on a builders advise.

true but he wont need it as he will tell you whats what and then you decide.surveyors are pants