Homebuyers or Full Structural Survey

tyler80

Arrrggghh I can't decide!

I read one thing and think we should definitely get a full structural survey and then another when i think a homebuyers survey will suffice.

What have other people done?

House is 1930's ish semi, ex-council property (privately owned 25 years), no alterations internal or external.

In my somewhat limited experience - it feels solid

FATBALLZ

Ours is 1960's and we just got the homebuyers report. Pretty standard sort of house though.

Rob_192

I do both these and generally advise clients that a Homebuyers is only siutable for properties upto about 40 years old. The survey (on site) is in truth little different, the cost savings on a Homebuyers comes about as a result of the simplified reporting (assuming similar condition properties, which of course they tend not to be). With the Homebuyers, one simply fills in boxes on a pre formatted document, whereas on a full survey (more commonly called a Buildings Survey) one has to write the report from stratch.

A homebuyers tends to be suitable for proprties where the condition of each room is likely to be similar, so for example one can report on the internal joinery in general terms and make a comment such as "generally in good order but would benefit from some minor repairs and redecoration", whereas in an older property, the condition is likely to vary and one would need to report on a 'room by room' basis, describing the various defects in more detail.

I can draft a Homebuyers report in less than half a day, whereas as Buildings Survey can easily take a full day or a day and a half. Hence the reason for the additional cost

R

geoffky

For a good night sleep it has to be a full structural unless its a new build..i got a full on mine and it was only 12 years old but they noticed all the double glazing vents had been filled in and i made the owner get them unblocked revealing a broken seal on a window that he had to replace. peace of mind is priceless..

tyler80

Homebuyers is only suitable for properties up to about 40 years old

I've seen that statement before a few times, only with different figures in it!

I was all set for the full structural until the mortgage company expressed surprise that I'd get one

BARGAINMAD101

Hi we are currently in the process of buying a 1930's semi too and have just had a Homebuyers survey done on it. The report seems quite thorough and seems to have looked at all of the property in some depth. The property we are buying also has an out building with a cellar so we went for the homebuyers to ensure this was checked out. They dont move furniture or carpets/flooring but looked at chimneys in depth etc even down to commenting on airvents on outside wall that had some holes blocked by paint in parts. and showed that the roof had been reinforced from inside loftspace when new roof added.
Was enough for us and as long as you think theres no possibility of obvious structural problems. Overall very impressed by the survey and how much was checked. good luck x

sashman

geoffky wrote: »

For a good night sleep it has to be a full structural unless its a new build..i got a full on mine and it was only 12 years old but they noticed all the double glazing vents had been filled in and i made the owner get them unblocked revealing a broken seal on a window that he had to replace. peace of mind is priceless..

Please dont stuff paper into air bricks or trickle vents, especially where gas boilers are concerned. Air vents are there for a purpose, to save lives, GAS kills.

sashman

Rob_192

tyler80 wrote: »

I've seen that statement before a few times, only with different figures in it!

I was all set for the full structural until the mortgage company expressed surprise that I'd get one

What I actually said was "I generally advise clients that a Homebuyers is only suitable for properties upto about 40 years old"

There are no specific rules here, only recommendations, but I would say you're on, if not past the limit with a house of that age.

If asked specifically to do a Homebuyers and when I get there I don't think it's suitable, then I always advise the client before proceding. There's nothing worse than trying to report on multiple defects on a form which is really designed only to give a brief overview. I would hope most surveyors would extend this courtesy.

Good luck with it.

R

timmyt

geoffky wrote: »

For a good night sleep it has to be a full structural unless its a new build..i got a full on mine and it was only 12 years old but they noticed all the double glazing vents had been filled in and i made the owner get them unblocked revealing a broken seal on a window that he had to replace. peace of mind is priceless..

Totally agree, full survey as half a job is no job at all.

Then again, a chartered surveyor recently told me that they spend as long at the property for either and you are simply paying for a more detailed report - so they must surely put all the bad stuff in the Home Buyers then as they'd be negligent to leave it out....so not a conclusive post it it.

Yeah it is, despite that - FSS hands down. I dont want the surveyor knowing more about my house then me who is buying the thing!

bestace

I'm in the process of buying a property and got quotes from 3 different surveyors. All 3 said the amount and depth of work involved was the same whether you went for the homebuyers or the buildings survey.

Yes the homebuyers report comes on a template report, but there is scope in this basic format for the surveyor to go into as much detail as he wants to about the specifics of any defects. However it doesn't cover details about the building materials used in any great depth, which I believe the buildings survey does.

I'm pretty happy with the homebuyers report I received, it's pretty comprehensive (30 pages in my case) and goes into a reasonable amount of detail about the work needed.