Homebuyer survey

dazeruk

The survey on a flat I'm buying is due to be carried out today by the mortgage company nominated surveyeurs.

I received a leaflet yesterday to explain what the survey covers and I'm now slightly confused.

The leaflet seems to explain what it doesn't cover rather than what the survey will highlight.

No looking under carpets
No testing of gas
No testing of electric
No looking at the roof
No looking in cupboards
No looking behind furniture
and the list goes on......

Could someone please explain what a home buyers survey will actually highlight about the property?

googler

Whether it forms a 'suitable security' for your mortgage lender's money.

i.e. is it generally in decent condition; is there any sign of damp or rot that the surveyor can see; are the windows in good condition; do the doors fit, and open and close (if not, are there other signs of subsidence); does it have the usual services - gas, elec, mains water and (crucially) drainage;
etc etc

sonastin

dazeruk wrote: »

Could someone please explain what a home buyers survey will actually highlight about the property?

If there is something about the property that the surveyor's trained eye can identify as being a problem but which the inexperienced layman possibly might not spot?

G_M

Even a full structural survey will be limited to areas the surveyor can access. Clearly causing damage to the seller's property is not on, so pulling up fitted carpets, looking behind plaster at insulation etc..

A full survey will include the roof, certainly external inspection, and assuming there is access to the attic then internal inspection too.

And cupboards? well, you don't learn much inside a cupboard except what the seller's diet is like unless the cupboard has no back in which case a surveyor might well look at the wall behind and/or test it for damp.

But much depends on the type of survey.

Arthurian

Have a look at the RICS Home Surveys Information Sheet, downloadable at http://www.rics.org/site/scripts/download_info.aspx?fileID=6087&categoryID=493
It tells you the differences between each type of survey and what each entails.

Pupnik

We opted to pay extra for a HBR and I am glad we did- the mortgage valuation was very vague and did not explain the issues the surveyor found at all. The HBR was quite a hefty document which broke down all the major areas of the property's wear and tear- not just immediate problems, but problems which may develop further down the line, as well as issues they recommend to raise with the solicitors. If you are experienced with property/ building work then it may be that you do not find a HBR very useful, but as a first time buyer I was interested. Actually, much like you, when I read the letter detailing all the things they couldn't do I thought we had wasted our money and there was no point to it but I changed my mind when I got the report and read about potential issues I hadn't considered (not in a scare mongering way, mind!)