Is mortgage lender valuation survey enough?

Emma18

Hi

We are moving to new property and our mortgage deal comes with a free survey. We thought we might as well wait for that free one to be done first and then if any issues raised, we could pay for our own Homebuyers survey to be done too - as we assume the lender's survey will be less detailed than the Homebuyers.

Now, after reading a bit of info on the net, I'm wondering if the lenders survey is going to be worth bothering with at all.....it doesn't sound very detailed - and should we not waste time waiting, but go ahead and arrange a Homebuyers anyway.....?

Wondering if that's what all these people have done on these TV programmes where the house is falling down and you ask "How on earth did you not find that out from the survey before your bought it!?" - did they only have the lender's survey undertaken?

Has anyone ever just stuck with the lender's survey and been OK? or regretted it....?!

shar46y

There is a thread on this very forum demonstrating the pitfalls of relying only on the lenders "survey" - it is not a survey, it will be a valuation and crucially, it is not for you but for the lender.

Nevertheless, you could have a perfectly OK house and be fine. Or not. How old is the house?

missjy

Depends on what you want to know - I had my valuation and Home Buyers done by same person on same day. The valuation report will just tell you the value of the property and whether it is ok for a mortgage or not. The Home Buyers report is more detailed looking at things like the roof, damp, etc etc mine was almost 30 pages - remember though that the surveyor is not an expert in electricity etc and they may recommend that you get a more detailed report on certain stuff if they find cause for concern. I liked the way they rated things - 3 for urgent and essential, 2 for necessary but can wait and 1 for ok, really helped me as a FTB.

KateLiana27

You must have a valuation if you are buying a house with a mortgage. This is to protect the bank's interest in the property (ie should they ever need to repossess it, are they likely to get back what they put in).

I would say it is never enough. Sometimes they don't even set foot in a property. A house is the most expensive thing you are ever likely to buy, and the cost of a proper survey pales into insignificance against what you could potentially lose. Help My House Is Falling Down illustrates this beautifully.

If you can get a free valuation from your bank/lender, so much the better. That frees you up to find a great independent surveyor and get a proper one done to protect YOUR interest.

By the way, I'm sure there are lots of people who just stuck with the lender's survey and did fine. That proves nothing. It's like someone saying they've left their house unlocked for 20 years and no one ever broke in. Doesn't mean you will be so lucky

kingstreet

I've never had an in-depth survey, but that's because I know what I'm doing and I know, just like the surveyor, if there's anything wrong I'll have to get specialists in to look at things like;-

- roofing
- damp
- timber
- gas
- electricity
- wall ties

and anything else which might come up.

For extra peace of mind, a HomeBuyer's report is a good idea, but you'll still be getting those specialists in if the surveyor finds anything. Imagine the surveyor is a GP. He'll still be referring you to a Consultant.

G_M

This thread might give you food for thought.

As Kingstreet says, if you are competant, or know competant people, you could DIY. I use the same advice regarding conveyancing, which I do for myself.

But the key is "if you are competant"

Emma18

Thanks Everyone - I think we'll definitely arrange the Homebuyers survey - it just isn't worth the risk, as you all say. The property is about 55 years old - and there did not appear to be any damp/mould etc when we looked - it looks in good condition...... but you can't exactly go crawling around on the floor and lifting carpets when the vendor is showing you around!!:D

G_M

Emma18 wrote: »

Thanks Everyone - I think we'll definitely arrange the Homebuyers survey - it just isn't worth the risk, as you all say. The property is about 55 years old - and there did not appear to be any damp/mould etc when we looked - it looks in good condition...... but you can't exactly go crawling around on the floor and lifting carpets when the vendor is showing you around!!:D

Actually - yes you can. Do it on a 2nd visit, but warn/ask them in advance.

after all, the surveyor will do just that so why shouldn't you?

If you were buying a 2nd hand car, you'd lift the bonnet wouldn't you????

ruggedtoast

We'd previously paid out a small fortune for ING to add an eSurv survey onto our valuation, and it just asked more questions than it answered, which was a shame because eSurv had no intention of ever bothering to help with any of my queries. That house fell through just before exchange.

After having paid out almost a grand for surveys and searches etc first time around (which were rubbish as mentioned) I just got the cheapest surveyor available on here:

http://www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk/chartered-surveyors-building-surveys.aspx?gclid=CKHO9c-ryKoCFcYe4Qod4kehzQ

Literally the cheapest, there was one which was £5 more and I refused to even pay that extra fiver even for the psycholigical reassurance of having the second cheapest.

Several of them went up to £500 or £600 pounds and when they called me up the next day I laughed in their faces.

HAhahashahahaha!

My cheapy didnt even have a proper email, it was a gmail address and you had to do a bank transfer because they couldnt take cards. I would never normally consider such a thing, but driven half insane with house buying and grief over my previous grand and disappointment with eSurv I went ahead anyway.

And I ended up paying only £280 for a completely decent RICS certified surveyor who emailed me a detailed report in no time.

So yes, for the sake of less than three sheets is it really worth the risk?

Emma18

Yes, I guess, G_M - but I'm no more a mechanic than a qualified surveyor! I can cope with basic DIY, but not sure about spotting woodworm! Will get the experts in.....just in case!
Read the thread you linked for me.......OMG! That has definitely made my mind up!

Emma18

Thanks for the link, ruggedtoast! I have a list of local surveyors now starting from £286.....will call them tomorrow!:T