Survey Question

Supervixen

We finally sold our house and the surveyors are coming out tomorrow. Now, they said it should be 30-45 minutes for the survey, so is this a valuaion rather than a survey?

There are a few minor things about the house (garage door seen better days, back door gets damp and needs a good shove to close, small bit of the kitchen worktop could do with replacing) but nothing too serious, and I'm wondering if those sort of details get picked up by homebuyers reports.

I heard the HR's take 1-2 hours to do, and valuations only 30 minutes, but this is just hearsay...

Madmel

When we sold up last summer, I was really worried about the survey. Like you, some jobs needed doing: cracked tiles on the roof, one rotten window ledge, cracked bath panel etc. etc. The surveyor was around for about 40 minutes; it was supposedly a homebuyer's survey and she hardly picked up anything.

We went back there just before Christmas talking to our old neighbours and the new owners have ripped out both bathrooms, completely changed all the kitchen and replaced all the back windows with uPVC, which did not need doing. However, the cracked roof tiles are still there, having slipped a bit further, the front window ledge is still rotten, and the moss is growing ever more on the roof.

My DH was agonising over whether to get someone out to look at the roof before we sold. With the benefit of hindsight, I'm delighted we didn't bother. Relax, make them a cuppa and don't worry. If they pick up on something, I would just nod - after all, your buyer has seen all the things you mention and still put in the offer. Good luck!

cattie

Sometimes with just a valuation survey only the surveyor will just do a drive-by & not even bother coming inside the house. Usually the valuation is very quick, done in a matter of minutes.

The homebuyers survey is a bit more in depth & can take anywhere from 30mins to more than an hour, depending on how thorough the particular surveyor is & of course how big the property is & the general condition of it.

It's the structural survey that takes the most time as this is the most thorough of them & examines the fabric of the building, which the homebuyer's doesn't do.

Supervixen

Madmel wrote:

When we sold up last summer, I was really worried about the survey. Like you, some jobs needed doing: cracked tiles on the roof, one rotten window ledge, cracked bath panel etc. etc. The surveyor was around for about 40 minutes; it was supposedly a homebuyer's survey and she hardly picked up anything.

We went back there just before Christmas talking to our old neighbours and the new owners have ripped out both bathrooms, completely changed all the kitchen and replaced all the back windows with uPVC, which did not need doing. However, the cracked roof tiles are still there, having slipped a bit further, the front window ledge is still rotten, and the moss is growing ever more on the roof.

My DH was agonising over whether to get someone out to look at the roof before we sold. With the benefit of hindsight, I'm delighted we didn't bother. Relax, make them a cuppa and don't worry. If they pick up on something, I would just nod - after all, your buyer has seen all the things you mention and still put in the offer. Good luck!

Thanks ever so. I worry far too much! We bought the place without a Homebuyers report (it would have been about 20 years old then) and we haven't had any major probs. It's very well constructed, as far as we know, -when we ripped the old bathroom out, the installers said that the walls were solid (and the newer estate was terrible for paper thin walls)

Even the heating boiler is amazing. It's now 29 years old, but we've only had to call British Gas out twice in 7 years, for minor things that were fixed free, and it got a full clean bill of health in November...of course, it's not up to current safety standards, but it's perfectly safe ANYWAY.

We've had the house on the market since April 2006. You can see why I fret a bit

Supervixen

cattie wrote:

Sometimes with just a valuation survey only the surveyor will just do a drive-by & not even bother coming inside the house. Usually the valuation is very quick, done in a matter of minutes.

The homebuyers survey is a bit more in depth & can take anywhere from 30mins to more than an hour, depending on how thorough the particular surveyor is & of course how big the property is & the general condition of it.

It's the structural survey that takes the most time as this is the most thorough of them & examines the fabric of the building, which the homebuyer's doesn't do.

Cool. The women who called said 30 minutes when I asked her how long it would be. I'm sure she called it a valuation as well, but I couldn't swear to it as I was trying to work out if I could make it or not tomorrow morning...

marybishop

If a surveyor only takes 30 mins to do a Homebuyers then I should ask for your money back! This is definitely a valuation if it's only going to take 30 mins.

Supervixen

I am not very happy. The surveyor didn't turn up, and when I called to find out why, I was told the buyer had cancelled it. Apparently he wanted a FULL STRUCTURAL and he'd only booked a valuation. He was advised by the Estate Agent and surveyors that on a house less than 30 years old, on an estate, he would be wasting a lot of money to go for a full structural jobby.

But he cancelled the valuation anyway and nobody bothered to tell me. Hence I have wasted a whole day of annual leave (they didn't give me an appointment time, just said between 9 and 12) and I don't know what's happening or when they are coming to do the survey. or indeed IF they are still getting one done. I'm in limbo and spitting feathers about wasting time - I only have 5.5 days annual leave due to me between now and April and I need some of those for moving house!

I know I can't do anything about it, and I'm just so frustrated.

Doozergirl

That's horrid You know, you can leave keys with the Estate Agent for the surveyor to collect. You don't have to be there for the survey at all. Do that next time, save wasting your annual leave.

As for today, go and take yourself out for lunch somewhere nice, maybe a bit of retail therapy? and try to salvage what you have left of the day.

Supervixen

I might do that. H works from home some days so he said he can be around but they will have to work around HIM next time as he's often on the road.

The agents used to have a key but when we changed to a different one in September we got the key back...didn't work out so we went back to the original agent but never got around to dropping the key back!

Supervixen

I found out what happened. The survey was commissioned by the building society, and so when buyer wanted to upgrade to a homebuyers he was told he'd have to do that through the BS too. They wouldn't commission it without the money, and wouldn't take cash, only CC or cheque...so can't arrange it now until at least tomorrow.

Buyer was very apologetic. Not his fault I guess, he'd assumed that the valuation was going ahead anyway.

GRRR.

Meanwhile, the warped back door which is worrying me is going to be replaced. Should only cost about £250 and it will be better than the surveyors making a meal out of it and holding the sale up.

Doozergirl

They won't pick up on the door!

Even if they do, they can hardly renegotiate on it. Don't bother!

Doors often get sticky at this time of year.