Valuation Survey Missed Structural Defect

phill99

Its amazing what joiners know. I've got a great big crack down the back of my house so I think I'll get a washing machine engineer to have a look at it. And for those drains bubbling up across my garden, I'll see what the pizza delivery boy can tell me about it.

propertyman

DannyboyMidlands wrote: »

@Propertyman

No need to apologise.

I doubt there is a case. Hard to tell without seeing the actual wording of the report. They may have stuck in a line advising the purchaser to obtain a more detailed survey.

That may be the case, but the precedent was set in those fatal words " follow the trail".

Even if advice to "further investigate" is used, it doesn't always cover the valuer, if the defect compromises the valuation and all that implies.


Lets say

" I saw a bendy window head - have it investigated. I value this at 500k".

And after investigation the works and defect down value the home by £20k, then depending on a number of factors there could well be a case if at the very least the advice should have been

" it is a condition of mortgage that this in investigated in x weeks/ prior to completion, rectified in y and /or a retention of £x.

Horizon81

RICS specifies 3 levels of survey. Check their website. A new one was added that is less detailed than the already pitiful traffic light homebuyers, it's called the Condition Report.

moonstick

The vendor was moving into a larger property locally - they had 3 kids and one more on the way so seemed to make sense. I don't recall anything like this being disclosed in the documents I received and my solicitor definitely never raised any concerns. Even if the vendor did notice it, I imagine it would be his word against mine anyway so not sure what recourse I could have there.

I've arranged for a surveyor to come and have a look this weekend so hopefully he'll be able to tell me how much of a problem it really is and I'll take it from there.

AdmiralX

moonstick wrote: »

The vendor was moving into a larger property locally - they had 3 kids and one more on the way so seemed to make sense. I don't recall anything like this being disclosed in the documents I received and my solicitor definitely never raised any concerns. Even if the vendor did notice it, I imagine it would be his word against mine anyway so not sure what recourse I could have there.

I've arranged for a surveyor to come and have a look this weekend so hopefully he'll be able to tell me how much of a problem it really is and I'll take it from there.

A structural engineer would be able to tell you also how long time the cracks were going on and what is the lowest cost way to rectify all.. Bear in mind evidence can be destroyed, but not always. I understand that some disputes/problems have not left a paper trail but have been discovered long after the buyer moves in.

The cracks in your place are not a tragedy; Even if a the problem exists it can be rectified with the help of a structural engineer - they are different than surveyors. They do not cost a lot. Many construction and property disputes now can be resolved with low cost mediation with the help of RICS - instead of going to expensive law suits. Google their site.

It is best you resolve this now well because you want first an insurance policy to cover youl; you may wish to sell later and it should be clean. You learned something: get a structural eng. report for yourself before you buy - it is a small cost.

Mistral001

AdmiralX wrote: »

A surveyor would see a noticeable defect and would warn both the buyer and the vendor because the latter is at home when survey takes place. Sometimes there are objects in the way however. Surveyors would recommend a structural engineer when they see a serious problem, if it is not covered.

I would be surprised if the vendor had not noticed the problem and in such a case he she ought to have disclosed it.

Why were the vendors selling their home, did they tell?

Perhaps you need to go over what had been disclosed.

The principle of "buyer beware" still applies surely. The notion that vendors should disclose structural defects to buyers have been mentioned in other threads and I am not quite sure where that comes from.

Also, is this valuation report not still a confidential document for the eyes of the client for whom it was prepared (and their professional advisors)?

waveneygnome

A couple of more thoughts....

If this was an extension, did it need planning permission and building regulation approval? If so, the lack of RSJ over a window should have been picked up by the council's Building Control department. In addition, your solicitor should have checked that the permission was sought for the extension, and that Building Reg approval had been signed off/completion certificate. This would be something to check with your solicitor.

Overall though, I agree with other posters that you should get the facts about the condition/potential damage before you take this further.

moonstick

Well I had a surveyor out at the weekend. It looks like the box-bay extension downstairs was replaced more recently than the upstairs and that the ceiling wasn't correctly acrowed so it's dropped a bit. The sides of the box downstairs are even shaped to the slope!

The surveyor recommended some filler in the cracks and if / when we come to replace the windows the the bedroom, fill in the slope in the floor and leave it as is.

Lessons learned:

1. Get a proper survey when buying a house.
2. Get a proper survey when buying a house.
3. Joiners aren't all that clued up.
4. Get a proper survey when buying a house.


Thanks to everyone who replied!