Property extended - Which survey: Home Buyers or Full Structural

Sammie_UK1

Hi All,

We are currently in the process of buying our first home. We've had an offer accepted and our mortgage application is due to be processed shortly.... But I'm undecided as to what survey I should have done; the Home Buyers Survey or the Full Structural Survey.


The property has a single storey rear extension extending the kutchen and dining room. I've yet to hear from the vendors if they attained building regs approval or even wether it was a requirement and thus no buildings regulations met.

Just worried house may have a dodgy extension.

Any advice?

motherofstudents

check out prices for surveys (make sure the surveyor is MRICS) You may be able to get a full building survey for not much more than a homebuyers. How old is the house ? I think a lot of problems with extensions are more about building regs paperwork, rather than the actual structure although of course you need to ensure the building is sound. Are you getting the survey done in addition to your lender's valuation ? I would just check how much they will charge you as opposed to getting your own surveyor.

lizzyshep

We are about to buy a house that had building work done but they didn't have building regs certificates (though we didn't realise this until after the survey. We went for the Homebuyers and I do wish we'd had a full structural survey done. After getting a builder friend look at the house and being aware the work was done a long time ago we are satisfied the house won't fall down, but if I could do it again I would definitely go for the full survey (which didn't cost that much more).

lizzyshep

Oh, and we went for an independent survey, rather than with our lender - mainly because we didn't want them to see it in case they put a retention on the mortgage , but it was also cheaper.

cattie

How old is the property in question?

Sammie_UK1

@MotherofStudents, CattieI think the property was built in the 1930's.

@MotherofStudents: This would be a survey in place of the basic valuation that the lender requires before approving a mortgage.

My mortgage lender have their own surveyors, (Connells I believe, for co-op bank). I wasn't aware I could get my own surveyor; would co-op accept a survey/valuation from someone external?

@Lizzyshep; How much did the structural/building survey cost? I was under the impression that the homebuyers was in the region of £500 and the full structural was £1000 or thereabouts?

motherofstudents

Your lender (co-op) will have to do a valuation survey which is for their purposes to ensure there is enough value in the property if you default on the mortgage. They can then be sure of getting their money back when they repossess.

These valuations can be cautiously low, particularly if you have a high loan to value. If you only had this done and later find a structural defect in the house, you would have no come back as the valuation is done for the lender. So, it is wise to have your own for the purpose of finding out if there is any work that needs doing.

They will give you a valuation which may or may not agree with the co-op. You do not need to show this to the co-op, it is for your benefit. Sometimes it is cheaper to add a survey onto the lender's valuation but if you shop around you should get one cheaper than you have quoted and I think you may be able to get a full building survey(used to be called 'full structural') for not too much more than a homebuyers.

cattie

If it's any help to you my last house sounds very similar to this one you are talking about, age of property, rear extension etc done years back & I only had a homebuyers survey done. When I sold the property 5yrs later, the buyers opted for a valuation survey too.

Frogfish

Hi, before we bought we did a list of expected costs and we budgeted £1000 for a full structural survey.

When we came to get one, I think it was less than £400. It was definitely less than £500. Get some quotes off local firms and they'll probably be fighting over your business.

We were in a similar boat, two storey extension that pre-dated the building regs, and I don't think I could have slept soundly at night without a full structural! Get one, it will be much cheaper than you think but the peace of mind is priceless.

dawyldthing

my homebuyers was 465 with the Halifax, but the house is worth less than 60k. I could have had full structural for 180 more i think it was. It would have been good as they would have given a rough idea of prices of work to do to the house, but stuck with the homebuyers in the end

lizzyshep

I can't remember how much full structural was but HB was only £270 for a 3 bed terrace in outer London (Barking). It was a company called Miller Metcalfe, they were really efficient and I was very happy with their service. I am convinced independent companies are cheaper. I think I found them on the RCIS website, you fill in your details and they send you a list of quotes, then you can look up reviews on the net and choose a company. The site also tells you the difference between the types of survey and I think they have some samples to help you decide.