What should be in a survey?

philipjg

Hi

Would anybody be able to point me in the direction of exactly what should be included in a ‘Homebuyers Report’ survey?

I bought a house in December and we are now finding numerous issues that I would have thought should have come up in the survey. I know it isn’t a full structural survey (which I wish I’d gone for now) but some of these problems are going to be very costly and I would have expected them to have shown up.

1) There is a brick garden wall which separates the front garden from the pavement. This has been pushed by the roots of plants and is falling apart onto the pavement. As this is a health and safety risk to people walking past it will have to be knocked down and rebuilt quite urgently.

2) The lights do not work in the hallway, main bedroom or outside. I’ve had several quotes from electricians quoting between £175 and £300 for fault find and repair.

3) There is damp all down the back wall in the kitchen. I’ve had a quote of £475 to get this sorted out. Unfortunately though in order to do this I will have to rip out half the kitchen!

4) Minor problem, the TV aerial was broken (missing back half) which cost £125 to get replaced.


Friends are suggesting that I complain to the surveyor but I am reluctant to do this as I don’t know whether they should have found these things or if I would have needed to get a full structural survey for this.

I’d really appreciate any advice!

cattie

The problem with homebuyer's surveys is that they can differ quite drastically. The last one I had carried out was the least informative of any I've ever had done.

A surveyor won't actually check that lights work, he may look at the wiring at the fuse box to estabish how old it is, but all surveyors recommend you call in your own specialist to check out such things as electics, damp, timber, gas etc. They cover themselves in this way, so you have no comeback there.

Also, it's quite possible the electrics in the rooms you mentioned failed after you had agreed to buy the house. In my last property the lights suddenly stopped working in one of the rooms less than a week before completion date. I had to leave a note for my buyer apolgising, as there just hadn't been time for me to get it investigated.

An arial is certainly nothing a surveyor would look at, even on a full structural survey.

One would have expected the front garden wall to have been looked at, but this is the only oversight out of the things you have mentioned & perhaps he assumed you had seen the state of the wall as you state it was damaged by tree roots.

The costs you are talking about are quite minimal in the world of property maintenance, although I appreciate if money is tight for you it's an inconvenience you can do without.

I think you'd be wasting your time complaining to the surveyor. Just chalk it up to experience & remember next time to ensure you do call in specialist to check anything your not sure of before proceeding with a purchase.

philipjg

Thanks, I think you're right really. I'm sure it could be much worse, it's just really frustrating.

I think I've learnt the lesson and will make sure I get the full, most expensive survey going in future as it is probably likely to be a saving in the long run!

Rebob

I would complain/quiery the damp as this is a structural type problem. The other things, I would not expect to find details of.

benood

Individually none of these issues sound enough to have a go about to the surveyor - but they are probably the sort of things a good surveyor might notice but which a not-so-good-one won't.

Dont' chose him next time, and don't recommend him, that's about the extent of the action you can take I reckon.

rumblytum

Hi there,

I am just in the process of having a Homebuyer's Survey done on a house I am hoping to purchase.

Do you recommend having the gas boiler/central heating/electrics etc checked separately then?

Can anyone recommend a good company for such a thing, and what sort of costs would be involved?

Many thanks.

rumbly