HomeBuyers or Full Survey

injectionday

Hi

I realise that similar questions have been asked before but I couldn't find a thread that matched our property details.

We're buying a 3 bed terrace built in 1950. It's an ex Local Authority property. It seems to have been well maintained but I know that the current owners have been there around 15 yrs and haven't replaced the windows or rewired in that time. The Council have replaced roofs on houses in the street that they own but the private houses all still have the original roofs.

I wasn't sure whether to go for a Homebuyers or Full Survey. I'm not worried about the additional cost now if there is additional benefit in it, my concern was whether a full survey would actually highlight any specific issues or just list areas that should be checked by electricans etc and give us more questions than answers.

Thanks in advance

jozbo

injectionday wrote: »

I'm not worried about the additional cost now if there is additional benefit in it, my concern was whether a full survey would actually highlight any specific issues or just list areas that should be checked by electricans etc and give us more questions than answers.

We've got a building survey taking place tomorrow at the ex local 1970s flat we're buying - we've chosen that over homebuyers for the following reasons;

- flat has been poorly maintained (some damp, possibility of asbestos artex etc)

- building survey will always be more detailed, and as far as I understand you're more likely to get a chat with the surveyor who can advise on your queries

- homebuyers seen as the 'economical' alternative with a proforma, building survey probably a better negotiating tool

- for the sake of a hundred quid it could save you thousands

if in doubt, i would do the building survey but others may disagree

go_cat

Homebuyers would pick up on subsidence , damp and roof condition etc, so you could have one of these then if needed a more detailed survey once you had the results.

cattie

It's very unusual for a building survey to be carried out on a flat and it's not what surveyors themselves generally recommend, usually saying that a homebuyers report is more suitable.

You still get to have a chat over any issues with the surveyor when you have a homebuyers survey.

Personally if it were me, I'd go for the homebuyers. I'm currently buying a flat built in the 60's & have just had a homebuyers carried out on that as it was what the surveyor recommended to me. I only ever have full buildings surveys carried out on older, period properties as there is far more that can be wrong with an older building.

anotherginger

Is there any chance that the lender would want more than a Valuation? ie. If you choose to do your own full survey (plus Valuation only), could they insist on a homebuyers report as well?

I'm currently weighing up the same issue as I'll do anything to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

(I'm asking in relation to a detached house, but the question could still stand for poorly maintained flats)

jozbo

anotherginger wrote: »

Is there any chance that the lender would want more than a Valuation? ie. If you choose to do your own full survey (plus Valuation only), could they insist on a homebuyers report as well?

I'm currently weighing up the same issue as I'll do anything to make the process go as smoothly as possible.

(I'm asking in relation to a detached house, but the question could still stand for poorly maintained flats)

don't know why they'd want a homebuyers report specifically... though they might want evidence that a surveyor has assessed its condition. This is a good question - if my lender has doubts after the valuation hopefully they will accept our independent survey.

Is there a chance that they would insist on commissioning their own surveyor and refuse to accept our independent one? Our val is tomorrow morning and survey in afternoon, maybe I could check first thing..

AlexMac

Ask exactly what a homebuyers would cover, as in my experience this abbreviated form of survey isn't really worthwhile A decent builder's informal once-over would be better if you wanted answers (and likely costs of fixing) any major problems.

In my experience, and unless they've changed, a homebuyers surveyor wouldnt lift flooring, inspect roof voids, and so, would not pick up (nor be liable for failing to spot) the expensive major problems which -theoretically - a full structural survey should protect you against :-
-unconventional construction methods such as concrete which might make a property unsellable,
- rising damp from faulty damp course or damp through semi-basement walls
- penetrating damp from roof, gutters, run-off or leaking pipes,
- timber rot or deterioration arising from the above two causes of damp
- structural instability from subsidence, poor foundations, leaking sewers or underground watercourses, internal walls having been removed without adequate support, missing or inadequate roof timbers...

But in practice, its unlikely that a local authority property from the 50's will suffer these major structural problems. It mighthave outdated electrics (incomplete earth bonding or old plug-in fuses rather than a tripswitch-style 'consumer unit' or an old boiler ) but you're obviously pretty technically literate, so you can use your eyes or your solicitor can simply ask when the wiring, boiler and central heating was last renewed. (and if problematic, neither of these caost more than a few thou to fix)

Which is a long-winded way of saying- do what I've done on my last 4 purchases with great success, on houses from 30-100 years old; apply common sense, maybe take a builder round, and take a view on whether there are likely to be problems that are likely to make you want to knock more than a £k or two off the price, or if there's someting which worries you. If so, comission a full structural survey and ask wheter, in the event the surveyor misses something which will cost you more than £2k to fix, it will be covered by his professional liability indemnity insurance, or whether he builds a get out into his contract with you.

robatwork

injectionday wrote: »

Hi

We're buying a 3 bed terrace built in 1950. It's an ex Local Authority property. It seems to have been well maintained but I know that the current owners have been there around 15 yrs and haven't replaced the windows or rewired in that time. The Council have replaced roofs on houses in the street that they own but the private houses all still have the original roofs.

I wasn't sure whether to go for a Homebuyers or Full Survey. I'm not worried about the additional cost now if there is additional benefit in it, my concern was whether a full survey would actually highlight any specific issues or just list areas that should be checked by electricans etc and give us more questions than answers.

Thanks in advance

The full survey won't advise on wiring or asbestos beyond catch-all phrases like "wiring APPEARED to be OK visually but you should get a further inspection" "Ceilings are artexed and COULD contain asbestos, you should get a further expert inspection"

Same with the boiler.

I just got a full survey and was frankly disappointed about how little it actually said that wasn't couched in get out clauses.

You should probably budget about £150 for an EICR and get a sparky out to do that bit

injectionday

Thanks for everyone for taking the trouble to reply - I really appreciate it. Still not totally decided but edging towards a Homebuyers report