Survey needed? Modern purpose built block, no mortgage.

LeoC

Hi everyone

After looking for a long time I finally found a place to buy, I put an offer and it has been accepted.

It is a flat in a modern built block of 30 flats (built 1999), and I have no mortgage.

So I was wondering if a survey is any useful?

For my previous purchases, when I had a mortgage, the banks required basic surveys, and every time it felt like it was mostly for show, just for the sake of the paperwork. It never lasted more than half an hour. Since I have no mortgage this time, I guess one of those would not be useful.

But then I thought of a proper structural survey, one where they look under the carpets and stuff. However since this is a modern built block, I wonder if this is any useful either?

Another thing to keep in mind is that there's always one flat being sold every year or so, so if there were any issues showing up in the fabric of the building, I guess it would have affected those purchases?

Thanks

Wyndham

The survey in between is the one you want - usually called a Homebuyers survey. They won't lift carpets, but will do more than just value the place.

Any home is a huge investment - do you really want to go in without any kind of expert checking it out? They could save you thousands, or at the very least, reassure you that there aren't thousands that need to be spent.

picklepick

I agree with Wyndham. Spending a few hundred pounds to survey a purchase of potentially 100's of thousands seems like a silly thing to not do. I would definitely have a homebuyers survey.

Mickygg

Defo get a survey!

Fire_Fox

Have you asked about planned major works? Have you seen the original NHBC guarantee (now expired) and the building control certificate? Which floor are you on, is is a risk for water ingress (basement, top floor, near a river)? Can you actually gain access to the cellar/ basement, roof space and so on? Can most of the external structure be seen from ground level?

In general a full structural survey is advisable, but may be a waste of money if the surveyor cannot actually access or see the areas that need to be accessed or seen. For example my building has flat roofing accessible from the fire escape, my parents' building (converted mill) has valley roofs that cannot be inspected without a cherry picker or scaffolding. Don't assume other people have had surveys, they may have just had valuations.

LeoC

Thanks for all the comments, it's still early stages of the conveyancing so I haven't seen any paperwork yet.

The flat is midfloor, there are flats above and below. From what I have seen from the development, there would be no access to any of the structure really, there's a penthouse with private terrace so no luck going to the top, and there are private properties all around so no luck looking the outside from all the sides, perhaps maybe from two sides only. There's a garage underneath so I guess the surveyor could look at ground floor structures.

I'm not worried about spending a couple of hundred pounds in the grand scheme of things, but I don't want to throw money away either for someone to come, sniff around for 15 minutes and leave saying there's nothing to look at...

I would definitely have a survey if I were buying an old Victorian house, and make them look into cellar, loft, under the floors, everywhere.

But in the case of this flat, I fail to see where the surveyor would be able to look and find anything...

What sort of problems do you guys think a surveyor could find with a newly built block?

Thanks

DVardysShadow

LeoC wrote: »

I'm not worried about spending a couple of hundred pounds in the grand scheme of things, but I don't want to throw money away either for someone to come, sniff around for 15 minutes and leave saying there's nothing to look at...

Actually, it is not such a bad idea. The most convincing reason is the one not touched on - at some stage you will want to sell - and your buyer will probably need a mortggae. Before you buy, you need to be sure that the property is mortgageable. And as you are a cash buyer, unscrupulous agents could even try and pass off unmortgageable property on to you. I would even advocate that you get a very small mortgage just to demonstrate mortgageability.

Fire_Fox

LeoC wrote: »

Thanks for all the comments, it's still early stages of the conveyancing so I haven't seen any paperwork yet.

The flat is midfloor, there are flats above and below. From what I have seen from the development, there would be no access to any of the structure really, there's a penthouse with private terrace so no luck going to the top, and there are private properties all around so no luck looking the outside from all the sides, perhaps maybe from two sides only. There's a garage underneath so I guess the surveyor could look at ground floor structures.

I'm not worried about spending a couple of hundred pounds in the grand scheme of things, but I don't want to throw money away either for someone to come, sniff around for 15 minutes and leave saying there's nothing to look at...

I would definitely have a survey if I were buying an old Victorian house, and make them look into cellar, loft, under the floors, everywhere.

But in the case of this flat, I fail to see where the surveyor would be able to look and find anything...

What sort of problems do you guys think a surveyor could find with a newly built block?

Thanks

Just because a property is new-ish doesn't guarantee it is well built or that the ground was properly prepared. A surveyor could find many of the same issues as they can with any other property: damp, problems with the roof or windows, subsidence, heave, location of trees ...

Sounds like you have made your mind up anyway.

LeoC

Thanks for those that helped.

Also thanks for those that insulted me for reminding me that forums are full of people who have nothing better to do than insult people online. I guess this channel allows you to insult many more people than before the invention of the internet. You just made my day that little bit more miserable. Thanks.

I don't have too much cash, actually the other way round, I lost my job because of the crisis, couldn't pay the mortgage, so sold my previous flat and now finally found something I can afford with the money I have. Every penny I can save will help.

One of the main reasons I was reluctant to use a surveyor is that the ones I used in the past didn't seem like they did anything for their money at all. So how can I trust them? It's so easy to spend hundreds of pounds, they prepare a crap report, and that's that. It's not something I can verify the quality of, and not really a return business. If I can find one I can trust I would be more inclined to use them.

(Text removed by MSE Forum Team)

I guess this is my last post here, thanks again for those that tried to help.

picklepick

Am I missing something???

DVardysShadow

picklepick wrote: »

Am I missing something???

Probably not. Just some stuff the Forum Team are brushing under the carpet. I had a post edited for saying that someone's response was 'wet blanket' - the reason being 'Language' :rotfl::rotfl::rotfl: