Building Survery - irritation

DGJsaver

It is not a valuation , which is obvious as i have a few times referred to booking the guy myself , directly , the valuation has been done , and that was just a drive by due to the LTV we will have , so not any use in regards to property condition

Every surveying website i have read says they will lift the drain covers and inspect , if they can do this , with my money (even if revisiting when access arranged for an extra x amount) and tell me if there is blockages in there , or ivy , or branches or whatever , then thats good and is going to help me with my purchase , and thats why it would be worth a full survey

I can then decide my course of action


Not sure your post was at all relevant , no offence

moneyistooshorttomention

Ah right...I see...

Guess maybe part of the difference as to why I had a surveyor actively offering that I come round with him is because I don't need a mortgage to purchase the property and that fact would have been obvious from the fact that I was ringing round personally to get quotes from surveyors. That's why then...

I'm beginning to think I had quite good service all round then in the surveyor direction, as the surveyor I chose did nip up and have a look at the loft timbers and duly gave his opinions on them. I was thoroughly amused at getting his personal opinion on the house too - which I had been hoping for, but not expecting...

Guess maybe some of the difference too might have come from I think that area may be one where "commonsense" rather than "rigidly sticking to the rules" is probably more the norm as to how things get done:D;). Suits me.

lessonlearned

None taken.

However, my post wasn't just directed at you. It was meant to be an explanation of how surveyors work and a general discussion of some of the issues we are likely to encounter when we engage a surveyor.

Sorry if you feel I "hi-jacked" your thread.

I was merely trying to be helpful - passing on my 30 years experience as a retired EA and now newly turned property developer........

You are entirely correct - drains should be inspected if the surveyor can get access. However, access can be a problem especially when drains are shared and there are issues of rights of way.

Sometimes the manhole covers can become stuck with time and cannot be raised. The surveyor may be loathe to force the cover open because of the risk of damage.

Anyway, hope it all works out for you.

DGJsaver

Again , how is that relevant ? (directed at money), i chose my surveyor carefully , and studied their websites to see the differences between a full survey and a homebuyers , and then proceeded to pay and instruct him directly , with no input from a bank , any estate agents or anyone else , so its utterly irrlelevant wethere i need or do not need a mortgage to buy a property , it`s about getting what is paid for

The guy should have called me when he couldnt gain access (even that is dubious as one inspection cover is on a joint boundary out the front) so that we could talk about it

Instead , he obviously forgot his claw hammer and thought he would drive all the way back to his office and not mention it at all.

Then , rather than try to come to some agreement about a revisit , he offered the refund immediatley , basically as if it was all too much like hard work

Surveying , how to make money whilst doing not a lot

DGJsaver

lessonlearned wrote: »

None taken.

However, my post wasn't just directed at you. It was meant to be an explanation of how surveyors work and a general discussion of some of the issues we are likely to encounter when we engage a surveyor.

Sorry if you feel I "hi-jacked" your thread.

I was merely trying to be helpful - passing on my 30 years experience as a retired EA and now newly turned property developer........

You are entirely correct - drains should be inspected if the surveyor can get access. However, access can be a problem especially when drains are shared and there are issues of rights of way.

Sometimes the manhole covers can become stuck with time and cannot be raised. The surveyor may be loathe to force the cover open because of the risk of damage.

Anyway, hope it all works out for you.

As i said , no offence intended , thank you for your points :beer:

lessonlearned

DGJsaver wrote: »

t

Instead , he obviously forgot his claw hammer and thought he would drive all the way back to his office and not mention it at all.

Then , rather than try to come to some agreement about a revisit , he offered the refund immediatley , basically as if it was all too much like hard work

Surveying , how to make money whilst doing not a lot

The bit highlighted was the point behind my post. A lot of money......

Just how valuable is a survey when they have become so formulaic and vague, when every issue raised has the same caveat "Specialist report advised"........When surveyors refuse to lift carpets or fail to check loft spaces and roof voids.

As for lenders "drive-bys":mad::mad: What on earth is the poor purchaser paying for......

DG - you do sound as if you have been shortchanged and have received poor service. I hope you get satisfaction.

Richard_Watters

lessonlearned wrote: »

What would the report tell me that I don't already know. I can smell the damp, I can see the consumer unit is ancient. I want to shift the boiler which looks like something out of the ark and which will be inefficient, half of the radiators are in the wrong place, and the windows are well past their sell by date.

The report will tell you what you don't know! There's no point in getting a survey after you've bought it. If you get a Building Survey they will lift carpets etc.

On an old dilapidated house like this there could be all sorts of problems you won't see - subsidence, heave, dry rot, knotweed, etc.

lessonlearned

I can spot Knotweed......:rotfl: That's why I backed out of my last abortive purchase. Since then I have done my research and can now recognise the stuff......

I agree with you. I would normally commission a full report before purchase. However in this particular instance I probably will wait - for all the reasons I mentioned. It would only be half a report....

Subsidence, heave, JK should be flagged up by the lenders valuation anyway. I will be having a local subsidence search - along with a flood report anyway. I know the area well, know it's flood history and the bomb damage sustained during WW2.

My sister has a property a few doors down, my son has rented several properties in the area. We know it well, know it's problems, we know it's advantages.

There is no obvious cracking to the brickwork, the lintels are straight, no bulging walls, the mortar looks sound, no bowing to the roof. There are some slates missing, the guttering needs attention and the chimney stack needs repointing. There are no trees in close proximity, no obvious signs of either dry or wet rot, although of course without checking the timbers I can't be sure.

The surveyor will not be able to access the loft because all of the upstairs ceilings are covered in polystyrene tiles. You can't even see where the loft hatch might be.

Any report at this stage would be incomplete.

I have yet to meet a surveyor who will lift carpets......

I fully realise I am taking a risk by going about this in a such a back to front manner. I have a generous reno budget so am not unduly concerned.


I have worked on building sites most of my life and have enough experience with renovation projects to realise that there will always be some horrors lurking in the background.

I have tackled far worse......

The house was built in 1888 - it's not about to fall down any time soon.

bitsandpieces

DGJsaver wrote: »

The guy should have called me when he couldnt gain access (even that is dubious as one inspection cover is on a joint boundary out the front) so that we could talk about it

Instead , he obviously forgot his claw hammer and thought he would drive all the way back to his office and not mention it at all.

Then , rather than try to come to some agreement about a revisit , he offered the refund immediatley , basically as if it was all too much like hard work

Surveying , how to make money whilst doing not a lot

Be fair on the guy - he has offered you a refund, which would leave him with no money at all for the work you did. If you think he didn't do his job properly and is just trying to wriggle out of more work (his behaviour doesn't sound like this is the case to me, but it's your survey) then just accept the refund and get someone you're more comfortable with to do the job.

Bsnimunf

Alot of people seem to have missed a very important point. If the drain serves more than one property it is the responsibility of the Sewerage undertaker if it serves your property but crosses the boundary onto the neighbors land it is a 3rd party lateral and again the responsibility of the Sewerage undertaker. Therefore any issues with the drain would not be your responsibility to rectify and you would not be allowed to work on the drain. Also the chances of finding an issue with the drains in the man holes are slim to none unless he is looking for a blockage but chances are that would already be evident.