Surveys: what level and provider

easilydistracted

We have just had an offer accepted on our first house :j However it is top of the budget ++ and needs work. :eek:

The mortgage is with Halifax and we would have to pay around for £400 for basic valuation or £700ish for their equivalent of a homebuyers. All via Colleys. When I asked Halifax how much a full building survey was on a house in the 200000 region they said it would be around £1500. Does this really sound correct?

I was expecting around £1000 max. I don't think I'll save anything by going elsewhere as there is still the valuation fee to pay. I am getting confused about the difference between Homebuyers and Full Survey in terms of being able to detect major structural problems. The house needs some replastering and has minor damp by the looks and needs complete redecorating and new kitchen.

I just want to make sure the house isn't going to cost us tens of thousands in hidden structural issues. Would a Homebuyers do this? The house is around 1900 ish ish and I just want to make sure theres not tonnes of hidden asbestos, the house is about to fall down or something fall apart. What survey would do this?

Thanks from a rather naive (despite my research) FTB :money:

BitterAndTwisted

Speak to a number of local surveyors and ask them the price of a full structural survey. For a house of that age I wouldn't risk having anything else. I would expect the cost to be around £1k or so

G_M

Ring and ask for quotes?

http://www.rics.org/uk/find-a-member/

Richard_Watters

A Homebuyers report will identify any major issues. A Building survey is rarely necessary.

If you do have a Building Survey it shouldn't cost more than £1,000.

As the Surveyor is there for the Valuation the sensible thing is to pay the extra for the Homebuyers report. This is the most cost effective way and will give you what you need.

gazter

Go to reallymoving dot com. I got a full building survey done for £380. I didnt want to go through the lender, because you lose the power to choose what to do if anything comes up, if something needs rectified it is possible that the lender will make that a condition of the mortgage. I got the basic from the building society, which was about £300.

And that was a £250,000 georgian listed building.

easilydistracted

Wow those reallymoving quotes are super cheap. The irony is we got our convayencing quote there but I completely missed they did surveys. This seems to mean I can pay the lender for the valuation and get a full survey separately just within £1000. The thing I was worried about is the mortgage company getting itchy feet or putting in loads of caveats about things. Equally we don't want to miss any major problems. I guess the different replies emphasise the mixed advice I get from everyone I ask. Thanks for the help and keep the ideas coming.

Dan-Dan

if speed matters , get the valuation only with the lender and the survey of your choice independantly , as i have read on the mortgage sub forum that having the homebuyers/full survey with the same valuation slows things down

easilydistracted

Dan-Dan wrote: »

if speed matters , get the valuation only with the lender and the survey of your choice independantly , as i have read on the mortgage sub forum that having the homebuyers/full survey with the same valuation slows things down

Yes this was my concern too from other threads. Colleys seem to have a major backlog and the local ones seem to be able to in within a couple days and write the report quickly after that. We can't apply for our full mortgage till Weds (1st appointment available) and want to be in by mid August so speed very important!

easilydistracted

Thanks everyone. Just to update I found a good quote from a local firm. I asked for Buildings but having discussed the house and knowing the area was advised by the surveyor that Homebuyers would be enough and if it looked like it needed Buildings after all the would call me when they got there. Fingers crossed it turns out ok! The bank also advised we were very sensible getting separate survey due to the long wait with Colleys currently.

robatwork

From what you said you should budget a few hundred for a specialist damp survey (from an independent surveyor, not someone who calls himself a consultant for a damp proof company).

The full survey will include some info about damp but he won't go into detail - he may not even move carpet or furniture, and won't go deep into the loft rafters etc.

ndf9876

I used these folks : http://www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk/ . I have no vested interest but it seemed to me like the "checkatrade" for Surveyors.

I wanted a local firm with local area knowledge rather than some chummy from a panel firm my lender used.

I've had the (mis)fortune of having a full building survey from a panel firm, and a homebuyers from a local firm I found from the above link. The difference in the reports, the wording used and explanation was night and day. The local surveyor even offered to speak to me to answer any questions I might have had. The "full building survey" was full of boilerplate guff and I had absolutely no opportunity to go back and get clarification or query any points.