I'm buying a house, can I go along to the valuation?

ACG

If his broker has made out it is normal then the OP doesnt believe he is breaking convention.
Im surprised a broker is feeding you this but i would ignore it.

If you want to go - ask the question. However it isnt normal and i dont think you will get much from it - valuations are very basic and homebuyers are a waste of money in my opinion. There should only be 2 options valuation and building survey - but thats just my opinion.

Full_of_angst

OP - if you commission your own independent surveyor to carry out HB or building survey, then you will have some control over it. You will have the opportunity to raise issues you are concerned about prior to the survey, and may (if it is agreeable to the vendor) meet with him on the day of the survey. This would be beneficial on many levels:
You could see issues picked up and put them into context straight away (faults always come across worse or more serious when described in report). You would be given the opportunity to be able to differentiate between quirks/issues that could be put right in due course or issues that are real faults and need fixing pdq.

However, when you buy this service through your bank or building society you have less (if no) control over it - That's my understanding of it and I hope if I'm wrong someone will come along and correct me.

Yorkie1

makeyourdaddyproud wrote: »

Why are you trying to break convention? What do you hope to achieve by trying something most seasoned buyers don't do? Are you hoping for real-time feedback from the valuer/surveyor when they don't normally give out this info?

FWIW, I would be suspicious of someone doing this when it isn't mainstream.

I think this post is hugely unfair on the OP, who has never bought before and thus has absolutely no way of knowing what is mainstream or what seasoned buyers do.

graduate

I don't think you are a nightmare buyer. It just sounds like you are first time buyer who needs a little guidance. Its a shame some people can't understand that not everyone knows as much about property as they do and come on here just to insult people.

Cissi

graduate wrote: »

I don't think you are a nightmare buyer. It just sounds like you are first time buyer who needs a little guidance. Its a shame some people can't understand that not everyone knows as much about property as they do and come on here just to insult people.

And what's more, OP came on here asking if it was normal, and when told it isn't, graciously withdrew!

For what it's worth, I agree with those who recommend a full structural survey - Homebuyer's reports aren't worth the paper they're written on. It's the most expensive purchase you're likely to make anytime soon, and IMO well worth the cost of a proper survey (followed by specialist surveys if serious issues are brought up, such as damp, asbestos, woodworm...).

Good luck OP!

Full_of_angst

I think the OP asked a perfectly valid question. Reminds me of one my threads the first couple of days I joined and I got slated with lots of sarcasm and downright childishly unhelpful responses. Thankfully, there are many other more reasonable and helpful members who give fabulous advice.

A couple of people have mentioned on here that the HB reports aren't worth the paper they are written on. Can I ask what that is based upon? I have this week had a few discussions with the chartered surveyor who is going to look at the house I'm buying on Friday. I had asked him to carry out a building survey but he talked me out of it. I've copied the following from his email: Surveyors working for corporate firms are told to produce short surveys and keep it simple. For myself I believe that a Homebuyers Survey should be detailed (around 35 page long) and should provide more than enough detail. There are times however, when I turn up to a property and find that my usual 3-4 hour inspection won’t be enough. I then ring my client up and talk it through suggesting an upgrade to a building survey. This only happens around 2 to 3 times a year and is usually because of serious disrepair.

Ivana_Tinkle

FWIW, although it's not normal practice to go along to the valuation, it is perfectly normal to give the surveyor a ring afterwards to talk through the report, and it's a very good idea to do so. I once rang because I wasn't sure about something in a report and was told, "This is a great house! You're getting a bargain," which certainly wasn't the impression I'd had from the survey!