old house: survey?

racing_blue

Say a friend was looking to buy a house, about 300 years old, 300m2, terraced, conservation area, grade II listed. They had walked round the house with a restoration expert, who said it looked sound.

Would you advise them to get a building survey?

SG27

Yes, a full structural survey carried out by a surveyor who is experienced in period/listed buildings.

Who is the restoration expert? How long did he take to inspect the property? It's unlikely he would have carried out a full and thorough inspection. Being a listed property any unforeseen issues could be very expensive to rectify.

Yorkie1

SG27 wrote: »

Yes, a full structural survey carried out by a surveyor who is experienced in period/listed buildings.

Who is the restoration expert? How long did he take to inspect the property? It's unlikely he would have carried out a full and thorough inspection. Being a listed property any unforeseen issues could be very expensive to rectify.

And, in addition, the restoration expert is probably unlikely to have professional indemnity insurance to cover what sounds like an informal verbal discussion if problems are subsequently identified.

Lord_Baltimore

This kind of property is a license for some surveyor to take your friend to the cleaners. Here's my FREE survey:

The house is 300 years old and has issues; if your friend can't afford to throw money at it if needs be then he shouldn't buy it. In its favour is that it is terraced, so a gable end won't fall off unless the whole street goes over like dominoes and its been good for the last 300 years...

There you go. You don't need an expensive bloke with letters after his name to tell you that for £1000.

Jenny.W

I would for a listed property that old. A few hundred spent now could save a few thousand in the future

SG27

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

This kind of property is a license for some surveyor to take your friend to the cleaners. Here's my FREE survey:

The house is 300 years old and has issues; if your friend can't afford to throw money at it if needs be then he shouldn't buy it. In its favour is that it is terraced, so a gable end won't fall off unless the whole street goes over like dominoes and its been good for the last 300 years...

There you go. You don't need an expensive bloke with letters after his name to tell you that for £1000.

How do you know it has issues? How do you know how much money would potentially need throwing at it if you didn't get a survey?

SG27

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

This kind of property is a license for some surveyor to take your friend to the cleaners. Here's my FREE survey:

The house is 300 years old and has issues; if your friend can't afford to throw money at it if needs be then he shouldn't buy it. In its favour is that it is terraced, so a gable end won't fall off unless the whole street goes over like dominoes and its been good for the last 300 years...

There you go. You don't need an expensive bloke with letters after his name to tell you that for £1000.

That could be one very expensive "FREE" survey.

Lord_Baltimore

SG27 wrote: »

How do you know it has issues? How do you know how much money would potentially need throwing at it if you didn't get a survey?

It is a property, it will have issues. All properties have issues.

A surveyor will say the property needs rewiring, that the roof needs inspection, repair and/or replacement; that there may be dry rot, woodworm, rising damp and possible subsidence and that you should get a specialist in to check for all these things.

That's my FREE opinion.

Properties like this will need a lot of financial chopper cover. I wouldn't buy one unless I'd fallen in love and had the money to cover anything and everything.

SG27

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

It is a property, it will have issues. All properties have issues.

A surveyor will say the property needs rewiring, that the roof needs inspection, repair and/or replacement; that there may be dry rot, woodworm, rising damp and possible subsidence and that you should get a specialist in to check for all these things.

That's my FREE opinion.

Properties like this will need a lot of financial chopper cover. I wouldn't buy one unless I'd fallen in love and had the money to cover anything and everything.

Or they might not say any of that. Yes it's true they like to cover themselves but they don't just reel off every potential possible problem.

The surveyor that I used for our 300 year old listed cottage actually commented that the roof timbers were in excellent condition.

Of course there could have been active woodworm, wet rot and dry rot. In which case I wouldn't have bought the house as it would have cost a fortune! For £460 I'd rather know the condition of what I'm buying.

Lord_Baltimore

SG27 wrote: »

The surveyor that I used for our 300 year old listed cottage actually commented that the roof timbers were in excellent condition.

Wow, he was thorough

Or did he actually mention wiring/damp/roof etc for your £460? You know, all of those things only a blind man would miss.

SG27

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

Wow, he was thorough

Or did he actually mention wiring/damp/roof etc for your £460? You know, all of those things only a blind man would miss.

Haha that wasnt the only thing he mentioned!

He said there was high damp readings throughout, consistant with a property of this age. This is where a surveyor well experienced in old houses is a must. Anyone else would have immediately recommended £1000s of unnecessary damp proofing!

Wiring wasnt mentioned. Roof and guttering was said to be in a good state of repair.

He did mention some things to think about like adding some ventilation to the loft space to prevent condensation. Amongst a few other suggestions which I forget.

I was happy with my surveyor and considered it well worth the money.

The banks valuer on the other hand...