old house: survey?

alanmilstein

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

I admire your honesty in declaring your status.

You mention peace of mind and security and this might be the most telling part of your post; it is precisely these things that are used to unnerve potential clients; reel 'em in eh?

Typically, surveys I've experienced are by surveyors who use binnoculars to 'survey' the roof, won't move carpets, won't touch furniture, won't climb a ladder, won't test circuitry and certainly won't get their suit and tie dirty when doing a 'survey'.

What the resultant survey produces is the reommendation that a whole host of additional specialists should be called in at my expense to give the advice I thought I was paying for in the first place.

Bearing in mind that a survey precedes possible purchase, how many times am I suppose to bankroll this happy little clipboard bearing troupe?

Surveyors understand that; it's called peace of mind and security in the trade.

I can understand part of your cynicism regarding surveys as, sadly, many that I see come past my desk are much as you describe.
However, I hope that clients will question any prospective surveyor and ask how they deal with issues

Let's take the points you raise....

Peace of mind - no this isn't a ruse to panic people into paying for a survey, but a very genuine fear felt by many buyers that they are in a situation where they feel out of control and fearful of many of the "professionals" around them. Most people move house once every 10 or 15 years and so have little familiarity with the process. My job, as I see it, is to work FOR them and to help satisfy them that they understand the property they are about to buy. Again, important to talk to your surveyor and build a good working relationship with them.

Limitations on a survey - Inspecting a roof? No, it's not possible to inspect at roof level in most cases. I don't have a cherry picker or scaffolding in my car! And if I put a ladder 5 metres up to the roof and fall off then I'm not insured as I'd be breaching H&S guidance. So, yes, I use binoculars and conduct a very thorough inspection of the roof, both inside and out.
Pulling up fitted carpets...that's fine until you come to put them down again! No, I'm not a carpet fitter. But will I lift a rug? Yes, of course.
Moving furniture - can I move large sofa's all day, or antique and possibly fragile desks etc? No, of course not. Will I move a light chair to get to a window? Yes, for sure.
Will I move a TV, satellite box, DVD, Xbox etc etc that are all wired together and sitting on a very nice, but possible very ricketty stand so I can get to the corner of a room? It's simply not practical.

I think, with respect, Lord Baltimore, that your experience is based on a rather old school and out dated notion of what a surveyor is and does. I'm not saying that the type of report you describe isn't all too common, because, sadly, it is, but please don't tar us all with the same badge without first asking the questions.

The simple facts are that I, as a surveyor, have to leave a property in exactly the same condition as when I walked into it 4 or 5 hours earlier. So I can't drill the walls, prise open hatches stuck with 20 years of paint, pull up the carpets, risk breaking or damaging furniture, electricals (and how many times have I nearly stood on a laptop that some teenager has left in the middle of their bedroom floor?), ornaments, and the myriad other obstacles that are just waiting to trip me up.
What I do do, however, is to spend at least half a day (a typical 3 bed semi would take me 3-4 hours to survey) looking at everything I can reasonably look at, whilst having respect for my own safety and the protection of the property and its' contents, and then provide my client with a comprehensive report where I tell them as much as I can about the property and any defects. And, because I don't have supernatural powers that enable me to scale walls like Spiderman, or see through objects like Superman, there are times when, even my extensive knowledge of building pathology and defect analysis is not sufficient for me to provide a conclusive and completely accurate diagnosis of a defect. In those cases, then, yes, I will recommend that some further investigations are carried out and by whom.
Surveyors are only human and we have a limited time in which to inspect a property in detail and to provide as accurate report as possible at a reasonable cost (yes, pay me £2000 to survey a 3 bed semi and I'll spend 3 days there and give you a 200 page report on every single hairline crack and bump in the floor.....and I'll even arrange for the carpet fitter to come and refit the carpets I pulled up). I know of many surveyors who provide a thorough job at a reasonable price and who will "go the extra mile" to provide their clients with a useful, informative and accurate report. In the main, it has to be said, that these are independent surveyors and NOT those employed by lenders or large panels.
So, my advice to anyone buying a home is to find yourself a good independent surveyor, talk to them to find out what they will, and won't be doing, build up a relationship so that you can discuss the report, both before and after, the survey, and not be put off by those who tell you that a survey is ALWAYS a waste of time.

Lord_Baltimore

alanmilstein wrote: »

I can understand part of your cynicism regarding surveys as, sadly, many that I see come past my desk are much as you describe.
However, I hope that clients will question any prospective surveyor and ask how they deal with issues

Let's take the points you raise....

Peace of mind - no this isn't a ruse to panic people into paying for a survey, but a very genuine fear felt by many buyers that they are in a situation where they feel out of control and fearful of many of the "professionals" around them. Most people move house once every 10 or 15 years and so have little familiarity with the process. My job, as I see it, is to work FOR them and to help satisfy them that they understand the property they are about to buy. Again, important to talk to your surveyor and build a good working relationship with them.

Limitations on a survey - Inspecting a roof? No, it's not possible to inspect at roof level in most cases. I don't have a cherry picker or scaffolding in my car! And if I put a ladder 5 metres up to the roof and fall off then I'm not insured as I'd be breaching H&S guidance. So, yes, I use binoculars and conduct a very thorough inspection of the roof, both inside and out.
Pulling up fitted carpets...that's fine until you come to put them down again! No, I'm not a carpet fitter. But will I lift a rug? Yes, of course.
Moving furniture - can I move large sofa's all day, or antique and possibly fragile desks etc? No, of course not. Will I move a light chair to get to a window? Yes, for sure.
Will I move a TV, satellite box, DVD, Xbox etc etc that are all wired together and sitting on a very nice, but possible very ricketty stand so I can get to the corner of a room? It's simply not practical.

I think, with respect, Lord Baltimore, that your experience is based on a rather old school and out dated notion of what a surveyor is and does. I'm not saying that the type of report you describe isn't all too common, because, sadly, it is, but please don't tar us all with the same badge without first asking the questions.

The simple facts are that I, as a surveyor, have to leave a property in exactly the same condition as when I walked into it 4 or 5 hours earlier. So I can't drill the walls, prise open hatches stuck with 20 years of paint, pull up the carpets, risk breaking or damaging furniture, electricals (and how many times have I nearly stood on a laptop that some teenager has left in the middle of their bedroom floor?), ornaments, and the myriad other obstacles that are just waiting to trip me up.
What I do do, however, is to spend at least half a day (a typical 3 bed semi would take me 3-4 hours to survey) looking at everything I can reasonably look at, whilst having respect for my own safety and the protection of the property and its' contents, and then provide my client with a comprehensive report where I tell them as much as I can about the property and any defects. And, because I don't have supernatural powers that enable me to scale walls like Spiderman, or see through objects like Superman, there are times when, even my extensive knowledge of building pathology and defect analysis is not sufficient for me to provide a conclusive and completely accurate diagnosis of a defect. In those cases, then, yes, I will recommend that some further investigations are carried out and by whom.
Surveyors are only human and we have a limited time in which to inspect a property in detail and to provide as accurate report as possible at a reasonable cost (yes, pay me £2000 to survey a 3 bed semi and I'll spend 3 days there and give you a 200 page report on every single hairline crack and bump in the floor.....and I'll even arrange for the carpet fitter to come and refit the carpets I pulled up). I know of many surveyors who provide a thorough job at a reasonable price and who will "go the extra mile" to provide their clients with a useful, informative and accurate report. In the main, it has to be said, that these are independent surveyors and NOT those employed by lenders or large panels.
So, my advice to anyone buying a home is to find yourself a good independent surveyor, talk to them to find out what they will, and won't be doing, build up a relationship so that you can discuss the report, both before and after, the survey, and not be put off by those who tell you that a survey is ALWAYS a waste of time.

Thank you for taking the time to comment in detail. Please understand that my comments in our exchange of views are not directed at you or any single person and relate in general terms to the value of surveys based on recent personal experience. In this context any references I make to 'you' or 'your' refers to the profession not to you as an individual; indeed you seem a decent person concerned with providing a good service making you, in my experience, the exception rather than the rule.

I would say however that my experience is NOT based on 'a rather old school and out dated notion of what a surveyor is and does'; it is what actually happens during an expensive survey.

As you say, most people don't move that often and have very limited understanding of property and the problems that are manageable and those that are potentially disastrous both financially and physically. It is understandable that many will seek a professional to advise them but without realising how limited (but nonetheless expensive) the resultant advice will be.
How can they know what questions to ask of their surveyor when they have little or no experience in property? Expertise is what they pay you for.

You haven't assuaged any of my concerns about the value of your reports because it seems to me I can do myself all the things that you do armed with nothing other than my commonsense.

I can look at a roof through binnoculars and form an opinion; I can spot wet rot, dry rot, woodworm etc and with meticulous care seeing as it's my money that's at risk. I undertsand the limitations upon you not to be able to move things or damage property but to me that sounds like an easy cop out. I want to know what the problems are not what it is you can't see hiding away in the loft or the cellar, two places you won't go for starters.

No-one is saying that a survey is always a waste of time but on the balance of probabilities and experience a survey is an expense that a potential homeowner can manage without, providing they keep their wits about them; after all, a survey will, apparently, only identify the obvious.

From what you've told me there could be all sorts going on behind that sofa you won't move, under that carpet you won't lift or indeed behind that wallpaper but you just don't know.

My advice therefore to anyone who does have a survey is not to only concern yourself with the list of specialist items that need further investigation following the recommendation of your surveyor, but to worry too about all those things that he didn't spot and ask yourself, was that £500 well spent?

Or, just don't have a survey and spend the money on repairs - by the time you've seen all the 'specialists' you could be out of pocket to the tune of a couple of grand already - and you may not even buy the place.

alanmilstein

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

Thank you for taking the time to comment in detail. Please understand that my comments in our exchange of views are not directed at you or any single person and relate in general terms to the value of surveys based on recent personal experience. In this context any references I make to 'you' or 'your' refers to the profession not to you as an individual; indeed you seem a decent person concerned with providing a good service making you, in my experience, the exception rather than the rule.

I would say however that my experience is NOT based on 'a rather old school and out dated notion of what a surveyor is and does'; it is what actually happens during an expensive survey.

As you say, most people don't move that often and have very limited understanding of property and the problems that are manageable and those that are potentially disastrous both financially and physically. It is understandable that many will seek a professional to advise them but without realising how limited (but nonetheless expensive) the resultant advice will be.
How can they know what questions to ask of their surveyor when they have little or no experience in property? Expertise is what they pay you for.

You haven't assuaged any of my concerns about the value of your reports because it seems to me I can do myself all the things that you do armed with nothing other than my commonsense.

I can look at a roof through binnoculars and form an opinion; I can spot wet rot, dry rot, woodworm etc and with meticulous care seeing as it's my money that's at risk. I undertsand the limitations upon you not to be able to move things or damage property but to me that sounds like an easy cop out. I want to know what the problems are not what it is you can't see hiding away in the loft or the cellar, two places you won't go for starters.

No-one is saying that a survey is always a waste of time but on the balance of probabilities and experience a survey is an expense that a potential homeowner can manage without, providing they keep their wits about them; after all, a survey will, apparently, only identify the obvious.

From what you've told me there could be all sorts going on behind that sofa you won't move, under that carpet you won't lift or indeed behind that wallpaper but you just don't know.

My advice therefore to anyone who does have a survey is not to only concern yourself with the list of specialist items that need further investigation following the recommendation of your surveyor, but to worry too about all those things that he didn't spot and ask yourself, was that £500 well spent?

Or, just don't have a survey and spend the money on repairs - by the time you've seen all the 'specialists' you could be out of pocket to the tune of a couple of grand already - and you may not even buy the place.

Again, perhaps your understanding of what a surveyor does is somewhat limited.
Lofts and cellars? Yes, they're very much part of a survey and are often the location of many defects. I can't imagine any surveyor that wouldn't enter these spaces if they were able to do so.
Can you dispense with the services of a surveyor and rely, as you say, on your own good commonsense?
Well, maybe. But what happens if you DO miss seeing the, often well disguised, evidence of structural movement? Without a survey to fall back on then you are likely to be left with a significant bill.
The stats (from a Which? report) indicate that the average cost of putting right defects that would have been identified in a survey is £2500 for 1 in 4 home buyers, and for 1 in 10 buyers it's over £10,000. The cost of a typical survey is around £500.
Like many things in life, you can take the gamble, use your commonsense, and cross your fingers. And, it's fair to say, that in around 75% of instances you will get away with it. The trouble is that you just don't know if you're in the 75%.....or the 25% that WILL find problems. And relying on your own commonsense provides no path for recompense.
It simply isn't the case that an untrained individual will be able to conduct their own survey to the same standards as a professional surveyor. I come away from every survey with around 20-30 pages of notes and 300-400 photographs. And that, coupled with my pre and post survey research, and my knowledge of the locality, provides me with a large bank of information on which to form the basis of my report. In MOST cases I can identify the cause of a defect and indicate the necessary remedial action. That is the result of experience, knowledge and a thorough inspection. Whilst I assume that some untrained individuals could carry out an inspection to that level of detail, I doubt that many would. That's what you pay for.
I don't take any of your comments personally, but I certainly DO defend those professional surveyors who, like me, strive to offer their clients a thorough, comprehensive and complete review of their intended home.
My surveys are valued and appreciated by my clients, many of whom have building knowledge, because they appreciate that they could not have formed similar opinions themselves about a property which, in most cases, they are emotionally attached to.

Lord_Baltimore

alanmilstein wrote: »

Again, perhaps your understanding of what a surveyor does is somewhat limited.

Ouch. Perhaps it is because I know what a surveyor does (and doesn't do) you find the need to be so patronising and defensive?

Lofts and cellars? Yes, they're very much part of a survey and are often the location of many defects. I can't imagine any surveyor that wouldn't enter these spaces if they were able to do so.

"If they were able to do so" is the key phrase; if there is no loft ladder or the access to the cellar is covered by carpet you can't get access. Does this mean you're off the hook in these crucial areas? Do you think a survey is worth the paper it is written on without full inspection of these areas?

Can you dispense with the services of a surveyor and rely, as you say, on your own good commonsense?
Well, maybe. But what happens if you DO miss seeing the, often well disguised, evidence of structural movement? Without a survey to fall back on then you are likely to be left with a significant bill.

But, as you say, you are human too, what happens if you miss something? Ah yes, I remember I can fall back on the survey. Really? Won't you have covered that possibility by saying I should have got the specialist you recommended? Invariably I would guess that's what happens.

The stats (from a Which? report) indicate that the average cost of putting right defects that would have been identified in a survey is £2500 for 1 in 4 home buyers, and for 1 in 10 buyers it's over £10,000. The cost of a typical survey is around £500.

Statistics, as you know, can be manipulated to prove or disprove anything so let's disregard Which? reports shall we?

Like many things in life, you can take the gamble, use your commonsense, and cross your fingers. And, it's fair to say, that in around 75% of instances you will get away with it. The trouble is that you just don't know if you're in the 75%.....or the 25% that WILL find problems. And relying on your own commonsense provides no path for recompense.

Surveyors never miss an opportunity to plant those little seeds of doubt do they? Sorry Alan, but people are waking up and smelling the coffee.

As you used stats above though, is what you are saying here is that 3 out of 4 people don't need a survey in the first place? Those odds are quite good and have to be weighed against the huge cost of professional advice.

It simply isn't the case that an untrained individual will be able to conduct their own survey to the same standards as a professional surveyor. I come away from every survey with around 20-30 pages of notes and 300-400 photographs. And that, coupled with my pre and post survey research, and my knowledge of the locality, provides me with a large bank of information on which to form the basis of my report.

I don't doubt that you come away with lots of photos and notes. The detail is always handy for refuting subsequent insurance claims. I'm not saying your detail is solely for this purpose (you have a client report to produce after all), but your insurers no doubt demand a high level of detail from you. Well, don't they?

In MOST cases I can identify the cause of a defect and indicate the necessary remedial action. That is the result of experience, knowledge and a thorough inspection. Whilst I assume that some untrained individuals could carry out an inspection to that level of detail, I doubt that many would. That's what you pay for.

I agree that buyers pay for expertise; I said that in a previous post. What I doubt is that that expertise is always provided to the value of the cost of the survey. Some professional surveys are so vague it's possible to write them without attending the property for very long. That's not thorough and it's not reliable.

I don't take any of your comments personally, but I certainly DO defend those professional surveyors who, like me, strive to offer their clients a thorough, comprehensive and complete review of their intended home.

Do you defend those professional surveyors who, unlike you, are a bunch of tick-box junkies on easy money? When I pay for expertise I expect expertise to be delivered not stealthily averted by the addition of quite so many caveats.

Btw, I would expect you to be defensive of your livelihood of course. You should expect me to be defensive of the product of my livelihood ie my salary. I want value for money and I want what I pay for. Do all surveyors deliver that? No.

My surveys are valued and appreciated by my clients, many of whom have building knowledge, because they appreciate that they could not have formed similar opinions themselves about a property which, in most cases, they are emotionally attached to.

Fair enough. I did say that you personally sound comitted to your work and your client. Is everyone thus in your profession? I think not.

chocolateflake

Interested in reading through this thread. I have accepted an offer on my property and my buyer paid for a full survey to be done. He was here less than one hour and most of that time was spent outside. I only live in a 2 bedroom semi victorian property so what he did out there I have no idea. Upon leaving my property, he asked me what the metal ties were in my loft...to which I said i'd no idea. I asked him to explain what they were for ... He sarcastically said they were basically 'holding up the outside wall'. I replied then why hadn't my surveyor, 2 years ago, mentioned anything in his report?

His report to my buyer and her mortgage company stated that a structural engineer was to check out these metal ties. A further £400 was paid by my buyer and the engineer was here for no longer than 10mins! He said the ties were not structural and of absolutely no importance. That was decided standing on the ladder into the loft hatch and shining a torch!

I am buying another victorian property but I'm not having a survey...period!

Lord_Baltimore

chocolateflake wrote: »

Interested in reading through this thread. I have accepted an offer on my property and my buyer paid for a full survey to be done. He was here less than one hour and most of that time was spent outside. I only live in a 2 bedroom semi victorian property so what he did out there I have no idea. Upon leaving my property, he asked me what the metal ties were in my loft...to which I said i'd no idea. I asked him to explain what they were for ... He sarcastically said they were basically 'holding up the outside wall'. I replied then why hadn't my surveyor, 2 years ago, mentioned anything in his report?

His report to my buyer and her mortgage company stated that a structural engineer was to check out these metal ties. A further £400 was paid by my buyer and the engineer was here for no longer than 10mins! He said the ties were not structural and of absolutely no importance. That was decided standing on the ladder into the loft hatch and shining a torch!

I am buying another victorian property but I'm not having a survey...period!

Dear Lord. Not much gets past those beady eyed surveyors eh?

phoebe1989seb

chocolateflake wrote: »

Interested in reading through this thread. I have accepted an offer on my property and my buyer paid for a full survey to be done. He was here less than one hour and most of that time was spent outside. I only live in a 2 bedroom semi victorian property so what he did out there I have no idea. Upon leaving my property, he asked me what the metal ties were in my loft...to which I said i'd no idea. I asked him to explain what they were for ... He sarcastically said they were basically 'holding up the outside wall'. I replied then why hadn't my surveyor, 2 years ago, mentioned anything in his report?

His report to my buyer and her mortgage company stated that a structural engineer was to check out these metal ties. A further £400 was paid by my buyer and the engineer was here for no longer than 10mins! He said the ties were not structural and of absolutely no importance. That was decided standing on the ladder into the loft hatch and shining a torch!

I am buying another victorian property but I'm not having a survey...period!

The buyers of our last house in 2011 had a homebuyers report carried out and the errors made by the surveyor were legion......

I guess perhaps he could be forgiven for thinking the house was built in the 1930s - however, it was actually a Tudor building that was carefully dismantled in the 1930s, moved to a new location and put back together by a master builder with Arts & Crafts additions

The surveyor spent between 3 and 4 hours at the 1600 sq ft detached house, much of which time was spent on a ladder looking through binoculars at the roof (which was for the most part low enough to touch the gutters from ground level btw), yet he failed to spot an obvious area of terracotta tiles that were disintegrating & also said the recently re-pointed chimney required repointing.....

He described the new (non-asbestos) water cylinder as an old asbestos one, yet omitted to notice there really was asbestos in an attached outbuilding. Despite refusing to venture into the attic - which had easy access from a walk-in eaves cupboard - he declared that the roof timbers had an infestation of woodworm. The list went on......but fortunately he valued the house at the agreed AP and our buyers took his findings with a large pinch of salt

Words fail me :mad:

Lord_Baltimore

phoebe1989seb wrote: »

The buyers of our last house in 2011 had a homebuyers report carried out and the errors made by the surveyor were legion......

I guess perhaps he could be forgiven for thinking the house was built in the 1930s - however, it was actually a Tudor building that was carefully dismantled in the 1930s, moved to a new location and put back together by a master builder with Arts & Crafts additions

The surveyor spent between 3 and 4 hours at the 1600 sq ft detached house, much of which time was spent on a ladder looking through binoculars at the roof (which was for the most part low enough to touch the gutters from ground level btw), yet he failed to spot an obvious area of terracotta tiles that were disintegrating & also said the recently re-pointed chimney required repointing.....

He described the new (non-asbestos) water cylinder as an old asbestos one, yet omitted to notice there really was asbestos in an attached outbuilding. Despite refusing to venture into the attic - which had easy access from a walk-in eaves cupboard - he declared that the roof timbers had an infestation of woodworm. The list went on......but fortunately he valued the house at the agreed AP and our buyers took his findings with a large pinch of salt

Words fail me :mad:

It would be laughable if it wasn't costing us an arm and a leg.

Someone needs to do something about the poor and inconsistent performance in the profession. I wonder if Mr Milstein, contributor to this thread and Chairman of the Council of the Residential Property Surveyors Association whose mission statement is "to see higher standards amongst surveyors to ensure that the consumer gets a valuable and worthwhile product everytime" could help or is that a different bloke?

racing_blue

Thanks again posters. In time honoured tradition this thread seems to have become a little polarised. (Who'd have thought it...)

Thankyou to Alanmilstein for taking the time to give advice as a professional. Also thankyou to Lord Baltimore and Phoebe1989seb for laying out a case for the experienced amateur.

I have decided that in this case the decision to go ahead with a building survey boils down to three things:
A) individual's confidence in their own ability to understand the house
individual's willingness to take risk
C) cost of getting the survey

Could probably construct a formula...

Don't think anyone who posted chose NOT to have a survey, and later regretted it. Is anyone aware of any threads or stories like that which I could read?

alanmilstein

Lord_Baltimore wrote: »

It would be laughable if it wasn't costing us an arm and a leg.

Someone needs to do something about the poor and inconsistent performance in the profession. I wonder if Mr Milstein, contributor to this thread and Chairman of the Council of the Residential Property Surveyors Association whose mission statement is "to see higher standards amongst surveyors to ensure that the consumer gets a valuable and worthwhile product everytime" could help or is that a different bloke?

Yes, I am the Chairman of the Residential Property Surveyors Association, and, yes, I desperately want to see higher, and more consistent, standards in residential surveying. The contributors to this post clearly highlight the variability in standards across the country. So, yes, I AM trying to do something about it!
I should point out that my role at the RPSA is voluntary and, as a surveyor with my own business I am fortunate enough to have a good and steady workload. I say that by way of explaining that my contributions here are not to drum up business for myself or because I receive any personal financial benefit in promoting the RPSA. It also explains why I don't get onto the forum too often as time is always at a premium.
It is always easy to criticise an entire industry based on the bad experiences of a few (noting, however, that no one should have such bad experiences), but I do know of many conscientious and dedicated surveyors who do a thorough job for their clients and provide genuine value in the house buying process.
The trouble is that,for an individual consumer who buys into the service, perhaps only once every 10-15 years, it is very difficult to decide on where they will get the best result.
My advice, therefore, for anyone considering a survey is as follows:-
1. Do not be forced into using a particular surveying service by your lender, estate agent, or anyone else. By all means let them recommend someone to you, but it is YOUR choice who does your survey. Nothwithstanding the fact that most lenders will require you to have a valuation carried out by one of their own valuers (who may or may not be a surveyor, and for which you will probably have to pay through the nose)....on this you will have no choice, but you should not be hoodwinked into having your valuation "upgraded" to a survey by the same surveyor.
2. Contact two or three surveyors and talk to them about their service and how they like to work. A good surveyor will take time to explain their report style, content and support services.
3. Choose someone appropriate to the property. If you're buying a specialist property, such as something that is listed, historic, or of unusual construction, make sure that the surveyor specialises in that type of building.
4. If you're not sure then ask the surveyor for a sample report, or for some references.
5. Make sure the surveyor is someone you can talk to easily and who you can build a working relationship with. In many cases, if you get a survey through your lender then the surveyor will be part of some remote panel and often uncontactable easily.
6. Price - always a key issue. And, like most things in life, you gets what you pays for. Choose the cheapest option off the internet and you are very likely to be disappointed by the result. It takes me a good 3-4 hours to survey an average sized 3 bed semi (of which about 2 hours will be outside...because that's where most internal defects stem from), and around 4 hours in pre and post survey research and writing up. That level of work and expertise comes at a price. But at the end of it I will provide a report that "as far as is reasonably possible" describes the property, and any defects, fully and completely. So, if you want a surveyors report that will give you the answers to the questions you have then the simple fact is that you will need to reckon on £300-500 for an average home and significantly more (say,. £800-£1500) for specialist and larger properties.
7. The caveats and surveyor speak - like "as far as is reasonably possible" quoted above. Unfortunately, in this litigious world, we all have to cover our backsides to some extent. Yes, I have to explain in my report that I couldn't inspect the floorboards because the floor is covered in laminate, or fitted carpets. If there's no accessible underfloor void that will allow me to see the floorboards from underneath then, quite simply, is impossible for me to see them! And hence the "I was unable to inspect...." comments. And so it CAN seem like we're copping out when you read through the report. Sadly, though, if I don't put that comment in and subsequently someone finds some woodworm in a floorboard having ripped up the fitted carpets, then the first thing they think to do is to come after me for recompense. Sadly I don't have x-ray vision or any other super-natural powers to allow me to see through boxes, furniture, carpets, walls etc. and hence why it's necessary to explain the limitations that were experienced during the survey. However, what I can, and do, do is to use a wide range of equipment (including ladders, binoculars, moisture meters etc) - which are ALWAYS carried with me during surveys - together with knowledge of building pathology, experience, significant training on the use of standard and specialist materials, and an inspection based on a thorough and methodical approach, to provide me with evidence in which I can deduce what is actually going on in those parts of the building that I can't see.

I genuinely believe that there ARE good surveyors out there who can deliver valuable, and valued, results. My advice is to take your time to find the one that works best for you and who you feel comfortable with. Good surveyors will take the time to work with you to answer your questions about the property, so make sure that's who you employ.