Surveys

InhaleMood

Hi all,
I have had an offer accepted on a house - Grade II listed (I believe it was built around 1850).
I am just a little confused about the surveys. Do I need a full survey? What would a rough price be?
Thanks

Rosy_Apple

I have just had a full Buildings (formerly structural) survey completed on a house we were purchasing. It has pulled up a number of issues that we couldn't have seen and mean we are withdrawing from the sale. Although ours is an extreme case it has made me think a full structural survey is always a good thing and a wise investment. I got a number of quotes and they seemed to be around the £600-£650 mark.

Hope this helps.
RA

NB: I am not sure if listed properties work differently!

mail2z

It would be a very good idea to get a full survey. Depending upon the size of the property and the purchase price the cost of survey will vary. If it is a regular 3 bed expect to pay around £600 for a RICS licensed surveyor.

highguyuk

Point 1. I'd get a full structural survey.

Point 2. Have a look on www.reallymoving.com for some quotes.

Yorkie1

(Assuming you're getting a mortgage)... when you apply for a mortgage, you'll pay the lender some money for a valuation survey. This is done for the lender's benefit, to show that the property is worth what the lender is lending.

At the same time you can choose to have your own survey - they've been renamed now but were formerly called house buyer's (medium detail) or structural (full / max detail). You can either pay a bit more for the lender's surveyor to do this, or get your own.

For a listed building, I'd be minded to get my own, full, survey from an independent firm which is experienced in dealing with listed buildings. There are particular issues to be aware of e.g. whether changes may have been made which contravene the listing, or whether particular materials have been used which are inappropriate or wrong.

alanmilstein

tanyasharma,
Yes, without a doubt you need a full and comprehensive survey on a listed property - I should point out that I am an independent residential surveyor and specialise in listed and historic buildings so I obviously have rather definite views about such things!
Even if you are experienced in living in, and working on, older properties, a survey will still provide you with valuable information.
A Grade 2 listed building is probably quite old, and as it has stood where it is for several hundreds of years it's probably not going to fall over. However such buildings often have timber frames which can rot and which can require significant repairs.
The property will almost certainly have damp in it. But is it "normal" damp, something to do with leaks, or perhaps due to poor quality or inappropriate repairs and alterations?
And talking of alterations, has work been carried out within the restrictions of listed building consent?
A good survey doesn't just tell you what's wrong with an older property. It also tells you what's right, what's wrong but acceptable, what you need to do to put things right, and how to care for your home into the future.
Cost-wise? Expect to spend £1000-£2000 (unless it's a very large property), depending on the nature of the property, for a good quality survey. A typical survey on a listed home takes me 5-8 hours on site, and a good day and a half to two days to research, collate and write.
It's a lot of money, I know, but repairs on listed buildings are ALWAYS a good deal more expensive than on contemporary properties, and can swallow up large sums of money very quickly. Armed with a good quality report (whatever you do, don't book it through your lender or through a surveyor panel - make sure you talk to several specialist surveyors before deciding on which one you like the best) you will know what you're taking on and what you can expect to have to allocate funds to in the coming years.
Good luck!

Star999

Hi
So Sorry to post here, but I've tried for the past 3 hours to start a new thread but keep getting an error page.

I need some help please.


Me and my husband are ftb. After nearly two years of searching, we found a house we like and had our offer accepted last month.


The survey was completed on Wed and we received the Homebuyers report today.


The report has highlighted some work that needs doing and I need some advice on whether I should negotiate a lower price than what was originally agreed. However the valuation placed on the property by the surveyor is the same as our offer.


It stated quite a few issues but the ones we feel are significant and we weren't aware of upon viewing are the following:


"The system was operating but it was not fully effective as some radiators were cold to the touch. Some repair is needed. As this is serious, urgent and may be costly, you should instruct a reputable qualified heating engineer to inspect and report to you before exchange of contracts."


"The water tank is old and rusting and now needs to be replaced. This is not considered to be either serious or urgent and can be dealt with soon after taking ownership. However, you should obtain estimates for repair/improvement work before exchange of contracts. Although this could be carried out after taking up occupation, if it is not replaced in early course it may begin to leak."


Many thanks for any help

Star999

Or if someone can start a new thread for me, it would be much appreciated.

Title: FTB-Help! Offer accepted but survey highlighted issues. Negotiate price?

G_M

Star999 wrote: »

Or if someone can start a new thread for me, it would be much appreciated.

Title: FTB-Help! Offer accepted but survey highlighted issues. Negotiate price?

New thread started here.

Lord_Baltimore

alanmilstein wrote: »

tanyasharma,
Yes, without a doubt you need a full and comprehensive survey on a listed property - I should point out that I am an independent residential surveyor and specialise in listed and historic buildings so I obviously have rather definite views about such things!
Even if you are experienced in living in, and working on, older properties, a survey will still provide you with valuable information.
A Grade 2 listed building is probably quite old, and as it has stood where it is for several hundreds of years it's probably not going to fall over. However such buildings often have timber frames which can rot and which can require significant repairs.
The property will almost certainly have damp in it. But is it "normal" damp, something to do with leaks, or perhaps due to poor quality or inappropriate repairs and alterations?
And talking of alterations, has work been carried out within the restrictions of listed building consent?
A good survey doesn't just tell you what's wrong with an older property. It also tells you what's right, what's wrong but acceptable, what you need to do to put things right, and how to care for your home into the future.
Cost-wise? Expect to spend £1000-£2000 (unless it's a very large property), depending on the nature of the property, for a good quality survey. A typical survey on a listed home takes me 5-8 hours on site, and a good day and a half to two days to research, collate and write.
It's a lot of money, I know, but repairs on listed buildings are ALWAYS a good deal more expensive than on contemporary properties, and can swallow up large sums of money very quickly. Armed with a good quality report (whatever you do, don't book it through your lender or through a surveyor panel - make sure you talk to several specialist surveyors before deciding on which one you like the best) you will know what you're taking on and what you can expect to have to allocate funds to in the coming years.
Good luck!

Which reminds me Alan, our discussion on suveys is incomplete.

mardiemare2008

Star999 wrote: »

Or if someone can start a new thread for me, it would be much appreciated.

Title: FTB-Help! Offer accepted but survey highlighted issues. Negotiate price?

Can us newbie's not start our own threads? I thought there was a problem with my computer.