A friend builder instead of an official surveyor?

Money_girl

[FONT=&quot]Hello everyone,[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]What do you think about an idea to get my friend who is a professional builder to have a look at the flat I am buying instead of paying the money for the surveyor? [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]This is a loft conversion flat in a Victorian house. The huge house was recently made into 3 flats so everything is supposed to be brand new. I am negotiating a deal with one of the surveyors for the building survey. However, he came back to me with the document in small print where it says the electricity, gas, plumbing, drainage will not be inspected. The areas with no access will not be inspected as well. There is a carpet throughout the property so I suppose he is not going to check what kind of flooring is underneath. [/FONT]
[FONT=&quot]He has a 3 meter long ladder. If it is not long enough to inspect the roof he will use binoculars. So basically I think this building survey is not so useful for the huge amount of money I will be paying. I would like to know in and out of the flat and the building itself and in my opinion everything must be checked from the bricks inside the building to electricity wiring, drainage, plumbing etc. [/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]So I am thinking to get my friend who is a professional builder to have a look at the things instead. What do you think?[/FONT]
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[FONT=&quot]Thanks for taking your time to reply.[/FONT]

ValHaller

Are you buying for cash? If you are, you could do this. But it is not advisable, particularly if the property in its present form has never passed muster with a Mortgage Lender. Your builder friend will probably do a much more thorough job than a surveyor. But if he is not au fait with mortgage requirements, he may miss something fundamental -- and you don't have the fall back of it having been accepted for a mortgage previously to give you any comfort.

ognum

I sold a house to a cash buyer who just bought a builder friend around, she was happy and so was I. !!!!!!

BJV

There is a big difference between a builder and a surveyor. I am all for saving cash but i would rather spend a bit and get it done professionally than potentially miss something which could cost a small fortune.

Also imagine if your friend did it and missed something which cost thousands and thousands to repair? Nice way to end a friendship!

princeofpounds

A very good and experienced builder could probably spot major problems in a house, at least those relating to its construction.

However, they aren't trained as surveyors, they don't have professional indemnity insurance. It would be very hard to actually recommend someone follows this course of action, particularly if they didn't know the credentials of said builder.

phill99

If your builder friend doesn't spot something that he should have done, who will you sue? It won't be your (ex) friend.

Remember also, that your friend won't be any more qualified to determine whether the gas and electrical installations are safe than a surveyor is.

I think you will make a rod for your own back.

DigForVictory

I'm all for tapping friends' knowledge! That said, when I needed a mortgage, I had to have a survey done by someone with the appropriate letters after their name and hefty insurance policy or I wouldn't get the mortgage.

So I'd get both. That way I can stay friends, have two professional views on my future home and an even better negotiating position on price.
Best of luck!

Hailstorm

Another thing to consider is that if there are problems, no vendor is going to renegotiate because your builder mate says work needs doing. They might though if an independent professional surveyor does.

Also, if a professional surveyor misses a problem they are liable for the costs of sorting it out.

Mallotum_X

Get the official survey done, but also ask your mate to have a look.

You are covered both ways then.

naxtek

We recently put an offer in on a house that was rejected. Before we made the offer though, we had a friend who is a builder check it out. He spotted loads of things we would never have noticed, and was a massive help to us for the meagre cost of a few beer tokens.

If our offer was accepted, we'd still have had a survey done though.

Getting someone to help you pick faults before paying for a survey is a massive bonus. If they find something, you can pull out of the deal without needing to spend much. But I wouldn't actually buy a property unless it had been surveyed properly.

alanmilstein

I think that all the reasons for choosing a professional Surveyor (and I am a surveyor so, obviously, am biased!) have been made clearly by other contributors.
1. Your builder friend is not a trained surveyor. He won't be following a tried and tested inspection methodology, recording his findings, and providing a comprehensive written report.
2. If he does miss something vital then it is unlikely that he would have professional indemnity insurance to cover your claim against him.
3. Armed with a professionally prepared report provided by a surveyor you are much more likely to be able to renegotiate the price of the house you're buying, than discussing things "based on what my builder friend told me"

I would agree that it's probably worth having your builder friend look over the place for you in the early stages, but assuming you go ahead with the purchase then it does make sense to get a proper survey done (and please don't allow your lender to persuade you to "top up" your valuation to one of their surveys. Go for a good independent surveyor) before you exchange contracts so that you can renegotiate if necessary.