Surveys

saver78

Just had an offer accepted on a house and am now looking for a surveyor. As the house is just over 100 years old I am keen to get as full a survey as I can. Spoke to two surveyors today - 1 said they can do a structural survey, the other one does a form of survey which falls between the homebuyer's report and a structural survey. It sounds as though it covers a range of things plus special attention to anything I say I want looked at closely and the report will basically be a list of recommendations identifying where I may need to have investigations carried out.

Does anyone have experience of structural surveys? I suppose what I'm asking is - is that what structural surveys are like: a report with recommendations for further investigations of 'likely problems'? I always thought that with a full survey, they would carry out minor investigations and report back on them in a great big document.

Sounds like the survey is just the first step that leads on to further reports. Also it sounds a minefield - some call them 'building surveys' others call them 'structural surveys' and I still haven't worked out if this is the same thing!?

Sorry if questions are daft - never offered on an old house before.

Any help appreciated.

krishna

Building survey is the new name for what used to be called a structural survey. More information on the RICS website

ono_no_komachi

I have had full structural surveys done twice and thought they were both good value for money, though expensive.

You will receive a detailed report. Our most recent one was 45 pages, and it seemed to be essentially a detailed scrutiny of visible details, and interpretation of what they meant in the context of the surveyors' knowledge. I was very pleased with the report, as it addressed a number of issues we had spotted and wondered if they were problematic. But I think you have to understand that the surveyors' expertise tends to be general, in other words they can comment on a wide range of issues but they cannot be in-depth experts in every single area. Nor can they go around lifting floor coverings or drilling holes in walls.

The one we had done on our current house (about the same age as you are looking at) did recommend a number of specialist inspections. The specialist inspections are nowhere near as expensive as the survey and often if the company inspecting goes on to do some work for you after the purchase, you will recoup the cost via a discount on the job.

Our more recent survey (on a prospective purchase) reported that by far most aspects of the building structure were satisfactory; the only additional inspection recommended was of the electrics (testing of which is clearly not under the surveyors' remit.) But had they seens signs of other problems, I have no doubt this report would also have recommended specialist inspections.

From what I have heard, homebuyers' reports (the level of survey in between a basic valuation and a full structural) can be even more frustrating in this regard - people I know who have had them have said that for every single issue that could be problematic they have recommended further investigation. My experience of the full structural survey is that surveyors will only do this if the issue is potentially too complex for them to comment on or if the potential problem is in an area they have physically not been able to access.

And not daft questions at all! It's hard to know what a survey will be like unless you have had that type of survey yourself. Given the age of the house you are looking at, I would go for the most comprehensive survey that you can. But then I am a bit of a control freak and always try to err on the side of having as much information as possible!