survey booked but no surveyor contact

CWSmith

When I booked my surveyor, he asked if there was any aspect of the property I was purchasing that I was particularly concerned about.

Thrugelmir

timor wrote: »

I called the EA, who essentially works for the vendor, and asked to make sure the surveyor will have access to all areas and the loft.

Precisely why there's no contact. Surveyors know how to do their job. Also they aren't getting paid to talk to you.

Cissi

timor wrote: »

(...) highlight some areas that you would like more attention to e.g, lofts, drains etc

(...)

I booked a homebuyer's survey with the valuation of the property through the bank, since it was more economical.

Don't expect any detailed information if you've opted for just a homebuyer's report - the surveyor will probably just cast a cursory glance around and make an estimate whether the bank's investment is safe. If you want any structural information that you can rely on, then you need to book a structural survey - and quite possibly specialist surveys if there are signs of specific issues such as damp, drainage problems etc.

timor_2

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Also they aren't getting paid to talk to you.

They are getting paid by me to conduct a survey on my behalf. So yes, they ought to be passing their results to me in the interest of my investment . I really don't know where you are coming from with your point, don't bother replying in the thread if you have nothing constructive to offer.

Whether surveyors know how to do their job or not, can be seen by the numerous posts in these forums.

timor_2

Cissi wrote: »

Don't expect any detailed information if you've opted for just a homebuyer's report - the surveyor will probably just cast a cursory glance around and make an estimate whether the bank's investment is safe. If you want any structural information that you can rely on, then you need to book a structural survey - and quite possibly specialist surveys if there are signs of specific issues such as damp, drainage problems etc.

What you are essentially talking about here is the valuation though, not the survey. The part of the survey is conducted for by the buyer, not the bank.

Although the homebuyer's survey is basic, according to the chartered surveyors sources, a homebuyer's report should include checking into the loft and drainage when it is accessible in the property boundaries.

I spoke to the surveyor and he was happy to inspect the loft and woodwork. He is also going to inspect the drain. Although I understanding that both surveys, homebuyer's and structural, would make a call for a specialist where needed.

It is definitely worth having a good builder and plumber for more detailed feedback instead of a full structural survey I think (unless the property is over 100 yrs I presume). I just didn't have the chance to call them round when I viewed.

oldbaldman

IME a "Home buyers report" is not worth the paper it is written on. It will probably have so many so many clauses excluding so much that it is worthless with no comebacks on the surveyor or the commissioning company. Mine did.

I "sold" recently. The purchasers had paid for a "home buyers valuation". Their "surveyor" spent a total of 8 minutes on site. The majority of that 8 minutes was spent telling me how experienced he was and the fact that he was only on site for 8 minutes should not be seen as detrimental, as he was so experienced that he could tell when he walked up the path all about the property.

I too had a home buyers report on my purchase which was arranged by Nationwide. It is a complete waste of money. The report states that I can not rely on anything in it for basing my decision to buy. It goes on to list a number of exclusions to ensure that I have no comeback on the surveyor, or Nationwide for any inaccuracy in the report and that it can not be relied upon to give a value for the house.

In short, it is worthless. Unfortunately with a "clear" report I thought all was well with the property, especially as the surveyor stated that there was no subsidence on the property. This is inaccurate.

There are a number of issues with the property and there seem to be numerous "catch all exemptions", excluding the Nationwide surveyor and Nationwide from any responsibility. I consider that the extent and the number of exclusions amount to an unfair clause?

Anyway, the point is that a home buyers report is almost useless, worthless, due to all the exclusion clauses despite costing £200 to £300 pounds. You might as well have the local stray dog value your house. Or a pebble.

But hey, it's a one sided game, and all you can do is play.

obm

timor_2

oldbaldman wrote: »

IME a "Home buyers report" is not worth the paper it is written on. It will probably have so many so many clauses excluding so much that it is worthless with no comebacks on the surveyor or the commissioning company. Mine did.

I "sold" recently. The purchasers had paid for a "home buyers valuation". Their "surveyor" spent a total of 8 minutes on site. The majority of that 8 minutes was spent telling me how experienced he was and the fact that he was only on site for 8 minutes should not be seen as detrimental, as he was so experienced that he could tell when he walked up the path all about the property.

I too had a home buyers report on my purchase which was arranged by Nationwide. It is a complete waste of money. The report states that I can not rely on anything in it for basing my decision to buy. It goes on to list a number of exclusions to ensure that I have no comeback on the surveyor, or Nationwide for any inaccuracy in the report and that it can not be relied upon to give a value for the house.

In short, it is worthless. Unfortunately with a "clear" report I thought all was well with the property, especially as the surveyor stated that there was no subsidence on the property. This is inaccurate.

There are a number of issues with the property and there seem to be numerous "catch all exemptions", excluding the Nationwide surveyor and Nationwide from any responsibility. I consider that the extent and the number of exclusions amount to an unfair clause?

Anyway, the point is that a home buyers report is almost useless, worthless, due to all the exclusion clauses despite costing £200 to £300 pounds. You might as well have the local stray dog value your house. Or a pebble.

But hey, it's a one sided game, and all you can do is play.

obm

Thanks for sharing your experience.

From what I understand with most people's experiences, it seems rather worthless. On my first buy it was a flat and I decided to bring a builder and sparky along with me, who offered really good feedback.

This time though it's a house and although I know the survey is probably going to be useless, I still wanted to have an overall assessment of the condition of the property.

The problem with builders, sparkys and plumbers is that they will always try to find potential work and find something wrong. They are still the best people to actually quote estimates but they will be money driven and they come and go.

You have to play the game like you said, I believe that anything that could affect resale or impact your life while living at the property, should be enough to walk away while you still can.

I'm just considering the survey as a poor man's backup, albeit a tricky one. If it catches something major that went unnoticed, then I will consider myself lucky and walk away.

Riggster

Is this a surveyor appointed by your mortgage lender to value the property? In which case all they and the mortgage provider are bothered about is "this property is worth what it is being bought for, and the mortgage is a safe bet if things go Pete Tong and we have to repo the house".

However, if you've paid a bit more for a fuller investigation i.e. a RICS HomeBuyer Report or a RICS Building Survey rather than a RICS Condition Report, then you should be asking the surveyor when they'll be doing it, asking them to look at certain stuff and generally getting your money's worth.

And, bearing in mind you are spending £££ buying a house, maybe you should employ a surveyor to do not a RICS report, but a "stuff you should know, and will cost THIS much report"?

I never have, but maybe I'm lucky?

oldbaldman

I can understand your point Riggster, but, and there is always a BUT, even spending money on a full report does not guarantee accurate information.

Another experience I had of a surveyor, this time for a full structural survey, supposedly by a specialist in that type of property gave me more headache than comfort.

The report highlighted subsidence as a potential issue where there was none locally apparently. On speaking to the surveyor about this, he told me, and you could not make this up, that some 25 -30 years or so ago he (the surveyor) had been drinking in a local pub, could not remember which one or what year. At the bar were a group of regulars including one character propping up the bar who mentioned subsidence in the area when he was talking with the group. The surveyor did not know the man or the friends but had overheard the term subsidence. When I telephoned him to ask about this aspect of his report, the surveyor admitted he did not know the exact date he heard the comment, what area or property was being discussed, he did not know the man or the group of friends, he did not know what area they had been talking about or if they had any qualifications or experience in the surveying field. He did add that he thought one property might have been affected and that it was about 600 yards from mine.

The surveyor stated that he felt duty bound to include the possibility of subsidence in his report.

I asked him to confirm in writing detailing the conversation in the pub some 20 years ago and describing the locals and the pub and the conversation had had overheard to out the subsidence comment in context? He declined to do so.

I now look at properties and judge with my own eyes and from my own experience whether or not it is worth a purchase.

atb

obm

timor_2

While we are at it, I received my report, overall it is not bad, it contains some points copied and pasted from standards which appear in other reports I have seen around.

Oldbaldman I find your note about subsidence very interesting. There is a comment about the local area which I'd like to contact the surveyor to discuss.

"The subsoil in the area is of a shrinkable nature which can cause foundation movement in older structures when prolonged dry spells of weather occur."

Further in the report it supports the property is not suffering from any subsidence and walls are in good order. But the note suggests a "potential" for subsidence. This could be a standard for the surveyor to cover his back. What is the buyer supposed to make of this?

(*note the house was built before the war, around 1930s)

" The cavity walls of this property are formed in two leaves which are usually held together with metal wall ties. The metal ties used in properties built before the early 1980s were prone to corrosion which, if significant, could lead to structural movement. However, no signs of wall tie failure were found and when considering the property's construction and the local environment, we consider the risk of such failure to be small."


The report includes a few classic issues, given that the property has a certain age. e.g because the surveyor could not see a certificate for electrics or gas, he flagged them as "3" (urgent). This seems common with most places, although when I looked at the consumer board it was fairly modern and the switches in the house were certainly recent.

He also flagged the drains as partially blocked that need flushing. I think this one is for the conveyancer to pass on to the seller.

There was also a cat. "2" note that the loft requires ventilation but no immediate action is needed. Next was just a note on the waters mains pipe, as it may be made of lead due to the age of the property. I have read posts about this here and plan to test the water for lead concentration. Then take action depending on the result.

And last he pointed out asbestos cement on the garage corrugated roof, which is all in good order and requires no action. This would be a cost for removal in the future if anything, but at least it is far from the house.

I found the report a lot more detailed than I expected, although most things are based on a simple visual inspection. I still the surveyor spent well more than 10-15 mins because his notes are referring to very specific things I noted in the house and he went through them in whole paragraphs.

Funnily enough, a friend who carried out a structural survey for his purchase in the same area told me that my report was far more detailed on certain aspects than his and he was disappointed.