Survey 1 year after House Move

scoops82

Hi


We moved onto our ideal home a year ago. AN old couple used to live there so we have updated and modernised the house on a limited budget.


Foolishly , when purchasing the house we only went for the most basic of surveys but im a bit paranoid as there are some cracks on brickwork outside.


Are you able to get your own survey done after a purchase just for piece of mind or am I just being paranoid? What are the costs of a full survey -should I just use the money that would be spent on the survey on the upgrading of the roof, drive etc?


The info I have is


The property has suffered previous movement but I saw no evidence to suggest this is ongoing.


Valuation = £127,500
Properties of this type and age in this neighbourhood are valued between £125-£165k


Property is acceptable condition for lending purposes, valuation reflects there is wear and tear to some items and that maintenance, repair or upgrading will be required.


Thanks
S

cloo

Yes, you can ask a surveyor to do it any time you like. Costs will vary depending on the size of a property and also on where you are (I'm guessing you're not in London at £127k!). Choose someone local if possible, as they'll know local properties and issues well. And don't panic if they seem to come up with a lot of stuff; it's likely they will mostly be minor in nature and a surveyor has to flag up all risks and things that might need attention, small as well as big.

Doozergirl

A structural engineer would look specifically at the cracks for you, and be able to give professional instruction, rather than commission a surveyor to carry out a full survey and then probably recommend a structural engineer.

HouseBuyer77

There's nothing to stop you from having a homebuyers or full building survey carried out on your own home.

Though if you're worried about the movement in particular (the cracks on the bricks are probably from the 'previous movement' mentioned) I suspect you can have a surveyor look at that and that only for signficantly reduced cost.

scoops82

Brilliant - does anyone have any experience of surveyors? The fact that I call them will alert them to the fact im worried.


I don't want them to come round and pull my pants down....so to speak!

Hoploz

If you instruct a surveyor or a structural engineer you will pay them for the report you commission regardless of the contents. It doesn't make any difference to them whether they find issues requiring repair or not.

[Deleted User]

You seem to be a bit paranoid lol. Surveyors aren't the building police!

If you are worried about some cracks, call a structural surveyor, get their advice and decide whether to follow it or not.

Its your house!

If you decide to sell at some point in the future, it may become more of a concern as you'd have to mention any known structural issues BUT these would probably come up when the prospective buyer had the place surveyed anyway. Getting a survey done now could actually help you resolve any buyer concerns as you have time to resolve issues if there are any.

G_M

Use a structural engineer, not a surveyor.

It's like the health service: the surveyor is the GP. He'll look at the whole house, let you know about minor issues, and recommend you get a specialist (hospital consultant) in if he sees anything worrying (eg a crack!).

The structural engineer is the hospital specilist expert on cracks & movement. So save your money and go straight to the expert.

http://www.istructe.org/finding-a-structural-engineer

https://www.localsurveyorsdirect.co.uk/structural-engineers-inpsection-reports.aspx