Buying without a survey?

gigi7

Hi

I'd like to get some opinions on whether the surveys are that imperative when buying. It may sound like a naive question to some, but after reading into it I'm wondering if they are worth the money you spend?
Whilst it may sound risky, I wouldn't be buying blind of course. My plan is to have the gas, electric and plumbing checked plus an asbestos survey if the property is old enough.
To me these are the main and most expensive things to remedy.
I may have have overlooked something here but homebuyer surveys in particular seem to just really confirm what you see, and building/structural surveys are just homebuyer surveys that tell you a little more about repairs necessary. They don't look under floor etc so there's still a risk of unknown issues.
Im no building expert or engineer but work in maintenance, so I generally have an idea of repairs ie costs components and so on plus view homes in need of repair on a daily basis.

What do you think? Are they worth it? Has anyone bought without them? Also, am I missing something here in terms of what these surveys include?
It just seems like, unless your buying a property centuries old or one thats particularly dingy, your just paying for someone to point out what you can see.

On viewings, if I'm particularly interested in a property from first look I'll ask for some time to look in detail, knock on the walls ask for loft access, wiggle the taps or anything built in to see if its loose that sort of thing. Im probably going to invest in a damp meter to take with me from now on as well.

Do surveyors do anymore?

marksoton

I didn't bother with a survey, but this is a flat so risk was minimal.

If you consider yourself relatively competent then it probably won't be worth it.

But that really depends on the age/type of property.

AnotherJoe

The only time I ever paid for a full survey was as a naive FTB when I got one and it had more caveats than you could throw a stick at and missed the roof "because didn't have a ladder" or some such rot and therefore missed the only major expense whilst pointing out irrelevancies such as a small crack in the concrete front path.

Since then I've relied on looking at things carefully with a Mk 1 eyeball and anything dodgy, give a wide berth to.

ronmiel

We looked at a house a few years back which had an unusual damp patch, so we decided to have a survey done. The report, which we paid a lot of money for, came back saying 'there is a damp patch on the stairs which should be investigated,' I thought that was what we had paid for! Since then I have bought 3 houses without surveys relying on my own judgement.
I think you can only do this if you are not getting a mortgage.

Nobbie1967

I suppose the only area I would worry about is subtle indications of structural problems which an experienced eye might pick up on such as newly pointed brickwork or plastering to cover cracks. Miss this yourself and you've got no come back.

davidmcn

gigi7 wrote: »

Do surveyors do anymore?

They give you a valuation, which I would have thought would be useful peace of mind (or negotiation tool). Never really understood how the English agree a price before anybody has provided an objective valuation of the property.

Even if you are confident about checking the condition of the property, they provide a second opinion.

And if both of you have missed something, you can sue the surveyor (subject to the caveats).

rosyw

If you know the danger signs to look out for I wouldn't bother. I've never had a survey done on a house I was buying, ranging from my current home which was an almost new built to a 16th century cottage! Cracks can be seen, damp can be smelt, you can see if there are problems with the roof etc. Just use your common sense

kinger101

davidmcn wrote: »

They give you a valuation.

Not always as standard. Sometimes you have to ask specifically for this.

kinger101

It will probably be useless. It might even miss some things that cost a grand or two to get fixed, and are not worth the effort of taking legal proceedings against the surveyor. But they could spot something major which you might have missed. Or negligently fail to spot it in which case it is worth taking legal action.

I have a very low opinion of them myself, and think the whole profession needs an overhaul. 90% of the survey is written before they arrive at the house, and it says "I'm not qualified to look at this and something stopped my looking at that, so it's not my fault if I'm wrong".

Grenage

We don't bother. You can normally spot massive cracks, and be suspicious of fresh paintwork.

I've seen a few surveys from other people's purchases, and they were truly worthless.

Lungboy

There was a thread on here a day or two ago where the buyer was looking to sue someone as they hadn't had a survey done and discovered tens of thousands of pounds worth of broken roof.