We don't want a survey, Are we stupid?

flambo33

We're buying a property and we're not convinced paying £400+ for a survey is something we actually need. I have worked in the trades and like to think I could spot obvious and not so obvious issues. We've inspected the property thoroughly 3 times now.

4/5 People don't get one, so why bother when we're confident there's no issues we don't know about?

Did you get one and if so was it worth it?

if you didn't get one do you wish you had?

WeAreGhosts

I was looking at buying a house last year which looked absolutely fine from both inside and out, but a survey revealed it had previously had subsidence and the remedy had been a bit of a bodged job. I tried getting prospective insurance quotes for the house and it turned out it was going to be very expensive to insure.
I had a lucky escape. It went under offer with three other parties until someone finally bought it.

theartfullodger

Many people don't wear safety belts.

Many people don't get inoculated against nasty diseases when travelling to foreign parts...

Many people don't bother with insurance so if their house burns down they are stuffed..

Many people don't bother with a survey and buy "blind"....

flambo33

theartfullodger wrote: »

Many people don't wear safety belts.

Many people don't get inoculated against nasty diseases when travelling to foreign parts...

Many people don't bother with insurance so if their house burns down they are stuffed..

Many people don't bother with a survey and buy "blind"....

Odds are we'll be fine then :A

paulsad

Many people get ripped off for surveys that show up the bleedin obvious and miss anything under a floorboard or that requires a high ladder but cover themselves in the small print for the things that they don't find...

missbiggles1

I've bought 9 properties over a period of 30 years, never had a survey and never regretted it.

flambo33

Is there any kind of official benefits to having one? I mean, your home insurance wouldn't be void without it ect?

Clutterfree

We've had surveys on our last 2 properties but are not having one on our current purchase.
Things have changed since our previous surveys - surveyors now cover themselves with their "get out of jail free" clauses so what's the point?
We can see it needs a rewire, roof repairs and has a little damp. I don't need to spend £1000 to be told the same. Can't see any cracks in the walls and it's 200 years old so I'm sure it'd have fallen down by now if there were any major problems.
My dad thinks we are mad not having a survey but we are using our common sense and can use the money saved towards putting things right.
Tbh I'm a little apprehensive because we've not bought without a survey before, time will tell if it was the right decision I guess...

adonis10

flambo33 wrote: »

Is there any kind of official benefits to having one? I mean, your home insurance wouldn't be void without it ect?

Possibly getting a mortgage. Banks require at least a valuation and potentially more, as we are currently discovering.

flambo33

adonis10 wrote: »

Possibly getting a mortgage. Banks require at least a valuation and potentially more, as we are currently discovering.

I thought this also while we were applying for our mortgage, however there's nothing in the conditions of the mortgage offer, at least on ours. It's with nationwide. Who's yours with & is it on your mortgage offer?

Clutterfree

flambo33 wrote: »

I thought this also while we were applying for our mortgage, however there's nothing in the conditions of the mortgage offer, at least on ours. It's with nationwide. Who's yours with & is it on your mortgage offer?

I believe Nationwide do a free valuation but it's more to protect their interests than yours!