Valuation then survey, or vice versa?

LondonColt

FTB here looking for a bit of advice.

We had an offer accepted last Tuesday on a property. We had an AIP sorted so have been getting all the paperwork to our broker and solicitors to get the wheels turning. However, the EA has been really pushy about getting our survey booked.

Our broker has recommended waiting until the lender does their valuation before booking the survey, in case it gives an indication of things the survey should focus on, or flags up a major issue. We obviously don't risk the cash that way, and am inclined to go with that, but the EA is asking about the survey every time we correspond, despite me explaining that we were going to wait. It isn't because the seller is pushing them, because I outright asked if she was anxious to get things done quickly/had a hard deadline and they said no.

So who should I be listening too? Logically I'd say my broker is looking out for my interests, whereas the EA is looking after the sellers but I wanted to check that we aren't doing something totally unreasonable by saying we'll wait for the lender to complete their valuation before booking a survey.

Thanks!

anselld

Is the chain complete, ie top to bottom?
I would personally not spend on either valuation or survey until there is a complete chain because nobody is proceedable and it may collapse at any time through no fault of your own.
If the chain *is* complete then your broker is correct. However, don't kid yourself; both the Broker and the EA are looking after their own interests!

glentoran99

LondonColt wrote: »

FTB here looking for a bit of advice.

We had an offer accepted last Tuesday on a property. We had an AIP sorted so have been getting all the paperwork to our broker and solicitors to get the wheels turning. However, the EA has been really pushy about getting our survey booked.

Our broker has recommended waiting until the lender does their valuation before booking the survey, in case it gives an indication of things the survey should focus on, or flags up a major issue. We obviously don't risk the cash that way, and am inclined to go with that, but the EA is asking about the survey every time we correspond, despite me explaining that we were going to wait. It isn't because the seller is pushing them, because I outright asked if she was anxious to get things done quickly/had a hard deadline and they said no.

So who should I be listening too? Logically I'd say my broker is looking out for my interests, whereas the EA is looking after the sellers but I wanted to check that we aren't doing something totally unreasonable by saying we'll wait for the lender to complete their valuation before booking a survey.

Thanks!

When they talk about the survey are they actually talking about the valuation? If neither have been done I can see why they are pushing as the seller is probably keen to get things moving

jaytee17

I've recently had a lender's valuation completed and was advised by my broker to wait until the outcome of this before proceeding with my own homebuyers. I'm glad I took that advice as the lender's valuation came back considerably undervalued by 15%! The vendor was unable to considerably come down in price so I've walked away from the sale.

booksurr

obviously if you want to have your own survey and therefore not rely purely on the lender's valuation survey it is clearly less of a gamble getting your own done after the lender's valuation since you can then avoid paying for both surveys if you decide to pull out on valuation result

G_M

Just to play devil's advocate....

booksurr wrote: »

obviously if you want to have your own survey and therefore not rely purely on the lender's valuation survey it is clearly less of a gamble getting your own done [STRIKE]after[/STRIKE]before the lender's valuation since you can then avoid paying for both surveys if you decide to pull out on[STRIKE] valuation[/STRIKE]your survey result

The related question of course, is when do you instruct your solicitor?

Best get both surveys done before spending money on conveyancing, in case one of the surveys leads you to pull out.

Alternatively, best get coneyancing under way before spending money on either survey, in case some legal issue leads you to pull out.

:rotfl:

If the chain is complete, why not just get everything moving at once and then the whole process won't be dragged out for months and months.....

Miss_Samantha

If you pay for both and a priori the chance of either one blocking the purchase is the same then statistically you will lose less by doing the cheaper one first (everything else being equal).

CheeseyChips

The EA is being pushy with the survey as it shows commitment to the sale. Unfortunately I think there are a lot of people who offer on a property and are not fully committed. They basically want you to put your money where your mouth is.

Funnily enough the EA I am dealing with was happy because we had a valuation within a couple of days, ours was free (covered by the bank we're getting our mortgage with) so technically no financial commitment from us. The EA is now concerned that our buyer hasn't yet had a survey but she's already paid a lot in legal fees so has shown financial commitment.

Unless this was a condition of the offer being accepted then I would ignore the EA and do things in the order which you feel is right.

Personally I would get the ball rolling on the mortgage application and the EA should be satisfied with the fact you've had a valuation survey done. You don't have to have any other kind of survey if you don't feel it is necessary so you can decide on that later. I would then hold off instructing your solicitor until the chain is complete.

G_M

CheeseyChips wrote: »

The EA is being pushy with the survey as it shows commitment to the sale. Unfortunately I think there are a lot of people who offer on a property and are not fully committed. They basically want you to put your money where your mouth is.

Funnily enough the EA I am dealing with was happy because we had a valuation within a couple of days, ours was free (covered by the bank we're getting our mortgage with) so technically no financial commitment from us.

Hmmmm - have you read the small print. It might not apply in your case, but you could find yourself with a bill for the survey if the mortgage does not complete.

Thrugelmir

LondonColt wrote: »

It isn't because the seller is pushing them, because I outright asked if she was anxious to get things done quickly/had a hard deadline and they said no.

Hopefully you aren't in too much of a hurry then. As your procrastination isn't going to help matters.

LondonColt

Thrugelmir wrote: »

Hopefully you aren't in too much of a hurry then. As your procrastination isn't going to help matters.

Is it really proscrastination to wait a few days before forking over additional, potentially unnecessary, cash?

Most people I've spoken too say it's fairly sensible, which is also what my broker said.