Lenders valuation requires full structural survey to proceed

Niki777

Hi there - we're first time buyers and have just had the lenders valuation outcome for a house we've put an offer in on, and due to 'significant bulging of the gable end' they require a full structural survey to continue.

We were planning on a full survey anyway as it's an old house, but I'm wondering whether it's just going to be a waste of money paying for one now? I was under the impression that the lenders evaluation was incredibly light touch - basically checking there's a house there. If the problem is severe enough for them to notice is it incredibly likely that the full survey is going to tell us it's unmortgageable?

Basically I'm wonder whether we're throwing away the price of the survey. Obviously there was always the chance that the survey would throw something up that put us off anyway, but I'm just a bit taken aback to find out there's something so wrong that even the lender valuation picked it up.

kinger101

Might be a problem with the wall ties. The surveyor might just come back and says it needs a structural engineers report. I'd be finding out from the vendor whether this problem has been investigated already and what the conclusions were before committing myself to any more expense.

Surrey_EA

You're right, most mortgage valuations will involve a relatively quick visit, and it's rare for a mortgage lender to request a full buildings survey, however does not necessarily mean the property is unmanageable and might just be the mortgage valuer covering themselves.

Prior to incurring the cost of a buildings survey maybe ask to go back to the property with a friendly builder to get their opinion.

Niki777

Thanks both - I doubt the vendors will know too much about it as it's an estate sale, but will speak to the agents and see if there's any background info available.

If a survey did recommend a structural engineer's report would we be in a position to ask the vendors to pay for it? They're eager to sell, and I guess if it's being picked up in a lenders valuation they're not going to be able to sell to anybody else without it being an issue.

Surrey_EA

Niki777 wrote: »

If a survey did recommend a structural engineer's report would we be in a position to ask the vendors to pay for it? They're eager to sell, and I guess if it's being picked up in a lenders valuation they're not going to be able to sell to anybody else without it being an issue.

Has the lender asked for a full buildings survey, or a structural engineer's report? They are two different things.

Can certainly ask the executors of the estate, they can only say no.

kinger101

I'd probably be chatting with the EA again just to give the vendors a heads up. They might not be able to sell it to anyone needing a mortgage if it's a serious problem, but they might just stick it in an auction for a quick sale.

It would be good to find out how they might proceed major structural defects were observed. The estate might not have the cash flow for remedial work if the deceased had no other assets.

Getting the builder round first sounds like a good idea, though I'm not sure I'd rely on them instead of a full structural report followed by whatever surveyor might suggest.

Niki777

It's a full survey we need - no mention of structural engineers (yet). We'll talk to the EA and see what we can do - not sure we've got any friendly builders to rope in.

We'll probably end up doing the survey, as we were always planning to anyway. If we find out we need further investigation or that there's serious defect that leaves the place unmortgageable then we'd be looking for the vendors to foot costs from there or we'd walk away. Could mean the price of the survey down the drain, but the house is in the perfect location for us and property doesn't often come up in the area.

Hopefully they have enough cash available to get the house up to a saleable standard rather than selling for less at auction. The place already needs work that's going to take us to the edge of our budget so any nasty surprises that we have to pay for from here would definitely tip us over the edge.

teneighty

If you decide to get a full building survey I would suggest you avoid the cheap national firms owned by the lenders. It will probably just be a generic tick box survey and they will probably just add a caveat that you should get a structural engineer's report.

Either go straight to a structural engineer and get a report (circa £500) or go to a local independent Chartered Building Surveyor and discuss the bulging gable wall with them to make sure they are competent to diagnose the defect and recommend remedial works as part of the full building survey (circa £750 to £1000)

wantonnoodle

We were asked to get supplementary reports following the valuation for our purchase due to concerns over subsidence, failed lintels and cavity wall ties.

We thought they wanted a full buildings survey, but upon clarification it turned out to be a structural engineers report, and a specialist lintel and cavity wall tie report.

The structural engineers report was £320, while the cavity wall tie and lintel report was £120. All in all, it was money well spent, as it highlighted the need for new wall ties and lintel replacements above 3 windows, which the vendor agreed to have done and the 25 year warranties transferred into our names during conveyancing. The work needed would have cost around £3000, but the mortgage had a £5000 retention on it, which would have meant we would have had to walk away as we could not stretch to cover both plus the deposit.

Hoploz

The property won't be unmortgageable because of one wall. It could be that they would put a retention on the loan, or that they say they would lend the required amount minus £xxxx due to the remedial work required.

It's very unlikely they would refuse to lend altogether. Even if they did, you could apply to a different lender and possibly get a different outcome, so all is not lost if you want to proceed regardless.

It's a good idea to have the survey (as you intended to already) as you may find you can negotiate a discount if structural work is required. Yes, they could withdraw and auction the property, but I think it's much more likely they would be willing to proceed at a slightly lower price as you've come this far already.

Niki777

We've gone back to the broker for clarification and it is a structural engineer's report we need. It's booked in for Thursday, so just a case of waiting to see what comes of it. If there's immediate remedial work needed then we'll be asking the vendors to have it completed and warranties transferred to our name in order to go ahead with the sale.