Survey Minefield!

KeremyKyle

Hello MSE!

We are first time buyers and this is my first post! We've had the offer accepted, house valued, mortgage offered and are now in talks about the survey.

We're trying not to be naive about this - we do understand the importance of getting the house more thoroughly checked out before handing over all of our money. The problem is, our finance adviser person has said that surveys themselves can be a waste of money. The reason is that while the condition of the house will be inspected, a lot of the time the report will say 'it is recommended to contact a professional to inspect the electrics/plumbing' etc.

He said that it is better to get professionals into look for you.

This is the first time we have heard of this. We do have a full time plumber friend and a member of the family is a joiner has worked on building/maintaining houses before. We aren't looking to cut corners money wise necessarily , but if we can cut out the middle man and get straight to the issues then we will!

We haven't yet seen the valuation report from the mortgage lender, so we don't know what it says on there - if anything - about the house.

The house is a terraced, well maintained from what we can see and the estate agent currently selling it lives there.

Any views from someone who has been through the process before would be great!

Thank you :-)

hazyjo

KeremyKyle wrote: »

Hello MSE!


The house is a terraced, well maintained from what we can see and the estate agent currently selling it lives there.

Is your financial advisor linked to your EA? This line above would be ringing alarm bells with me.


I gave a reply in this current thread - my comment stands here too so just giving a link: https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/5617479


Jx

hazyjo

KeremyKyle wrote: »

Hello MSE!


...a lot of the time the report will say 'it is recommended to contact a professional to inspect the electrics/plumbing' etc.

He said that it is better to get professionals into look for you.

That bit is true btw. But there's way more to a house than wiring and plumbing - it's the structural bit I'd be worrying about. The rest is usually easily sortable.


Jx

KeremyKyle

hazyjo wrote: »

Is your financial advisor linked to your EA? This line above would be ringing alarm bells with me.





Jx

Hi!

No he isn't, we spoke to him at the same time we started looking at properties and before we'd decided on one, he's independent and was recommended through a friend

Thanks x

Cakeguts

Well I have a different opinion to your financial adviser. I have never found surveys to be a waste of money. You aren't paying the financial adviser to advise on surveys are you? So who says that either his or my opinion is incorrect? It is your money do what you feel will give you the least worry. If you want to find out what might need repairing or if there is a bulge in one wall you will need a survey. A plumber or electrician isn't going to tell you that one of the walls has a bulge in it but it might be something that you would like to know before you pay for the house.

Chanes

I have to agree with Cakeguts, it is a lot of money to spend and there is no point cutting a corner on something as useful as a survey.

AnotherJoe

I have a different opinion to Cakeguts, I have found surveys to be a complete waste of money.

They tell you stuff you know "crack in front path", don't tell you stuff you don't know (damp patch behind furniture) make excuses as to why they couldnt look at things, "unable to move furniture", scare you for no good reason "electrics not up to current standards" (which one is unless it's all newbuild) and have more caveats (so you can't sue the surveyor) than info.

Go and have a really good look yourself , look in the roof, bring an torch, bring a friend who is knowledgable. That way you'll see if there's a bulge in a wall, or a crack in the brickwork, amd if that give some you concerns, then bring a structural surveyor in.

KeremyKyle

Thanks for the advice so far, it has helped. We've decided to go for a survey - the cost isn't as much as we thought anyway and the property is quite old so I think it's for the best. We may still use our knowledgeable friends/family too.

Cheers everyone!