Surveyor missed major structural defect

Erinoco

Hi All,

We have just bought our first house. It's a 1930 end of terrace which is very run down and neglected. We knew it needed work but wanted a project to make it out own and add value.

We got the builders on to do some jobs and found that lots of the internal structural work that had been done had not been dome properly so we had to have lots of steels put in. A few weeks ago the builders went outside and immediately called us as the outer skin on the back wall has dropped and needs to be rebuilt.

Obviously we were shocked as nothing about this had been mentioned on the survey and indeed the surveyor had even ticked the box to say that no structural report was needed and there was no subsidence/structural issues.

He did note that the wall ties needed doing and we had to have someone do a report for those. We were given 3 months after sale to have this completed. Our builders and structural engineer told us the wall ties could not be done because ofnthe condition of the wall so we have had to cancel this.

We are on the process of a complaint with the survey company and I wanted some advice as to what to expect really. We have been told that to sort the wall and all the legalities surrounding the steels etc. Will cost around £50,000/£60,000. Of course we don't have this money and were told that we should never have been given a mortgage for the house in the first place. We now have. House we cannot move into as it has no kitchen or bathroom which are both at the rear of the house and until the wall is built we have been advised that we shouldn't live in it.

What do we do if the survey company don't accept liability and agree to pay soon? We could potentially be homeless and have 2 children. Have they got a leg to stand on in this circumstance or should we expect a lot battle?

Many help and advice much appreciated as we are at the end of our rope! Thankyou!

ACG

Did you have a basic valuation done?

Robin9

Or a full structural survey ?

Erinoco

We only had one option on our mortgage form. I think we paid £500 of that's helpful? We didn't have a full structural one done though.

ACG

If you only had one option, it would have been a basic valuation I imagine.

I doubt very much you have any sort of recourse as they are usually for the lenders benefit and do not really comment on the structural integrity of the property unless it is clear there is an issue.

The fact builders started work on the proeprty before raising this, makes me think it was not clear there was a problem.

You also have the added argument of, who is to say the damage was not caused by the builders? If it was not picked up by the builders or surveyor before work was carried out, can you prove otherwise?

dlmcr

How is it that you bought a house that was in your own words very run down and neglected but didn't decide to have a full survey?

AnotherJoe

Erinoco wrote: »

Obviously we were shocked as nothing about this had been mentioned on the survey and indeed the surveyor had even ticked the box to say that no structural report was needed and there was no subsidence/structural issues.

I find that hard to believe. Normally the wording will be such that it's mostly caveats and hard to pin them down with definites . Did it really say "there is no subsidence" or did it say "there is no sign of subsidence" for example?

And was there really a box that said that "no structural report is needed" or did it say that "no structural report had been requested"?

Thrugelmir

Erinoco wrote: »

It's a 1930 end of terrace which is very run down and neglected. We knew it needed work but wanted a project to make it out own and add value.

We have been told that to sort the wall and all the legalities surrounding the steels etc. Will cost around £50,000/£60,000.

Seems a rather large sum for an end of terrace property.

Mickygg

I can't believe no full buildings survey was done on a very run down property. It sounds like a valuation or hme buyer survey was done so you have little chance of success suing as they will hide behind them doing their job and a full buildings survey may have uncovered this.
£60k seems huge. What is the value of the house?
Something like suing must be done properly, I suggest seeking advice from your solicitior.

Davesnave

Erinoco wrote: »

We only had one option on our mortgage form. I think we paid £500 of that's helpful? We didn't have a full structural one done though.

I'm confused by having to fill-in the blanks here.

It's not clear if the kitchen & bathroom were taken out by you or the previous owner. We have to assume by you, or the house wouldn't have been mortgageable. Did you remove them?

Similarly, if it wasn't a full structural survey, I can't imagine a situation where someone doing a homebuyer's report would tick a box to say further investigation is not needed. That never happens. If it wasn't at least a homebuyer's survey you have no redress.

So, what I have in my head is a house where stuff has been ripped out and a builder, not a structural engineer, has decided steels need inserting. He's not qualified to do that alone without a structural engineer's calculations, so the work won't meet building regs if he does.

Then, suddenly, having been working on the place for some time, this builder notices one of the walls has subsided.....How did he miss this earlier when he was assessing what needed doing?

None of this is clear to me, I'm afraid.

If serious amounts of work have been done and no structural report was commissioned prior to them commencing, you will be on a hiding to nothing trying to prove that the survey failed to pick something up.

Emy74

If you had a mortgage valuation survey on behalf of the lender then it's unlikely you will be able to take any action against the surveyors only the lenders could.

If it was a homebuyers then you could have a case if it's accepted that the surveyor should had picked up the issue