Homebuyer or full survey?

saffronfromXX

I'm currently in the process of buying a 22 year old Bovis home. I have been recommend by a couple of people I only need a homebuyer survey which looks at the general condition. Is this the best option for a house of 22 years old with no structural alterations?should I have a full structural survey?

Mickygg

I would do a full buildings survey every time. I always have and always will. My last house found damp and the surveyor went back several times to do tests and retest. Got £5k off the previously agreed house price because of it.
That wouldn't have happened with a homebuyer. The house was 25 years old.

Margot123

I most certainly would on a property of that age. Newer houses suffer more issues than older ones, in my experience.
The survey I had done on a 23 year old house had ten times the problems reported than one that was 78 years old ('belt and braces' era).

DaftyDuck

If you ask a number of surveyors for a quote, you may be surprised at the small price difference between the two from some.

Worth choosing a surveyor you like, and find approachable. Full building survey covers so much moire than Homebuyers.

moneyistooshorttomention

I'd assumed the higher level survey would cost a lot more and got a Homebuyer survey on both houses to date.

If I'd realised the price difference wasnt that great - then I'd have gone for the full survey on current one certainly (might just have got told the place needed full rewiring and had a drainage problem in the garden - or is that being over-optimistic?).

Davesnave

moneyistooshorttomention wrote: »

If I'd realised the price difference wasnt that great - then I'd have gone for the full survey on current one certainly (might just have got told the place needed full rewiring and had a drainage problem in the garden - or is that being over-optimistic?).

Depends what you mean by 'drainage problem.' Poorly draining soil isn't really for a surveyor to identify, but poorly functioning drains, or subsidence leading to/as a result of broken drains might well be included with a recommenation for a full CCTV survey.

Similarly, a surveyor might note evidence of dated wiring, but would then recommend a report by a qualified electrician.

Stuff like clay soil and old wiring are things easily spotted by the average person. We used to carry a garden fork for gardens that looked suspect, but we didn't use it much, because the soil type was usually very obvious.

saffronfromXX

I have also been told a full building survey would not include an insurance rebuild cost??????

Davesnave

saffronfromXX wrote: »

I have also been told a full building survey would not include an insurance rebuild cost??????

You can do that yourself here:

https://www.ricsfirms.com/articles/bcis-calculator/

It doesn't have to be precise, just realistic.

Linauk

Call the Surveyor and have a chat - they will recommend what is needed. Generally a full building survey isnt needed for a property of that age but if there are signs of damp or structural issues it may warrant a more in depth review.

I recently obtained a survey via my bank's panel surveyors. The homebuyer survey was around 170 and building survey around 500 (the cost varied depending on price bracket of property value). A relatively small cost for either option given what it could save you in the long run.

Just to note - the homebuyers report I received did test for damp as the report commented that several readings were taken across the property and no issues identified.

quotememiserable

Full surveys do have a drawback though. If you get issues raised, your mortgage company may well hold back funds until they're addressed. Depends how confident you are in spotting obvious house faults. I always make my own judgement and go with the valuation survey only.

m0bov

quotememiserable wrote: »

Full surveys do have a drawback though. If you get issues raised, your mortgage company may well hold back funds until they're addressed. Depends how confident you are in spotting obvious house faults. I always make my own judgement and go with the valuation survey only.

Eh? how would the mortgage company know? You are confusing the mortgage company valuation with what the op is asking about.