Just a valuation or Homebuyers report?

ashe

We've had an offer accepted on a property which is fairly recently built, around 20 years ago. Our mortgage broker has said to us its up to us if we do the Homebuyers survey, but generally said its not needed if the property is not a lot older.

I'm a bit wary as the first house I ever offered on back in 2006 I had a homebuyers done and the owners had decorated over a lot of issues, but he said that the valuation will cover anything thats a risk to the mortgage, and a homebuyers will just cost us an extra £400ish perhaps needlessly.

What would you do in this scenario? We are erring on the side of just spending the £400 for peace of mind, as will highlight anything we need to work on in the coming years as well?

Surrey_EA

It is not uncommon for a surveyor carrying out a valuation report to spend just 15-20 mins at a property. Sometimes not physical visit to the property takes place.

If you a risk averse, and/or lack technical knowledge about buildings, then I think £400 for a homebuyers report is probably money well spent, given what you are likely to be spending on the house.

Mortgage valuations are extremely brief, and tell you next to nothing about the condition of the property. The are simply there to ensure the property represents suitable lending security for the bank, in the event you stop paying the mortgage.

ashe

Surrey_EA wrote: »

It is not uncommon for a surveyor carrying out a valuation report to spend just 15-20 mins at a property. Sometimes not physical visit to the property takes place.

If you a risk averse, and/or lack technical knowledge about buildings, then I think £400 for a homebuyers report is probably money well spent, given what you are likely to be spending on the house.

Mortgage valuations are extremely brief, and tell you next to nothing about the condition of the property. The are simply there to ensure the property represents suitable lending security for the bank, in the event you stop paying the mortgage.

Yes, we had a homebuyers done on our property last week and he was here 20 minutes max. I think as you say for the sake of £400, it will highlight any major issues or things to be worked on.

Indebted2U

ashe wrote: »

We've had an offer accepted on a property which is fairly recently built, around 20 years ago. Our mortgage broker has said to us its up to us if we do the Homebuyers survey, but generally said its not needed if the property is not a lot older.

I'm a bit wary as the first house I ever offered on back in 2006 I had a homebuyers done and the owners had decorated over a lot of issues, but he said that the valuation will cover anything thats a risk to the mortgage, and a homebuyers will just cost us an extra £400ish perhaps needlessly.

What would you do in this scenario? We are erring on the side of just spending the £400 for peace of mind, as will highlight anything we need to work on in the coming years as well?

Hi ashe

I'd say if you're really nervous and want real peace of mind get a full building survey done. Yes it costs more than a homebuyers survey but the surveyor should actually look at the roof/loft/drains etc. A homebuyers survey is so full of get out clauses, such as no inspection of roof/loft/drains was carried out, no furniture has been moved, the whatever appeared to be in acceptable condition etc etc that unless there's massive subsidence etc you can't sue them if they didn't spot something as one of the clauses will cover it.

Surrey_EA

Indebted2U wrote: »

. A homebuyers survey is so full of get out clauses, such as no inspection of roof/loft/drains was carried out, no furniture has been moved, the whatever appeared to be in acceptable condition etc etc that unless there's massive subsidence etc you can't sue them if they didn't spot something as one of the clauses will cover it.

Similar clauses will appear in a buildings survey too.

Yes the report will be more detailed, and give you a better insight in to the condition of the property.

Smodlet

One thing you could try, which I have found to be useful, is to ask a builder to go around the house with you. Perhaps ask family/friends/colleagues for recommendations rather than relying on websites (never a bad idea for any tradesmen) If you already have a plumber/electrician/gas engineer you trust, ask them as they often know a builder whose work they have seen.

A builder will not produce a detailed report but may spot things even a surveyor might miss and you can always ask if you can film his responses if you want a record of them; better than a written report, imho. Neither do they tend to be squeamish about lifting drain covers, etc. unlike every surveyor I have ever dealt with ("Well, there was a plant pot on it so I couldn't move it")

If you decide to accept my suggestion, please offer to compensate the builder for his time/travel expenses (it will not cost anything like a HomeBuyer's Report; they are not writing a report, after all) You may find buying him lunch will suffice, it all depends on how persuasive you can be. If you really are considering having a patio laid, a wall moved, any kind of building work done at all, ensure he knows he will be the first person you call when you are ready to proceed.... You get my drift? HTH.

RedRuby_2

I recently bought a homebuyers report for a property I'm interested in and I can't really say I found it very useful and there were many clauses in it.
The property is tenanted and a lot of the radiators and flooring was covered with either furniture or the tenants things. And the survey was filled with ...couldn't be inspected as covered etc.

davidmcn

Surrey_EA wrote: »

Similar clauses will appear in a buildings survey too.

Indeed - the surveyors aren't suddenly going to become any more keen on shifting furniture, lifting up floor coverings, etc, so expect many of the caveats to be similar.