Buying a Flat - Survey or No Survey?

Tiglet2

I would be grateful for advice on the above.

My son is buying a first floor leasehold flat. I've only bought freehold properties and always had full structural surveys, but not sure what to advise my son to do. Since a leasehold flat has a landlord/freeholder and there would be block insurance in place, does he need a survey and, if so, which would be the most suitable survey to obtain?

Thank you.

tacpot12

I was in a similar situation a while back. I called up a local surveyor and he tailored the survey so that it wasn't a full structural survey but it was more than would be covered in the "Homebuyer's Report".

It is worth having a property expert cast their eye over the fabric of the building. My surveyor spotted that the gutters were in poor condition, and so we were not surprised when the management company wanted to replace them a few years later.

eddddy

Your son will become responsible for a share of any repairs to the building. The expensive example tends to be roof repairs.

So it might be worth asking the surveyor to check the building for signs that any expensive repairs might soon be required.

vansboy

I had an inspection carried out by surveyor, not a full survey, as I intended to refurbish the entire internals anyway, but I was concerned about some cracks on the main block, as well as those inside the flat itself.
The cracks turned out to be something that might appear and become worse, as buildings do move, to an extent.
In theory, they would have been considered an insurance claim, if something had failed, or wear and tear, if just cosmetic. This would mean a joint cost between all residents, or potential arguments with managing company.
So if the place looks ok, then probably no real need to have the added expense, for your son. Just peace of mind and advance waring of future spending needed.

VB