Bank Survey contradicts independent survey - conditional mortgage offer

mallyboyd

Hi all,

Hoping someone can help.

We are looking to buy our forever home and decided to have a homebuyers survey carried out by an independent 3rd party.

The survey came back and stated that woodworm had been present at some point and that further investigation/treatment should be completed. In terms of movement the following is stated:

In our opinion the movement noted does not indicate any significant or ongoing movement.
The likelihood of significant movement occurring in the future appears remote.

When the bank valued the property they have completed their own survey, and it states:

Evidence of movement was observed in the form of distortion to/around openings, cracked render, cracking to masonry, distortion to/around lintels and internal cracking. This appears significant and likely to be progressive.

As such the bank will retain the full value of the mortgage until a full structural survey is completed.

My question is this. Do I have to have the survey completed or does the fact that the original homebuyers survey state it's nothing to worry about give me any bargaining power? I've also had a builder look at it and he said it's nothing to worry abut.

It seems as thought the banks surveyor has been ultra cautious and now i have to pay to ticket a box.

Cheers,

BoGoF

It's hardly ticking a box.

A homebuyers survey is not a full structural survey and one builders opinion is not going to sway the lender. Out of interest what was the builders opinion on what caused the distortion if not movement.

So yes, the lender will want a full structural survey. Their money, their rules.

amnblog

If the values tells the Bank the recommendation a structural survey, one will be needed for the lending.

The vendors problem, have them pay for it. It needs to be cleared up for them to sell.

Thrugelmir

mallyboyd wrote: »

We are looking to buy our forever home and decided to have a homebuyers survey carried out by an independent 3rd party.

Survery you had performed independently provides no assurance to the lender. As wasn't prepared for them.

mallyboyd

BoGoF wrote: »

It's hardly ticking a box.

A homebuyers survey is not a full structural survey and one builders opinion is not going to sway the lender. Out of interest what was the builders opinion on what caused the distortion if not movement.

So yes, the lender will want a full structural survey. Their money, their rules.

The builder suggested it was settlement that caused the internal cracking, the property has had very little done to it since it was build in the 30's, hence the original plaster has cracked as it's settled.

csgohan4

mallyboyd wrote: »

The builder suggested it was settlement that caused the internal cracking, the property has had very little done to it since it was build in the 30's, hence the original plaster has cracked as it's settled.

The builder is not a structural surveyor, either get one done or find another house

SonOf

The mortgage valuation is a quick check pointing out obvious things. The lender will then request action based on those things. With movement, it will often require a structural survey.

As such the bank will retain the full value of the mortgage until a full structural survey is completed.

And there you have what would be entirely expected.

Do I have to have the survey completed or does the fact that the original homebuyers survey state it's nothing to worry about give me any bargaining power? I've also had a builder look at it and he said it's nothing to worry abut.

A survey is not the same as a structural report.

We have movement in our property that we bought. The survey highlighted it and suggested ways to repair it. The valuation highlighted it much the same as yours (almost the same wording) and gave a 100% retention. The lender wanted a structural engineers report.

We got a structural engineers report which was more detailed and graded the movement. In our case, category 2. Cat 2 or less is classed as cosmetic.

At the vendors cost, we got some of the cracks repaired (it was original repairs in concrete mortar that had reopened when the property was lime mortar. The original repairs were poor quality). They also paid the cost of the structural engineers report.

We had photos of the work being undertaken with before, during and after results and gave those to the lender who removed the retention. So, all worked out very well for us.

It is important to note that the survey and the structural engineer's report do different things. A little bit of an overlap but the focus is different.

There is also a secondary issue here. Home insurance. You are now aware of movement. So, its something you need to declare to your home insurance provider. That will eliminate many. However, the decent ones can be supplied with the survey and structural engineers report (and evidence of any remedial work) and can then proceed to price on that basis. We used NFU and their underwriter said that detail provided made his job easy and no increase in premium due to the movement was made.

These reports exist for good reason. Each has limitations and a specific focus. They are not all the same.

mallyboyd

Thank you for the comprehensive reply.