HomeBuyer report

Chucklechops

Hi


I bought my current house around 2 1/2 years ago, and had a HomeBuyer report done at the time.


I've only recently started to renovate the house, and it transpired that the bedroom ceiling/loft floor needed to be brought down, as it was dangerous. The ceiling had always sagged slightly, but the loft floor also sagged, something which I hadn't noticed as I don't use the loft space.


My plumber originally discovered this issue, and my builder confirmed the issue. I had to get the loft floor & bedroom ceiling completely rebuilt.


My builder was amazed that the surveyor hadn't picked up on this.


The remedial action was taken this July.


My question is, is it too late for me to try to claim off the surveyor's insurance, especially considering that the work has now been done?


Many thanks for any advice.

phill99

What did the report say about the ceiling?

Aylesbury_Duck

After two and a half years the onus would be on you to prove the problem existed back then and isn’t a result of anything you’ve done over that long period.

missile

You can certainly complain, but after 2 1/2 years …..

Davesnave

Not a chance. You will find a mere Homebuyers report full of caveats and its quite usual for the surveyor not to enter the loft space.

Also, your surveyor might have been viewing it 30 months ago, before you overloaded it with all that stuff......


A survey is quite like a MoT test, in the sense that it reports on the property at a particular time. It's not an insurance against things changing at a later date.

Mistral001

Usually a sagging ceiling is only noticed when you do some work to it such as putting a hatch or an opening in it for a staircase. My own landing ceiling sagged by over 1.5 inches and the landing is just 6 feet wide. That is a massive sag considering the small span, but I did not notice it until I came to put a hatch in it where the straight sides of the hatch emphasised the sag. I actually jacked the ceiling up an put extra joists in above the ceiling to take out the sag so that the hatch could be put in and look neat.

The large sag in my ceiling was not noticed by several surveyors who have looked at my house over the years. In fact the only way they would have been able to notice the sag would be if they had brought a 6ft long straight edge and put it up against the ceiling. This is something that as far as I know surveyors are not required to do when doing a report.

Chucklechops

Thanks for everyone's replies.


The report didn't even mention the ceiling, and it's always sagged. I've not put anything in the loft space, it's been completely empty since I bought the house.


That said, I agree with the general consensus that I can't complain to the surveyor now, after 2 1/2 years. I'm not sure I have the appetite for it anyway.


Again, many thanks to everyone for taking the time to reply.