Do I really need an Environmental Survey

Roaders

Hi All

I am in the process of buying a house. I have had a survey done and have got back a very detailed 45 page report of all the issues with the house... (a lot more than I hoped)

One thing that the report says is that I should get a good quality Environmental Survey. This is in the same paragraph that states the according to the Environmental Agency website the flood risks for the house are low and very low.

I am wondering if I really need to have an Environmental Survey as well as the initial survey, the electrical survey and the damp survey that have also been recommended.

The surveyor said that it was pretty standard practice these days to get one but I've not found much about it online.

Thanks

AdrianC

Your call. Are you worried about the environmental risks in the area?

davidmcn

No, you don't "really need" an environmental survey, or half of the other things surveyors recommend. It would tell you (from data such as old mapping, industrial records etc) of possibly contaminative uses or other problematic matters affecting the property. Quite popular, but not ubiquitous.

Moneyminded

Whats the worse that could happen, you pay for the environmental search and it finds nothing. You've spent a bit of money and you have piece of mind.

Personally as it is probably the biggest purchase you will ever make I would err on the side of caution.

Good luck with your purchase whatever you choose to do

Thrugelmir

What was the use of the land before the property was built?

Roaders

Thanks for the replies. The property is about 80 years old. I don't know what it was used for before.

Turns out that my solicitor is doing an environmental search anyway so I think I'm covered.

(only just realised that you don't get notifications on here by default for your own threads!)

[Deleted User]

Environmental search will be part of the standard search package the solicitors will do.
Will be done with the same payment you made for the local search and water/drainage search

theartfullodger

You don't need any survey at all.

Buy for cash, ignore everyone who surveyed the place and got worried about what they found.

GDB2222

Thrugelmir wrote: »

What was the use of the land before the property was built?

Like most London suburbs, where we live used to be farmland, and then it got built over with houses when the Underground arrived. So, the only real point of interest would be whether this particular plot was used as a dung heap, or whether it was just part of an ordinary field. Well, the environmental survey didn't tell us that, because unsurprisingly nobody kept detailed survey records of dung heaps.