RICS HomeBuyer Report

330d

Is a RICS HomeBuyer Report worth getting done? The house in question is a 20 year old house.

I understand the mortgage provider will do there own survey but i believe this is quite a simply survey in comparison. Is the RICS HomeBuyer Report worth the extra?

What things are included in the homebuyer report? I have had a look at the property and cannot see anything obviously wrong with it. 

Slithery

330d said:

I have had a look at the property and cannot see anything obviously wrong with it. 

How much experience do you have in surveying properties?

330d

Slithery said:

330d said:

I have had a look at the property and cannot see anything obviously wrong with it. 

How much experience do you have in surveying properties?

Not a lot!

There seems to be very mixed reviews to whether its worth it.

eidand

330d said:

Slithery said:

330d said:

I have had a look at the property and cannot see anything obviously wrong with it. 

How much experience do you have in surveying properties?

Not a lot!

There seems to be very mixed reviews to whether its worth it.

it was a rhetorical question

daveyjp

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6154589/discovered-subsidence-straight-away-after-moving-into-new-house#latest

NoisyGiraffe

Just as an example, I'm not far from completing on my first house which is a 1930's era semi. We went for 2 viewings and took our builder friend on the 2nd one. He pointed out a few things that needed attention but nothing too serious. I still got a full building survey done (the one up from a homebuyers report) just in case. With the exception of a couple of things everything else in the report had been pointed out by our builder, but for me that was £400 well spent for peace of mind. If the survey uncovered anything significant it would have influenced my position either in terms of reducing my offer or me pulling out (depending on severity). I think unless you know exactly what you're doing/looking for then it's something best left to the professionals or you run the risk of being in the awful position as the person in the link above. 

Have a look at some surveyor websites, most of them provide a guide as to what's included for each level - valuation, homebuyers report and full building survey. The one the bank carries out is only a basic valuation. 

Unicorn_cottage

Yes so you have an idea of the issues the house comes with.

Davesnave

A Homebuyer's Report is appropriate to a 20 year old house that hasn't been significantly altered or added to. It is often a tick box, cut & paste job, but it gives those without any building knowledge a measure of security and a feeling they've done due diligence.

There is always an element of risk when buying a house, as even the Buildings Survey won't necessarily pick up on every problem. For example, the last house we sold had the beginnings of structural issues in the flank wall, but they were not at that time showing above ground, so no surveyor would have known they were there, though an experienced one might have suspected them.

blue_max_3

It's a sad reality that a buyer may think they are covering themselves by purchasing an expensive survey. But in my experience, they have so many disclaimers, that they are virtually worthless. They often tell you to get professionals in to check the services and exclude things that they cannot gain access to.
Short of the place collapsing, you may as well use your eyes or friendly builder.

Davesnave

blue_max_3 said:

It's a sad reality that a buyer may think they are covering themselves by purchasing an expensive survey. But in my experience, they have so many disclaimers, that they are virtually worthless. They often tell you to get professionals in to check the services and exclude things that they cannot gain access to.
Short of the place collapsing, you may as well use your eyes or friendly builder.

You make good points, which is why this thread is re-created frequently.

Not only  must the purchaser try to gain a realistic understanding of the property they're purchasing, including its aspect, the neighbourhood and any potential problem neighbours, they also have to find out what their survey won't cover, which will be the electrics, gas appliances and drains for starters.

With threads on MSE it's often not the physical difficulties which seem the most intractable, but those which relate to disputes with neighbours, troublesome boundaries and the like, some of which might have been spotted, but no surveyor would comment on.