Mortgage Lender Requested Structural Engineers Report

goodegg2020

Hello 
I'm a FTB and my mortgage lender has completed their valuation and requested I get a structural engineers report. From what I can gather this isn't the same as a full building survey? The house I'm trying to buy does need a new roof and I have a family friend who's a surveyor look round but he can't produce a full report working for the council. Has anyone had to do this for their lender before? I'm not even sure what I'm looking for as all I can find are costs for home buyers and full building reports.

davidmcn

goodegg2020 said:

I'm not even sure what I'm looking for as all I can find are costs for home buyers and full building reports.

You need a structural engineer, not a surveyor. Do you have any info on why the lender's surveyor has recommended a structural report? Usually it's because they've spotted something structurally suspect, which might be a cue to find a less problematic property rather than invest more money in it. Even if you get a clear structural engineers report, it's likely that whatever has caused the surveyor's doubt will similarly cause future lenders or purchasers to have jitters.

goodegg2020

You need a structural engineer, not a surveyor. Do you have any info on why the lender's surveyor has recommended a structural report? 

No unfortunately, my mortgage adviser said they didn't share anything from the report so I have no idea what they've spotted. It just seems odd to me that I had a surveyor look round and he didn't spot any issues that I didn't expect/didn't know about. I put my application in a week before lockdown and my partner already thinks this means it's cursed!

AdrianC

Given the current situation, it's entirely likely their valuation has just been drive-by or even entirely paper, so if the "needs new roof" is apparent from the details or the outside, they're simply wanting more detail on that.

But, of course, they want it from somebody who can actually say "Yep, it's just fairly minor and routine" (which would probably mean a retention, unless a very low LtV) or "No, run screaming from lending against this" rather than just your typical surveyor boiler-plate, which would just recommend an expert anyway.

goodegg2020

Thanks for your replies. I am hoping it's just a look at the roof and they want more info! You can clearly see it needs a new one. I did offer 15k below the asking price originally due to the work which needs doing but to be honest if this report comes back with more than I think I might have to pull out or at least try to negotiate a new price.

Facknats

Facing similar, how do you find a local structural engineer?

goodegg2020

Facknats said:

Facing similar, how do you find a local structural engineer?

Hi Facknats! I had no idea so I just did some googling and looked at the institute of structural engineers - https://www.istructe.org/ they have a database of registered engineers and you can search using your postcode. 

I've had a couple of quotes back but one outlined the scope of service as the following:

• Attend site to carry out a visual structural inspection of the property at Sunderland - 8 Ennerdale SR2 7HR

• Provision of a Visual Structural Inspection Report with findings and recommendations (if required). Remedial works if required will be specified.

Does anyone know if this would be enough to satisfy my lenders request?