FTB when to book a survey?

tombymse

Hi 
We have had an offer accepted on a house and have submitted our mortgage application this week, just had a notification that the lendor's valuation (Nationwide) has been booked for next week.
Should I book the building survey now? Or wait to hear back from Nationwide first? 
Also a building survey doesn't include a property valuation, so is this something I should add on and pay for? I have been told that Nationwide don't tell you what their valuation is just whether they accept/decline does anyone know if this is true? I have been quoted £75 fee to add a valuation onto a building survey so not sure what to do. 
Thanks 

Rambosmum

Personally I think surveys should be done ASAP -saves you wasting solicitor fees on a house you  won't buy and you can start negotiating if required nice and early. 

Tracet74

Depends on what timetable you're working to.  If you're looking to get things moving quickly then you should be booking your survey now as most surveyors have a backlog of instructions.  Also, don't pay to add a valuation as it will be no different from what Nationwide are doing as part of their process.  Even if they don't provide you with their valuation, you can be confident as if the property value was dramatically different to the agreed purchase price, it affects your loan to value rate.

Are you certain a Building Survey is the best type of survey for the property you're buying?  A popular misconception is it has to be the best and that's not the case!

BrOz

If you book the survey through nationwide you get it cheaper!

I had a homebuyers and the valuation was included on the paperwork . I had the survey about 100 cheaper with nationwide than quoted independently. 

tombymse

Thanks for the replies, we are trying to get things moving as quickly as possible so I will be get it booked then. I have contacted several surveyors for quotes and availability and yes some have 3-4 week waiting list. However, I did find a couple that can book as soon as next week. 
Ok I will leave off the valuation, the reason I was considering it was if the valuation does come back less than agreed price I won't have evidence of a valuation to support a price drop? Although I am quite confident the house is worth the agreed price. 

As I mentioned, I have spoken with a few surveyors and they have given me mixed recommendations on the type of survey I need. A couple have recommended just a homebuyer survey and the others a building survey. Some say only need a building survey on houses older than 100 years and others say 50 - 80 years and depending if property has been extended. The house is early 1930s and has had and extension and we plan to do further extension to the property in the future so I thought building survey would be best?

tombymse

BrOz said:

If you book the survey through nationwide you get it cheaper!

I had a homebuyers and the valuation was included on the paperwork . I had the survey about 100 cheaper with nationwide than quoted independently. 

Oh right, I haven't been asked if I would like Nationwide to carry out a survey for me? Assume that option will be a little late now as they are doing their valuation on Monday? 

Tracet74

Chances are if it's booked in for Monday then they wouldn't have the capacity to add an additional HomeBuyer Report. Surveyors typically will do numerous valuations in one day OR one or two HomeBuyers.

Assuming the property is in good condition, a HomeBuyer Report sounds like the best option.  Any surveyor would be able to give you informal advice regarding potentially extending.

tombymse

Tracet74 said:

Chances are if it's booked in for Monday then they wouldn't have the capacity to add an additional HomeBuyer Report. Surveyors typically will do numerous valuations in one day OR one or two HomeBuyers.

Assuming the property is in good condition, a HomeBuyer Report sounds like the best option.  Any surveyor would be able to give you informal advice regarding potentially extending.

The other reason that was pushing me to get a building survey was that Gold Crest Surveyors quote for a building survey is actually a very similar price to any Homebuyer reports I can find. 

Tracet74

If you look at their example reports, the Building Survey isn't on the RICS template, which is what I'd expect to see.  Any firm of surveyors should be using the RICS suite of templates to ensure consistency and, just because the price is the same as a HomeBuyer Report, doesn't necessarily mean it's the right report for the property.

tombymse

Tracet74 said:

If you look at their example reports, the Building Survey isn't on the RICS template, which is what I'd expect to see.  Any firm of surveyors should be using the RICS suite of templates to ensure consistency and, just because the price is the same as a HomeBuyer Report, doesn't necessarily mean it's the right report for the property.

Thanks for that - I have just looked at the RICS building survey template off the website. 
I have had 3 different surveyors all send me example reports with their quotes and after looking through them all none of them have the same/similar template to that off the RICS website? 

Tracet74

Any firm which is regulated by the RICS should use their template.  This ensures consistency and that every element is being reported on properly.

If you'd like to DM me a link to the property, I'd be happy to have a look at let you know which survey is best for the property.