Arranging a HomeBuyers Survey?

[Deleted User]

Hi all, 
Excuse my naievity, how do I go about arranging a survey for a property I am buying? I know I need to find a surveyor, but then do i contact the estate agent to arrange a date? Do they send an agent with the surveyor, do I go with the surveyor? First time buyer here, got my mortgage offer yesterday and have instructed solicitors, is now the time to arrange my own survey?

AdrianC

The surveyor will liaise with the EA over access. You only need to put them in touch once you've decided who to use.

If you find a surveyor who's on the lender's panel, they can do the valuation at the same time.

ilikewatch2

I just gave the details of the property and the estate agent to my surveyor and he contacted the EA and made the arrangements to access the property and carry out the survey.

p00hsticks

It's been a while since I had to arrange one, but I seem to recall that if you want to potentially save some time and money, and depending on what level of survey you want, you can see if you can  use the surveyor that the mortgage lender is going to use for the valuation survey to also carry out your survey at the same time - see if your lender offers this. The surveyor won't want/need you to go with them - you tell them the property and estate agents details and they'll just make an appointment to visit the property via them.  

Falafels

If you appoint a surveyor then you give them the estate agent's details - or those of the vendor if you're in direct contact with them - and they then liaise with each other to arrange a date. Don't worry about it, as the surveyor will ask for all the information they need. You need to get the survey before exchange of contracts, so now would be a good time.

Whether or not you actually need a survey, or which level, will depend on how old the property is, and its general condition. You may find this link helpful: https://hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/what-sort-of-survey-should-i-have/

greatcrested

Just to add a caveat:

Yes, using the same surveyor as your mortgage lender can simplify the process and sometimes be cheaper - Valuation and survey done at the same time.

But check, some lenders charge more for a survey...

The other possible issue is that the lender's Valuation is very brief/superficial. If you use the same surveyor, during the detailed survey he might spot something, and notify the lender, that would not have been spotted during a Valuation. And that just might affect your mortgage.

If you arrange the survey yourself, that cannot happen as the report will come to you, not the lender.

See

https://www.rics.org/uk/find-a-member/

badger09

We don't need a mortgage, so couldn't piggy back on lender's survey. I used this site 
https://www.localbuildingsurveyor.co.uk/
Only got 1 quote, but checked his qualifications & he could do it following week. Gave him vendor's contact details (with permission) & he made the arrangements. Did a Homebuyer's survey & valuation & sent report within a few days.

After vendor withdrew from sale, I contacted him again & he's done another for us.. Same arrangements, all done & dusted within 2 weeks, in fact he phoned me a few hours after doing survey to give edited highlights.  Also reduced his fee by £50, which was unexpected. Hope I don't have to, but I would use him again.