Should we do a survey ? Newish house !

Adam200

Hi all
my partner and I are awaiting our mortgage approval. Fingers crossed! 

We are FTBs and wondering If we should do a home buyers survey/report. 

the house we are buying is 15 years old and in really good condition. The previous owner is a builder and he renovated and extended the kitchen, remodelled all bathrooms and did a loft conversion to a very high standard about 5 years ago. 

We already know we would need to upgrade the boiler. But we are thinking whether the report would just be telling us what we already know. It seems to be highly unlikely it will uncover something. 

Plus we are happy with the amount we are buying for so would not be looking to renegotiate. 

Or is better just to fork out the £400-500 for a survey regardless. 

Thanks in advance ! 

JJR45

Adam200 said:

HiThe previous owner is a builder and he renovated and extended the kitchen, remodelled all bathrooms and did a loft conversion to a very high standard about 5 years ago. 

100% yes, if it has been extended, walls removed, loft conversions have been done is definitely worth getting a survey as it will highlight things for the solicitor to check building regs, planning  etc.
They can spot if load bearing walls have been removed etc.

amandacat

Shop around, I managed to get a homebuyers survey for £325. 

The first house I bought was 7 years old and I didn’t bother with a survey. Was all good and no issues with the house at any point.
I sold it at 18 years old and the buyer didn’t bother with a survey either. 
This time I’m buying a 3-4 yr old house and had a homebuyers done for peace of mind due to having a nightmare I moved in and the roof collapsed!! Survey came back with no issues other than to tell me there was no up to date boiler service which I already knew. 

On the other hand I’ve known people have surveys done on houses that aren’t that old and major issues have been flagged.

It’s one of those decisions that is hard to make, could be a waste of a few hundred quid or could save you buying a house with a potential serious issue. It depends how risk averse you are. 

Adam200

Thank you both! I think we will do one seems to be the smartest option. 

But will definitely shop around for cheaper quotes. 

macman

No NHBC cover after 15 years.
Fine, but as FTB's you are aware that any defects uncovered after exchange are your problem, not the vendor's? the vendor does not have to reveal any defects, it's up to you to find them. All they have to do is answer any questions truthfully. 

AnotherJoe

Adam200 said:

Hi all
my partner and I are awaiting our mortgage approval. Fingers crossed! 

We are FTBs and wondering If we should do a home buyers survey/report. 

the house we are buying is 15 years old and in really good condition. The previous owner is a builder and he renovated and extended the kitchen, remodelled all bathrooms and did a loft conversion to a very high standard about 5 years ago. 

We already know we would need to upgrade the boiler. But we are thinking whether the report would just be telling us what we already know. It seems to be highly unlikely it will uncover something. 

Plus we are happy with the amount we are buying for so would not be looking to renegotiate. 

Or is better just to fork out the £400-500 for a survey regardless. 

Thanks in advance ! 

Given that you are, presumably, NOT a builder, how do you know that?

I dont think it would be a standard survey though you'd need a structural survey to make sure the extension and loft conversion were done properly.

Rachylou1981

Very similar position & we are leaning towards not bothering. We have just had a house fall through & the homebuyer report we paid for was pretty useless so with that & the searches, we are £1000 out of pocket already before we even start with house 2

Caitykinss

We had a homebuyers survey on our 9 year old house when we bought it two years ago. We originally decided not to bother, but a few weeks in I woke up panicking in the night about the house falling down. Having the survey helped to alleviate my anxieties as a FTB so I'm glad we went for it.

Realistically, looking back, it was a pointless exercise as it didn't flag anything up that we didn't already know. Next time, I probably won't bother, but it helped a lot at the time for piece of mind. 

powerful_Rogue

My first house was 105 years old at the time. Never bothered with a survey as it's lasted through 2 world wars and some! The people we sold it to also didn't have a survey carried out.

Second house was 40 years old, again, never bothered.

Go with your gut instinct.

JJR45

powerful_Rogue said:

Go with your gut instinct.

Seem to do that with the lottery 🤔