Do I need a survey for house purchase?

JamesN

Hi,
I'm in the process of buying a house that I've been a tenant of for the past year, so I know the house pretty well and haven't had any issues. Given this, is there any value in getting a survey, be it home buyers report or more detailed? The house was built in 1986 and is in reasonable condition, there are a few faults but nothing major that I've noticed. The report isn't going to lead to any reduction in price as I believe they've already gone as low as they can on that. I hear a lot of negative things about the home buyers report so not sure what value I'd be getting out of it other than the potential to blame an undetected fault on someone?

Interested to hear opinions on that.

Many thanks

Sunsaru

If you are confident that you know all there is to know about the house then probably not worth it. Having lived there for a the past year helps.

goodwithsaving

I usually do, but for my next purchase (where I know the house and lived in one built by the same builders for 11 years) I am not going to. If you live in it, you will know if the roof leaks, or if the windows are old. Homebuyer reports tend to be from the school of the bleedin obvious. If you didn't know the property, I'd suggest getting a builder to look around. If you have bought before and know what you're looking for, or are savvy anyway, I wouldn't bother.
For me, a survey wouldn't put me off the house. I've been around it, checked every wall, fuse boxes, boiler, had the roof checked etc. and am satisfied. I can use the £500+ putting things right than for a report which states the obvious. 
(A building survey is different but unless it's an old property, which it isn't, I wouldn't get one of those).

JamesN

goodwithsaving said:

I usually do, but for my next purchase (where I know the house and lived in one built by the same builders for 11 years) I am not going to. If you live in it, you will know if the roof leaks, or if the windows are old. Homebuyer reports tend to be from the school of the bleedin obvious. If you didn't know the property, I'd suggest getting a builder to look around. If you have bought before and know what you're looking for, or are savvy anyway, I wouldn't bother.
For me, a survey wouldn't put me off the house. I've been around it, checked every wall, fuse boxes, boiler, had the roof checked etc. and am satisfied. I can use the £500+ putting things right than for a report which states the obvious. 
(A building survey is different but unless it's an old property, which it isn't, I wouldn't get one of those).

Absolutely, thats where i'm coming from. I'm going to replace the windows anyway as they are old and some seals look like they're on the way out. Going to be doing some work on it so much better saving £500 for a state the obvious report. Imagine they'd wriggle out of anything that wasn't on there anyway. There isn't anything major like leaking roof, damp or subsidence that i've seen so with a bit of luck it should be ok.

AnotherJoe

Yep, save the survey money for something you know needs doing anyway rather than have them tell you that.

My last 3 purchases were survey-less.

There are times they are useful but in your case Id agree, not.

AdrianC

A survey is ENTIRELY for your own comfort. No more.

Your mortgage lender will insist on a valuation for their protection, but that's not the same thing.

ic

You might have lived there for a year, but are you observant of the house?  Have you put your head in the loft and checked the roof condition, do you know the state of the electrics, is the supply pipe to the house lead or plastic, how old is the boiler, etc etc?  If you haven't, it'd be worth getting a list of what is covered by a survey, and going over the house with a close eye.  If you spot something you're not sure about, you could get a trade in for advice and quotes now before you're committed to buying (you say you want new windows, you could be getting that quoted up now rather than guessing).  Its belt and braces, but quite an opportunity to check things out - normally such checks would need to be arranged with the seller and keys collected, making people less inclined to go to this depth.

AnotherJoe

ic said:

You might have lived there for a year, but are you observant of the house?  Have you put your head in the loft and checked the roof condition, do you know the state of the electrics, is the supply pipe to the house lead or plastic, how old is the boiler, etc etc?  If you haven't, it'd be worth getting a list of what is covered by a survey, and going over the house with a close eye.  If you spot something you're not sure about, you could get a trade in for advice and quotes now before you're committed to buying (you say you want new windows, you could be getting that quoted up now rather than guessing).  Its belt and braces, but quite an opportunity to check things out - normally such checks would need to be arranged with the seller and keys collected, making people less inclined to go to this depth.

And none of that would be covered by most surveys.

ic

I know, they'd advise to get them investigated - as I said the OP is in a good situation to do just that if they want to and be ahead of the game.

JamesN

ic said:

You might have lived there for a year, but are you observant of the house?  Have you put your head in the loft and checked the roof condition, do you know the state of the electrics, is the supply pipe to the house lead or plastic, how old is the boiler, etc etc?  If you haven't, it'd be worth getting a list of what is covered by a survey, and going over the house with a close eye.  If you spot something you're not sure about, you could get a trade in for advice and quotes now before you're committed to buying (you say you want new windows, you could be getting that quoted up now rather than guessing).  Its belt and braces, but quite an opportunity to check things out - normally such checks would need to be arranged with the seller and keys collected, making people less inclined to go to this depth.

I'm quite picky so tend to catch most faults. Loft has been converted into a dormer room, electrics had some work last year before we moved in and passed certification, boiler is 10 years old (going to get a plan to cover that). No idea on the supply to the house. Appreciate the advice.