Was my surveyor negligent?

yllop1101

davilown said:

yllop1101 said:

leypt1 said:

What have you got to lose from making a complaint? The surveyor missed chunks of cement missing from your roof, I'd say it's worth at least pointing this out to them and seeing what they say?

I don't think "caveat emptor" is an argument against doing this - you did actually make (some of) the right enquiries before buying, and you're looking to take action against your surveyor rather than the vendor.

Also, the standard gripe with surveyors who just recommend loads of extra surveys is that they're only doing it as a back covering exercise.......but it then follows that in this instance they did not adequately cover their backs! If they'd made the recommendation you could have considered whether to go ahead with it, but they didn't, so you had no inkling that this could be something to consider.

You make the exact points I was considering myself. With regards to Caveat Emptor, what's the point in paying a professional surveyor?

I reference points 2, 3 and 4 here (the irony being the costs I face average the amount many face when they don't get a survey

-https://www.coseyhomes.co.uk/news/4-important-reasons-home-buyers-get-survey

In a house I pulled out of before this one the surveyor recommended a damp survey, I got one, found things I didn't like/couldn't afford to fix, and pulled out. So, I am the type of person who takes the surveys seriously and would probably instruct a specialist where recommended (not for backside covering reasons on every item). 

Was the damp survey done by a ‘professional’ damp sales person?

If you mean was it one of those people who do it for free and offer a damp proof course, no it wasn't, I'm smarter than that. It was an independent specialist experienced in surveying victorian properties (as the house was victorian)...... I did my homework 😏

Tracet74

A CR2 means there is a defect which you should tend to once you've moved in!

user1977

Tracet74 said:

A CR2 means there is a defect which you should tend to once you've moved in!

Sometimes seems a fine distinction between categories 2 and 3 (I've seen "gutters could do with being cleared" down as a 3, for example) - but I'd expect an already-leaking roof to be a 3. Depends how obvious that was.

yllop1101

Tracet74 said:

A CR2 means there is a defect which you should tend to once you've moved in!

 I appreciate that, and I think a CR2 would have been fair IF the roof coverings were intact (and therefore meaning the lining didn't need immediate replacing). However, as the surveyor missed the flawed roof coverings, and thus overlooked the fact that water is going to get in the roof, it seems the 'costly and disruptive work of removing the coverings to replace the lining' (in their words) is necessary.  

Tracet74

Happy to stand corrected but removing the covering to replace the lining is not the same as reapplying ridge tiles in fresh mortar?

Tiglet2

A Building Survey (as opposed to a Home Buyer's Survey) is a more in-depth survey which would look at the roof and grounds in greater detail.  Perhaps the Home Buyer's Survey wasn't sufficient in this case. 

yllop1101

Tracet74 said:

Happy to stand corrected but removing the covering to replace the lining is not the same as reapplying ridge tiles in fresh mortar?

No expert here either but I guess the thinking is that if you have a company putting scaffolding up to do that, then you may as well do the lining? Perhaps cementing down tiles when things underneath are a bit patchy anyway is a bit of a false economy? 
I will also get the gutters, soffits and fascia's done at the same time as these need doing (costs I had anticipated), as well as eaves trays installed. I imagine it's a case of if you're doing some of it, it's best to just do it all, particularly when problems are surfacing. 

lookstraightahead

yllop1101 said:

davilown said:

yllop1101 said:

leypt1 said:

What have you got to lose from making a complaint? The surveyor missed chunks of cement missing from your roof, I'd say it's worth at least pointing this out to them and seeing what they say?

I don't think "caveat emptor" is an argument against doing this - you did actually make (some of) the right enquiries before buying, and you're looking to take action against your surveyor rather than the vendor.

Also, the standard gripe with surveyors who just recommend loads of extra surveys is that they're only doing it as a back covering exercise.......but it then follows that in this instance they did not adequately cover their backs! If they'd made the recommendation you could have considered whether to go ahead with it, but they didn't, so you had no inkling that this could be something to consider.

You make the exact points I was considering myself. With regards to Caveat Emptor, what's the point in paying a professional surveyor?

I reference points 2, 3 and 4 here (the irony being the costs I face average the amount many face when they don't get a survey

-https://www.coseyhomes.co.uk/news/4-important-reasons-home-buyers-get-survey

In a house I pulled out of before this one the surveyor recommended a damp survey, I got one, found things I didn't like/couldn't afford to fix, and pulled out. So, I am the type of person who takes the surveys seriously and would probably instruct a specialist where recommended (not for backside covering reasons on every item). 

Was the damp survey done by a ‘professional’ damp sales person?

If you mean was it one of those people who do it for free and offer a damp proof course, no it wasn't, I'm smarter than that. It was an independent specialist experienced in surveying victorian properties (as the house was victorian)...... I did my homework 😏

So you had an RICS qualified surveyor do a full structural survey? Because you stated you had a homebuyers report, which is cheaper and not the same,

yllop1101

lookstraightahead said:

yllop1101 said:

davilown said:

yllop1101 said:

leypt1 said:

What have you got to lose from making a complaint? The surveyor missed chunks of cement missing from your roof, I'd say it's worth at least pointing this out to them and seeing what they say?

I don't think "caveat emptor" is an argument against doing this - you did actually make (some of) the right enquiries before buying, and you're looking to take action against your surveyor rather than the vendor.

Also, the standard gripe with surveyors who just recommend loads of extra surveys is that they're only doing it as a back covering exercise.......but it then follows that in this instance they did not adequately cover their backs! If they'd made the recommendation you could have considered whether to go ahead with it, but they didn't, so you had no inkling that this could be something to consider.

You make the exact points I was considering myself. With regards to Caveat Emptor, what's the point in paying a professional surveyor?

I reference points 2, 3 and 4 here (the irony being the costs I face average the amount many face when they don't get a survey

-https://www.coseyhomes.co.uk/news/4-important-reasons-home-buyers-get-survey

In a house I pulled out of before this one the surveyor recommended a damp survey, I got one, found things I didn't like/couldn't afford to fix, and pulled out. So, I am the type of person who takes the surveys seriously and would probably instruct a specialist where recommended (not for backside covering reasons on every item). 

Was the damp survey done by a ‘professional’ damp sales person?

If you mean was it one of those people who do it for free and offer a damp proof course, no it wasn't, I'm smarter than that. It was an independent specialist experienced in surveying victorian properties (as the house was victorian)...... I did my homework 😏

So you had an RICS qualified surveyor do a full structural survey? Because you stated you had a homebuyers report, which is cheaper and not the same,

You have misread the thread of messages 

Crashy_Time

Sounds like a nightmare.