Wrong Survey, leaves me with a house that's falling apart. help

EmmettDylan9

Me and my girlfriend recently just bought our first home and got a level two survey on the house, we asked the survey company to concentrate on the house slanting and the cracks, we then got our report through and all was fine no movement. I have had a number of professionals builders look at the house and they all saying it still has movement, needs underpinning. I have made so many calls for advise but getting the run around. am I able to sue the survey company as I wouldn't of bought if I had known? if so what do I do? do I need another survey to prove its moving or a structural engineer? is their anyone out there that's been through the same? struggling to find answers.

sacvwgolf

What did the report say exactly? They normally say something like 'no cracks/ subsidence found but recommend to instruct a structural engineer to investigate further' to cover their backs.

user1977

You would need an expert opinion on what the first surveyor ought to have reported to you (i.e. from another surveyor, not a builder).

EmmettDylan9

sacvwgolf said:

What did the report say exactly? They normally say something like 'no cracks/ subsidence found but recommend to instruct a structural engineer to investigate further' to cover their backs.

All the report said was movement is normal for a property of this age. 

csgohan4

I would probably not got a building survey for slanting house and cracks, I would consider getting a structural survey which is far more detailed and relevant. Even a Building survey will not go into detail structural issues and will always caveat as mentioned by the above poster

Can you quote word for word the section on the cracks, if they put a caveat on there there is nothing you can do

Section62

EmmettDylan9 said:

sacvwgolf said:

What did the report say exactly? They normally say something like 'no cracks/ subsidence found but recommend to instruct a structural engineer to investigate further' to cover their backs.

All the report said was movement is normal for a property of this age. 

What makes you think the builders know better than that?

HopeAndDriftWood

EmmettDylan9 said:

sacvwgolf said:

What did the report say exactly? They normally say something like 'no cracks/ subsidence found but recommend to instruct a structural engineer to investigate further' to cover their backs.

All the report said was movement is normal for a property of this age. 

That's quite different to the report saying there was no movement. Can you quote the survey section on movement?

AdrianC

EmmettDylan9 said:

sacvwgolf said:

What did the report say exactly? They normally say something like 'no cracks/ subsidence found but recommend to instruct a structural engineer to investigate further' to cover their backs.

All the report said was movement is normal for a property of this age. 

Is that the precise and full wording in that section of the survey?

eddddy

EmmettDylan9 said:

I have had a number of professionals builders look at the house and they all saying it still has movement, needs underpinning. 

Just to put things in perspective, you don't need any qualifications or experience to call yourself a "professional builder" (although some will have them).

And it's generally specialist contractors who underpin, and repair subsidence damage. If you've been asking general builders, it's likely that they have no experience of subsidence, and might not be able to reliably identify it.

As others say, you need advice from a chartered buildings surveyor, or a chartered structural engineer - who has relevant experience.


It's probably best not to contact your buildings insurers at this stage. Wait until you have confirmation that it's likely to be subsidence, and you decide that might want to make a claim (which might also involve the previous owner's insurers).

If you contact your insurers, it will be recorded as an incident which might result in a claim. If it proves not to be subsidence, you don't want an unnecessary "potential subsidence claim" recorded in your insurance history.

Tiglet2

EmmettDylan9 said:

Me and my girlfriend recently just bought our first home and got a level two survey on the house, we asked the survey company to concentrate on the house slanting and the cracks, we then got our report through and all was fine no movement. I have had a number of professionals builders look at the house and they all saying it still has movement, needs underpinning. I have made so many calls for advise but getting the run around. am I able to sue the survey company as I wouldn't of bought if I had known? if so what do I do? do I need another survey to prove its moving or a structural engineer? is their anyone out there that's been through the same? struggling to find answers.

The obvious question to ask is why, why, why did you opt for a level two survey when you already had identified that the house was slanting and had cracks?

Level 2 - The Homebuyer Report is an analysis of the property, which will reveal most of the significant issues. It does have limitations; the surveyor will not look behind furniture or lift flooring. It may be supplied with caveats, limiting the surveyor’s liability, which could be an issue if you do later discover a major problem.

The Homebuyer Report is best suited to conventional properties, which are less than 150 years old. It will include:

• an assessment of the location
• the estimated cost of rebuilding the property for insurance purposes
• an assessment of any drainage or damp-proofing in the building
• the condition of timbers and whether rot or woodworm is present
• the identification of subsidence or damp
• information highlighting urgent problems that require attention
• details of faults in easy-to-access parts of the property that could affect its value.

Some Homebuyer Reports include a property valuation. This, and any problems identified, could be used to negotiate a lower purchase price.

Level 3 - Previously known as a Full Structural Survey, a Building Survey is the most comprehensive choice and the most expensive. However, it could be an excellent investment.

The surveyor will conduct a full assessment of the property, both internally and externally, and the report could be a lengthy document. It will cover everything from subsidence to invasive weeds and highlight repairs and maintenance you will need to undertake.

It will explain what could happen if you don’t carry out the repairs and may include an estimate of the costs involved.

A Building Survey is the best choice for older properties, and those which have been substantially renovated or which you know require major works.

Unlike a Homebuyer Report, the Building Survey does not have a standard format. Instead, the surveyor will tailor the assessment to the individual property and include anything you specifically want looked at.

The survey will present the information clearly, using a rating system to make it easy to interpret.

You can expect the survey to cover:

• the estimated cost of rebuilding the property for insurance purposes
• all defects of the property and its general structural integrity
• the results of tests for damp in the walls
• an assessment of woodworm, dry rot and any other damage to timbers
• the condition of existing insulation and damp-proofing
• information on the materials used to build the property
• the identification of invasive weeds and their location
• the condition of the electrics
• recommendations for further investigations on the property.

I would suggest you engage a structural engineer to come and assess the property and give you advice on next steps.  

Your survey would have been given to you prior to exchange and completion, so why did you not have a conversation with the surveyor with your concerns and either commission further surveys or make enquiries of the seller before completing on the purchase?  You could have passed on this potential problem back to the seller at that point.

But, you received the report and read it (did you?) and still proceeded with the purchase.

kungfu_navs

Like others have said, get a Structural Engineer to come around and have a look. I had a Structural Engineers report done on my previous property and I followed him around the entire property and learnt alot from him he was there for a couple of hours. 

Also check if your insurance has legal cover, if not see if you can get it added, it may not be applicable on this case but its a good thing to have.