How important is a survey?

csgohan4

Even survey's have limitations and will put in caveats like, consider getting x checked or a specialist survey for Y done. 

macman

pinkshoes said:

The person that bought our 1970s semi paid over £1000 for a survey. The guy spent about 2.5 hours poking round the house and writing notes, but he did NOT move any furniture, lift anything, look under anything etc... all observations were just from standing and looking.

For £1000+ they were told nothing they couldn't have found themselves by making the same observations.

On that basis, we didn't get a survey on the 1980s detached house we bought. We found a checklist online and went through it ourselves.

The only thing we missed was there being no thermostat for the boiler (so no control of hot water and heating, other than on or off). I'm not sure the survey would have picked that up.

Which is exactly what they are allowed to do, it's purely a visual inspection. No moving things, no dismantling.

pinkshoes

macman said:

pinkshoes said:

The person that bought our 1970s semi paid over £1000 for a survey. The guy spent about 2.5 hours poking round the house and writing notes, but he did NOT move any furniture, lift anything, look under anything etc... all observations were just from standing and looking.

For £1000+ they were told nothing they couldn't have found themselves by making the same observations.

On that basis, we didn't get a survey on the 1980s detached house we bought. We found a checklist online and went through it ourselves.

The only thing we missed was there being no thermostat for the boiler (so no control of hot water and heating, other than on or off). I'm not sure the survey would have picked that up.

Which is exactly what they are allowed to do, it's purely a visual inspection. No moving things, no dismantling.

Which is exactly why we didn't bother getting one! Over £1000 for some bloke to walk round with a check list and do a visual inspection that I could easily do myself.

I was actually really surprised at how much was charged vs what they didn't actually do! 

He then "advised" the buyers of all these things, most of which they were already aware of (no door on a bedroom, old style consumer unit, the roof of the extension was flat and would need looking at etc...), and the rest they could have spotted themselves with the right check list.

The £1000 could have been much better spent on something else.

Scotbot

 Depends on the age of the house and your skillset. My knowledge of building work was pretty poor, my survey cost a few hundred quid but I used it to negotiate a 5k reduction in price so well worth it. 

nimbo

I paid £610 for a level three on a building built in the 1800’s and converted in 1985. 

The asbestos may be in the walls I expected. The house may have some kind of damp i expected. (So long as I ventilate and keep warm he recommends I do nothing). I reckon if you wave a damp metre round in any house in October you’ll find some damp. 

The beam in the roof needs some extra support I didn’t expect. Marked as urgent. Photos show well the gaps. (I never would have understood the importance of this). 

The lead flashing and pointing need remedying over the kitchen roof I wouldn’t be able to see as he used a drone. 

Personally i feel it was £610 well spent (it’s less than 1% of the purchase price). I get my car serviced it kind of seems the same to me. Only the house is worth more and I’d be really gutted if the roof blew off. 

walwyn1978

I would say that if you decide you are going to do a survey, I’d pay the extra and get a full/level 3, not a Homebuyers/level 2 as you get far more detail and advice/guidance. But obviously entirely up to you, I sense you’re leaning towards perhaps not having one from your previous comments! Good luck with your purchase  whatever you decide 

davilown

We were cash buyers and didn’t get a survey - after doing up 3 houses, I was relatively confident about what I was looking for. Also took my old man with us on the second viewing to look for anything I may have missed.

As long as your happy with what you see then go for doing it yourself. Any survey will always have reds for electricals and gas.

trailingspouse

Thanks all, again.

It's the most modern house I've ever owned (previously I've renovated a 300 year old cob cottage in Devon, an old estate workers house in Northumberland, a house made from three 17th century labourers' cottages, and an Edwardian townhouse). This one is only about 20 years old, the kitchen doesn't have a mark on it, the bathroom is spot-on, the carpets and paintwork are less than a year old. There's no damp, it's double-glazed, everything is tickety-boo. Even the garden is in pretty good shape.

Maybe I should get a survey done, just to give me something to do...

badger09

trailingspouse said:

Thanks all, again.

It's the most modern house I've ever owned (previously I've renovated a 300 year old cob cottage in Devon, an old estate workers house in Northumberland, a house made from three 17th century labourers' cottages, and an Edwardian townhouse). This one is only about 20 years old, the kitchen doesn't have a mark on it, the bathroom is spot-on, the carpets and paintwork are less than a year old. There's no damp, it's double-glazed, everything is tickety-boo. Even the garden is in pretty good shape.

Maybe I should get a survey done, just to give me something to do...

Nah.
Save your money for nice things to your own taste, like new lamps, curtains or artwork. Its the start of the next phase in your life - enjoy it!