RICS 3 Survey

Louscorp

I am in the process of arranging a level 3 RICS survey on an older property I am buying and have some questions surrounding this.

Firstly, I have been quoted £650.00 by one surveyor and £1050.00 from another. The first is a company and the other an independent. I am confused as to why there is such a difference in price and wondered if there are different things to consider when choosing a surveyor? 

Secondly, I have a couple of concerns regarding seemingly penetrating damp downstairs and some uneven floorboards upstairs. I am inexperienced and would like to be able to discuss my concerns and any outcomes with the surveyor, rather than them going in blind and then me just try to make make sense out of a written report. Is this a reasonable request or not the done thing?

Lastly, I am interested to know the level of detail a RICS 3 surveyor goes into, do they look under carpet if any floorboards feel unstable and do they investigate/feedback on damp or just recommend getting a damp expert in? 

Ideally I would like clear advice from my surveyor surrounding issues, cost of repairs, anything that needs further investigation etc rather than a report with a series of optional recommendations!

If anyone can help with any of my queries I would greatly appreciate it .

RS2OOO

I personally have found reports from large national firms to be poor quality and with inaccuracies.

I have found reports from Local independent surveyors who are familiar with the area and the construction types to be excellent, highly detailed and containing other useful snippets of information.

However,  £650 sounds cheap and £1050 sounds expensive so it could be worth you contacting other local surveyors with good reputations for a quote. Size, age, value and type of property would be a factor when quoting, but for say a 4 bed semi built in the last 50 years I would expect a quote of around £750 to £850.

For a level 3 you will get a more detailed report on damp than a level 2, and also possibly an idea of remedial costs, but if there are inaccessible areas such as under flooring or concealed areas of the loft they would likely recommend getting a specialist in for a definitive report, but they would still verbally offer advice on what they believe the overall condition is likely to be.

Louscorp

RS2OOO said:

I personally have found reports from large national firms to be poor quality and with inaccuracies.

I have found reports from Local independent surveyors who are familiar with the area and the construction types to be excellent, highly detailed and containing other useful snippets of information.

However,  £650 sounds cheap and £1050 sounds expensive so it could be worth you contacting other local surveyors with good reputations for a quote. Size, age, value and type of property would be a factor when quoting, but for say a 4 bed semi built in the last 50 years I would expect a quote of around £750 to £850.

For a level 3 you will get a more detailed report on damp than a level 2, and also possibly an idea of remedial costs, but if there are inaccessible areas such as under flooring or concealed areas of the loft they would likely recommend getting a specialist in for a definitive report, but they would still verbally offer advice on what they believe the overall condition is likely to be.

Many thanks,

Windofchange

Depends on what part of the country you are in too. From memory a level 3 survey for our London purchase a couple of years back was in the region of £1800. I would imagine as with many things the cost of the survey will vary massively from location to location. 

TheJP

No seller would allow an invasive survey (lifting up of carpets or flooring) why would they, also i doubt a surveyor would want to in case they cause damage they then need to pay to have rectified. Surveys are precautionary and not 100% factual. The only way you can 100% ascertain if there is an issue is when you have bought the house and lifted up flooring.

youth_leader

I don't understand why surveyors can't move furniture/ lift carpets.  I had a L3 RCIS survey and had been here nine months when the curtain fitter refused to walk in the innermost area of the bay window because it 'cracked' when he stepped there, I invited my surveyor back to have a look.   The bay window was filled with a very large wicker chair when I viewed, and when the surveyor came.

When we pulled the carpet back the floorboards are rotten.  I've now had a specialist company in and I've got wet/dry rot and woodworm in the front bedroom, and severe black mould through condensation on the weyroc flooring in the other two bedrooms. 

TheJP

youth_leader said:

I don't understand why surveyors can't move furniture/ lift carpets.  I had a L3 RCIS survey and had been here nine months when the curtain fitter refused to walk in the innermost area of the bay window because it 'cracked' when he stepped there, I invited my surveyor back to have a look.   The bay window was filled with a very large wicker chair when I viewed, and when the surveyor came.

When we pulled the carpet back the floorboards are rotten.  I've now had a specialist company in and I've got wet/dry rot and woodworm in the front bedroom, and severe black mould through condensation on the weyroc flooring in the other two bedrooms. 

Because they aren't carpet fitters, who will pay to have the carpet re-fitted/replaced if its damaged. The same for furniture, if they move it and breaks it who pays or if the surveyor puts their back out who do they claim against.

youth_leader

True TheJP.  As I was so desperate to buy I doubt I would have tried to negotiate, but I've now got an unexpected £7K to spend, as well as a lot of disruption.  If I'd known, I could have stayed in the rental and had the work done before I moved in.

TheJP

youth_leader said:

True TheJP.  As I was so desperate to buy I doubt I would have tried to negotiate, but I've now got an unexpected £7K to spend, as well as a lot of disruption.  If I'd known, I could have stayed in the rental and had the work done before I moved in.

I would only let a surveyor pull up carpet if A. there was a definitive reason and the buyer was going to pay to have the carpet re-laid properly.

Unfortunately that's the pitfalls of buying, there will be disruption.