Surveys

Deedoodee

I was planning to get a survey on a house that’s currently still lived in. Looks like a family live there, beds wardrobes and desks in all rooms, including the box. The surveyor called me to say it’s likely he’ll have lots of accessibility problems in the property and that if the vendor has this much stuff and isn’t prepared to move it for a survey, I should be suspicious, and ‘would you buy a car if the seller wouldn’t let you look at the engine?’  

I’m not really sure how to navigate this one because they do live there. But how can I carry out due diligence if I can’t get a survey? 

TheJP

Deedoodee said:

I was planning to get a survey on a house that’s currently still lived in. Looks like a family live there, beds wardrobes and desks in all rooms, including the box. The surveyor called me to say it’s likely he’ll have lots of accessibility problems in the property and that if the vendor has this much stuff and isn’t prepared to move it for a survey, I should be suspicious, and ‘would you buy a car if the seller wouldn’t let you look at the engine?’  

I’m not really sure how to navigate this one because they do live there. But how can I carry out due diligence if I can’t get a survey? 

No difference to a survey on any other house where the vendor is currently living. A surveyor carried out a survey on my home (2 adults 1 child), they didn't move anything (they wont in fear of breaking anything). Sounds like a flaky surveyor to me.

FYI you can get a survey done its just you have a challenging surveyor. Try another one. 

Deedoodee

TheJP said:

Deedoodee said:

I was planning to get a survey on a house that’s currently still lived in. Looks like a family live there, beds wardrobes and desks in all rooms, including the box. The surveyor called me to say it’s likely he’ll have lots of accessibility problems in the property and that if the vendor has this much stuff and isn’t prepared to move it for a survey, I should be suspicious, and ‘would you buy a car if the seller wouldn’t let you look at the engine?’  

I’m not really sure how to navigate this one because they do live there. But how can I carry out due diligence if I can’t get a survey? 

No difference to a survey on any other house where the vendor is currently living. A surveyor carried out a survey on my home (2 adults 1 child), they didn't move anything (they wont in fear of breaking anything). Sounds like a flaky surveyor to me.

FYI you can get a survey done its just you have a challenging surveyor. Try another one. 

Yeah. It’s the first time I’ve spoken to the surveyor. I was mainly working off online reviews, the company has excellent online reviews. I’m calling around to get different quotes. 

TheJP

Deedoodee said:

TheJP said:

Deedoodee said:

I was planning to get a survey on a house that’s currently still lived in. Looks like a family live there, beds wardrobes and desks in all rooms, including the box. The surveyor called me to say it’s likely he’ll have lots of accessibility problems in the property and that if the vendor has this much stuff and isn’t prepared to move it for a survey, I should be suspicious, and ‘would you buy a car if the seller wouldn’t let you look at the engine?’  

I’m not really sure how to navigate this one because they do live there. But how can I carry out due diligence if I can’t get a survey? 

No difference to a survey on any other house where the vendor is currently living. A surveyor carried out a survey on my home (2 adults 1 child), they didn't move anything (they wont in fear of breaking anything). Sounds like a flaky surveyor to me.

FYI you can get a survey done its just you have a challenging surveyor. Try another one. 

Yeah. It’s the first time I’ve spoken to the surveyor. I was mainly working off online reviews, the company has excellent online reviews. I’m calling around to get different quotes. 

You will need to have a balanced view when it comes to surveys, no one wants their possessions moved around, carpets lifted etc when the sale isn't guaranteed. The surveyors job is to work with what is in front of them, they should be able to identify any visable faults with the property even if there are possession in the way. 

user1977

It's completely normal for surveys to be carried out in fully furnished properties, so not sure why this surveyor is making a meal of it. But as they say, you should be aware that nobody is likely to be shifting things out of the way, so don't expect the surveyor to spot anything behind or under furniture, carpets, etc.

Deedoodee

He said that he wouldn’t be able to advise on a lot of things and then talked a lot about the risk I’d be left with if I bought the house. I think I’m now slightly distrustful of him and that he won’t really make an effort to survey the house because he thinks things should be moved out of the way for the survey (he said that the vendors should be accommodating for the sale and if they’re not, to be suspicious). There was the weird implication that the vendor had placed the sofa and wardrobes there on purpose to hide things, but they’re also the best places for those items in the rooms.

Deedoodee

user1977 said:

It's completely normal for surveys to be carried out in fully furnished properties, so not sure why this surveyor is making a meal of it. But as they say, you should be aware that nobody is likely to be shifting things out of the way, so don't expect the surveyor to spot anything behind or under furniture, carpets, etc.

If the house has stuff over most of the walls, does this write off the value of a survey almost entirely? That seemed to be what the surveyor was saying

youth_leader

I'd find someone else Deedoodee, he sounds a little odd.

Deedoodee

youth_leader said:

I'd find someone else Deedoodee, he sounds a little odd.

He seemed very ‘by the book’/ covering his own liability, which I understand in professional services. But he didn’t seem interested in how ‘by the book’ doesn’t fall into real life (ie houses being snapped up instantly/ renovations costing more/ system currently isn’t helping a buyer). But I don’t know if this is normal. I really liked the surveyor I had in the past (sadly different end of the country, else I’d have booked him instantly). He was very helpful in telling me the problems in the house, which might be more of a problem to me and which ones were more minor and what to look for moving forward etc. 

TheJP

Deedoodee said:

He said that he wouldn’t be able to advise on a lot of things and then talked a lot about the risk I’d be left with if I bought the house. I think I’m now slightly distrustful of him and that he won’t really make an effort to survey the house because he thinks things should be moved out of the way for the survey (he said that the vendors should be accommodating for the sale and if they’re not, to be suspicious). There was the weird implication that the vendor had placed the sofa and wardrobes there on purpose to hide things, but they’re also the best places for those items in the rooms.

Wants your money for a quick in and out survey and is already making excuses before he has even set foot inside. Bin them.