House surveyor - Is it it worth it for 11-12 year old house with no visible signs of problems?

donutandbeer

Section62 said:

donutandbeer said:

....And that’s it. He’s still convinced his compass was correct and not broken. We later thought probably he had done so much work at least on that day with the broken compass that if he now admitted to himself that his compass was broken he’ll have to go back and amend who know how many reports 😂

A strange one.  A traditional magnetic compass can't really break as such.  So long as the needle is free to rotate it will always point North.  The exception is if there is something external (e.g. electric cables or metal objects) which alter the local magnetic field.

Something like a damp meter could be incorrectly calibrated and give incorrect results... but a magnetic compass doesn't need calibrating.

That’s what we also think/thought so we were very confused. But at the end of the day either his compass was broken or the sun was setting in the east… 🤪

canaldumidi

Section62 said:

donutandbeer said:

....And that’s it. He’s still convinced his compass was correct and not broken. We later thought probably he had done so much work at least on that day with the broken compass that if he now admitted to himself that his compass was broken he’ll have to go back and amend who know how many reports 😂

Something like a damp meter could be incorrectly calibrated and give incorrect results... but a magnetic compass doesn't need calibrating.

I beg to differ.

To identify True North you will need to calibrate your compass which will point to magnetic north. eg

https://goneoutdoors.com/calibrate-magnetic-compass-5942968.html

Section62

canaldumidi said:

Section62 said:

donutandbeer said:

....And that’s it. He’s still convinced his compass was correct and not broken. We later thought probably he had done so much work at least on that day with the broken compass that if he now admitted to himself that his compass was broken he’ll have to go back and amend who know how many reports 😂

Something like a damp meter could be incorrectly calibrated and give incorrect results... but a magnetic compass doesn't need calibrating.

I beg to differ.

To identify True North you will need to calibrate your compass which will point to magnetic north. eg

https://goneoutdoors.com/calibrate-magnetic-compass-5942968.html

True, but for a generalised "which direction does this garden face" question a magnetic compass doesn't need calibrating...

...at least not until the next magnetic pole inversion takes place, which might explain the sun setting in the East phenomenon.

powerful_Rogue

Never had a survey carried out on any house i've purchased. As already mentioned, depends on your attitude towards risk.

Noneforit999

Depends on the age and if any additional building work has been done.

If its 50 years old then yes, I would get a survey regardless.

If its 15 years old and clearly had no work done since it was new (i.e. no extensions, loft conversions etc) then I wouldn't bother.

Savingforahouse123

Thanks all. Would you also say paying the extra for a valuation is worth it?

donutandbeer

I wouldn’t pay for a valuation. I see little points in paying for a valuation unless you are going to pull out when they down-value the property because you are worried about it from an investment point of view!? 

nicknameless

Not massively experienced in this but I suppose it depends on the surveyor and report.  We investigated and paid an independent surveyor to report on the house we are buying (1930s semi recently extended).  We got a multitude of photos cross-referenced with the report which was both reassuring and helpful.  It included an overall opinion on the property (again reassuring) and a debrief with the surveyor over the phone.  The red flags in the report were obviously things that needed to be highlighted for liability purposes, but conversation with surveyor made it clear what did need doing and what didn't.  For what we received I am surprised it only cost £600.

Savingforahouse123

Thanks all.

I do know an experienced builder who I could go to instead of a surveyor. I do worry though that perhaps the builder might not be able to produce the paperwork to cover me in case there were defects in the same way a surveyor's report could give me some protection if things do go wrong? 

What do you think?

Section62

Savingforahouse123 said:

Thanks all.

I do know an experienced builder who I could go to instead of a surveyor. I do worry though that perhaps the builder might not be able to produce the paperwork to cover me in case there were defects in the same way a surveyor's report could give me some protection if things do go wrong? 

What do you think?

Very few builders can do what a surveyor can do.  But they are good at telling you not to worry about stuff in a survey, or alternately quoting astronomic amounts for fixing the faults.

You'll have zero 'protection' if you just ask a builder to take a look.  You also need to be aware the protection there is with a survey is largely limited to having someone you can try to sue if they missed something.