Survey missed stuff

Noneforit999

As others have said., for £700 you can't expect that level of detail so adjusting your expectations would probably be my first bit of advice. 

When you buy a 'non new build' house, you are going to have some things to sort. They will range for minor to possibly significant and although a survey should pick up on anything major and structural, its never 100%. 

Even as a FTB, I would still have a few grand laying around to get some things done. 

Assuming you mean one of those bathroom/kitchen fan jobbies, you can buy a fairly decent one for about £50 and its really not rocket science to replace like for like, just ensure the outlet is the same size as the current one.

I would argue the wall coming forward should have been picked up on the survey so perhaps you have some recourse there but most surveys are packed out with caveats to cover themselves anyway. Is it a load bearing wall?

Buying your first house is a perfect time for you (and/or a partner if you have one) to learn some DIY skills. 

Slinky

I'm guessing that the skirting/wall issue was known to the vendor and they put furniture in front of it to cover it. Surveyors wont move furniture.

Friends of ours ran out of paint when painting a room and left the area which was not visible when the door was open. Nobody spotted that either when it was sold.

hpsauce86

To be honest most of these things are things you should have checked yourself when you viewed the property. It’s not for surveyors to tell you things that are clearly visible. Don’t think you have much of a leg to stand on on this occasion unfortunately. 

[Deleted User]

I have already stated the survey states it checked things to make sure they are used and working to match "everyday use". As usual MSE does not disappoint. A naive FTB perhaps, but people are too easy to take the side of the authority. If I knew the survey would be inadequate I would have taken on the responsibility myself.

I have the money to make the repairs, that is not the issue. But I am not going to keep trying persuade people that this is an example of a bad survey which can occur. I would likely not bother with a survey next time. As I said in my first post, I suspect there is no liability. Thanks for your opinions, I don't agree with most of them but I appreciate the time you took to reply and goodbye.

Deedoodee

I thought my survey was terrible. Mine didn’t even check the shower. Or open a kitchen cupboard to find the inside all rusted and broken. And it was a Level 3/ Building Survey. He did however highlight some cracks and say that he felt confident those cracks weren’t due to subsidence or movement. 

I don’t know if it’s that people are ‘taking the side of authority’ or just accepting that this is how the system is. They won’t move furniture because where would it end? Yes everyone can move that side table, what about the bigger table, and then the side board etc? Who would be responsible for health and safety/ broken items? 

I think the whole system is a bit rubbish. I’ve only had one survey that I liked and that was for an empty house, which I didn’t buy based on the survey. you can not have a survey, or just accept that this is the way it is and you might get some useful information out of it. I think if I had a day to look through the entire house, I could spot most of the things in my surveyors report. Would take me MUCH longer to identify them or know if the things I spotted are problematic. But I imagine no vendor or estate agent would leave me in the house for an entire day. 

Just another rubbish part of a rubbish system 

lookstraightahead

Deleted_User said:

I have already stated the survey states it checked things to make sure they are used and working to match "everyday use". As usual MSE does not disappoint. A naive FTB perhaps, but people are too easy to take the side of the authority. If I knew the survey would be inadequate I would have taken on the responsibility myself.

I have the money to make the repairs, that is not the issue. But I am not going to keep trying persuade people that this is an example of a bad survey which can occur. I would likely not bother with a survey next time. As I said in my first post, I suspect there is no liability. Thanks for your opinions, I don't agree with most of them but I appreciate the time you took to reply and goodbye.

I didn't realise your post was to try to persuade people.

it's worth taking all views on board - that's the point. I did it with the old house I bought and the advice is brilliant. I had a structural survey done but surveyors have to be careful about liability so it's really just guidance.

do you know what's wrong with the shower? It's probably a plumber you need.

lookstraightahead

Deedoodee said:

I thought my survey was terrible. Mine didn’t even check the shower. Or open a kitchen cupboard to find the inside all rusted and broken. And it was a Level 3/ Building Survey. He did however highlight some cracks and say that he felt confident those cracks weren’t due to subsidence or movement. 

I don’t know if it’s that people are ‘taking the side of authority’ or just accepting that this is how the system is. They won’t move furniture because where would it end? Yes everyone can move that side table, what about the bigger table, and then the side board etc? Who would be responsible for health and safety/ broken items? 

I think the whole system is a bit rubbish. I’ve only had one survey that I liked and that was for an empty house, which I didn’t buy based on the survey. you can not have a survey, or just accept that this is the way it is and you might get some useful information out of it. I think if I had a day to look through the entire house, I could spot most of the things in my surveyors report. Would take me MUCH longer to identify them or know if the things I spotted are problematic. But I imagine no vendor or estate agent would leave me in the house for an entire day. 

Just another rubbish part of a rubbish system 

I found mine useful in so far as it guided me to what needed checking. 

macman

Deleted_User said:

I have already stated the survey states it checked things to make sure they are used and working to match "everyday use". As usual MSE does not disappoint. A naive FTB perhaps, but people are too easy to take the side of the authority. If I knew the survey would be inadequate I would have taken on the responsibility myself.

I have the money to make the repairs, that is not the issue. But I am not going to keep trying persuade people that this is an example of a bad survey which can occur. I would likely not bother with a survey next time. As I said in my first post, I suspect there is no liability. Thanks for your opinions, I don't agree with most of them but I appreciate the time you took to reply and goodbye.

So you are a First Time Buyer who is also a cash buyer? Because without a survey, you wouldn't have got a mortgage. 

hazyjo

Sounds like a case of get what you pay for. Don't think people are defending the surveyors, think they're saying it's very unusual for them to check services. They always recommend you get a plumber, electrician, specialist (damp, woodworm, asbestos, etc) or gas safe bod, etc in to check stuff. I've never known them do it themselves.

The type of survey you had, I would expect to pay £800-1800, depending on what they were looking at.

user1977

If a buyer is making several viewings - why aren't they checking for themselves this sort of basic stuff, if it actually matters to them? You don't need to pay a professional to tell you the extractor is bust or the shower works.