What are peoples views on RICS Home Surveys, are they a waste of time and money?

Eschatologist

We are in the process of our 3rd house move and we are contemplating not getting a survey done. This is because the last 2 surveys we have had have seemed like a complete waste of money and given us no information which we couldn't have gather ourselves.

For example the survey for our current house missed historic leaks and 2 asbestos water tanks. They didn't look at the roof and just poked their head into the loft (the asbestos tanks where clearly visible from the loft hatch). Bear in mind we paid for a full buildings survey!

This time around we have much more home owning experience and seriously considering forgoing this part of the process.

We are buying a property which is grade 2 listed and was heavily renovated in the last 10 years, meaning it's had to meet  all building regulations plus the requirements needed for its grade 2 status. This makes me feel a survey will just be pointing out what is already stated in the planning docs, building reg's certificate etc.

I'm very keen to know other peoples views on this.

jimbo6977

IMO general surveys are money for old rope. Anything obvious you can see for yourself. Anything not obvious the survey will include a disclaimer to excuse the surveyor missing it. That'll be a couple of grand thanks, kerrching. 

Sarahspangles

When I bought my current house (60s, built from glass and cornflake boxes) I found the survey useful because it gave me a way of deciding the priorities for repairs.  Just having the surveyor booked pushed the vendors to get the lintels over the windows done, because they knew otherwise this would be deducted from the offer price.  But I agree if a house has recently had a lot of work done and you’re able to tick off your own visual checks of the usual list of features then you probably don’t benefit.

daveyjp

I never noticed the party wall crack on a house I looked at due to the heavy wallpaper and paint, my surveyor did as he walked down the stairs from the attic.

Similarly he suspected the ends of the also heavily painted main roof beam may have issues.  It was rotten at both ends.

Offer quickly withdrawn.

mi-key

It depends really how good you are at spotting things, and also if you do find a problem if you can fix it yourself.

Also depends on  the age of the property, how much you are paying etc... 

Even full building surveys only look at the easily visible things, so there is a lot they won't pick up anyway if it's hidden, or they just say 'get a professional to investigate further' because they aren't qualified to test or check things anyway.

I would say for people who don't have any building experience, or if its their first home, it is probably worth getting done, but then again FTBs tend to panic at any tiny thing the survey mentions !

KSS1991

Our survey was a total waste of money. Everything that was picked up was already visible to us anyway. All the "possible" problems like asbestos etc was just covering the surveyor's !!!!!! saying we need experts on it. My view now is if the surveys were any good they would be mandated. I would say if you see something in the house that is a potential issue just get a specialist to look at it (like electrical or plumbing etc) For us it was £850 down the drain! Also bear in mind they tell you the details of that DAY and really when you start living in it anything might happen and I'd rather have that money to spend on actually fixing the problem. Book a second / third viewing and just have a good walk around it yourself

youth_leader

I have mixed feelings.  I was a cash buyer on this bungalow and it all looked OK, but I did have a L3 RCIS survey. 

As surveyors are unable to lift fitted carpets or move furniture, he was unable to see that all the floors were rotten. I had to spend every penny of my equity having all the floors replaced.

I do wish I'd also had a damp/timber survey.

eddddy

I guess surveys feel like a waste of money if the surveyor doesn't find any problems - but maybe you should be pleased about that.

(A bit like insurance premiums might feel like a waste of money - if you never need to make a claim.)

FWIW, on 2 occasions on 2 separate properties my surveyors have spotted subsidence repairs which the sellers hadn't declared.

In one case, the surveyor found the first clue by lifting a manhole cover and seeing that the drains had been repaired.


But maybe it depends on the 'quality' of the surveyor.

TheJP

For me it would depend on the age of the house. The 2 properties i have bought were 20-25 years old so i didn't bother, the issues with the house were obvious and wouldn't have been worth trying to haggle over as we liked the house and wanted to get on with it. We plan on moving in 5 years time, which we hope will be the last house, i will likely have an in-depth survey done just to make sure all is ok and i can factor in anything that might need attention in the future to keep an eye on.

tacpot12

Although they are expensive, the opportunity to have a second, experienced, set of eyes look the proerpty over is worth it in my view. Your own knowledge is useful in deciding whether to go as far as instructing a surveyor.

ArbitraryRandom

I'm not sure about the value of a general homebuyer's (level 2) survey, but I have jumped directly to a specialist survey when I've suspected there might be an issue - not waited for a report to recommend I get one done. 

Most useful for me was an electrical report on a property I already owned which helped me identify the best solution for rewiring that (slightly unusual) property. Or more accurately, the conversation I had with the electrician after he'd sent me the report was very useful.