Surveyors

BJM9999

Hello All,

I am currently in the process of purchasing a flat in a grade 2 listed church, renovated 9 years ago. I have been considering options in terms of surveyors, but am wondering if I could get away with only the survey conducted by the mortgage company. My thoughts are that a survey done by the mortgage company while not extensive, may possibly be enough as the flats' building insurance is included with its service charge, and all external work is covered by this agreement, meaning apart from the flat the rest of the building doesn't concern me.

Is it still worth forking out for a surveyor to come and look around the inside of the flat, considering young age of wiring etc?

Thankyou for all responses 

BarelySentientAI

Mortgage survey just says whether or not the lender can get their money back if needed.  Nothing more.

If that's all you want to know, then that's the only survey you need.

Tracet74

Your lender will only carry out a valuation; not a survey and it is for their benefit only.  The inspection for a mortgage valuation takes 20-30 minutes to complete and will only identify serious defects.  The definition of serious is something which impacts on the value such as significant damp, subsidence etc.

propertyrental

As above, but just to add:

Insurance will not cover normal maintenance/repairs or wear and tear. It will only cover 'insurable events' eg fire, storm damage, flood etc.

Any maintenance work, whether minor like repainting the exterior, or major like re-roofing or damp-proofimg, will come out of your annual service charge, and if the service charge is insufficient you'll have to make up the difference.

Is there a 'sinking fund'? ie an extra amount paid each year to build up a reserve fund to cover those big expenses? Re-roofing a church could be expensive......

pjs493

I'm also in the process of buying a property in a listed building. I would say that you absolutely need to get your own survey done. Indeed you ought to have made your offer subject to survey in case the survey highlights any expensive work that needs doing in the short term, in which case you may be able to renegotiate the price with the vendor. 

Given that it is a listed building I would recommend a level 3 survey because it is more comprehensive. Some firms will insist on a level 3 given that it is a listed building and/or due to it being an older property.

propertyrental

pjs493 said:

...... Indeed you ought to have made your offer subject to survey in case the survey highlights any expensive work that needs doing in the short term, in which case you may be able to renegotiate the price with the vendor. 

.....

Assuming this is England, adding 'subject to survey' has no legal meaning. ALL offers are subject to ... searches, Enquiries, mortage application, survey, and even divorce or other family events that might make you change your mind.

No offer is binding till Exchange of Contracts, and all prices can be renegotiated up till then, for any (or no) reason.