which survey to get??

seabiscuit_2

our offered was accepted on the house we wanted and now we are trying to decide which survey to go for

basically the house is about 9 years old (should still be under its new build guarantee - but we only have the vendors word that its 9 years and not 10 atm)

so do we have the basic survey done in the assumption any problems should be easily fixed under the new build guarantee or go for the middle one to make sure there are no faults - i cant see that the full whistles and bells survey would be necessary with a house this new?

Doozergirl

A mortgage company will not loan on a house that is going to fall down. If the house is showing any signs of stress, the mortgage company will ask you to get it looked at.

If the mortgage company are happy, in the same situation as you I would get a basic survey and see if there are any pointers to a problem. Then get NHBC (or whoever else provides the insurance) to look at it once you've bought it. You won't get charged then.

The middle survey is rubbish though. They always seem to cover their own backs by saying 'there are no obvious signs' but suggest you spend more money on better surveys in every category. You're never sure until you go the whole hog and get somebody to tell you categorically yes or no.

Hunnymonster

At the same time the survey is only as good as the surveyor carrying it out - a friend of mine commissioned the full monty survey (cost about £1200) and the surveyor spent a whole 20 minutes inspecting the property in question and could find no evidence of the double garage - despite being videotaped entering the property via said garage....... needless to say he didn't pay for that survey.

cattie

I personally wouldn't pay out for anything other than the basic valuation survey on a such a recent property. I've never bothered with anything more than this on a property that's no more than 20yrs old, but with anything older I have always gone for a homebuyer's survey. I must admit though that the homebuyer's survey can vary a lot, depending on the surveyor. I felt the one that was compiled for this house was really rubbish, full of generalisations & not half as comprehensive as the one's I'd had done on my previous 2 properties.