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Serious defects missed in Colleys Homebuyers report

AcStar
AcStar Posts: 12 Forumite
edited 29 November 2017 at 8:58PM in House buying, renting & selling
I had a survey done by Colley's in 2010 and they negligently did not 'follow the trail' of significant defects caused by dry rot. Had they advised me to get a specialist in, these faults would have been spotted and I would never have purchased the property. To rectify this 95% of the property was demolished and costs of bridge loan, issues with professionals and a high valuation have resulted in complete loss of l capital invested. An independent expert has valued the overpayment for the house such that I literally only paid for the land. A court case is about to start after prolonged issues to reach this stage.
Has anyone else experienced negligence in terms of the survey from Colleys. Where they have missed a defect. I am not referring to a Colley's valuation. It would be really helpful to know if I am a voice in the dark in this nightmare.

Many thanks
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Comments

  • knightstyle
    knightstyle Posts: 6,985
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    edited 29 November 2017 at 10:08PM
    First you need to explain what type of survey you had done, what did it cost and what did it say about these problems.
    Are you sure you paid for a full structural survey? Often even these will state that they could not check the timbers for this kind of thing due to access.
    Has anyone with expert knowledge checked the T&Cs carefully before you spend more money taking them to court?

    Not saying you did but many homebuyers just get the basic survey which is more of a valuation than a survey.
  • davidmcn
    davidmcn Posts: 23,596
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    Not quite sure what advice you're looking for - even if nobody else has a similar nightmare story, any professional, no matter how reputable, can c0ck up from time to time. It's why they have insurance.
  • 00ec25
    00ec25 Posts: 9,123
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    AcStar wrote: »
    A court case is about to start after prolonged issues to reach this stage.
    First you need to explain what type of survey you had done, .
    since a court case is about to start the last thing OP should be doing is discussing the details relating to the case in public.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546
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    AcStar wrote: »
    Has anyone else experienced negligence in terms of the survey from Colleys. Where they have missed a defect. I am not referring to a Colley's valuation. It would be really helpful to know if I am a voice in the dark in this nightmare.


    Colleys didn't miss the "defect". The surveyor appointed to undertake the job appears to have done. As the lack of admission appears to suggest that they consider it worth contesting before calling on their insurance to settle.
  • Cakeguts
    Cakeguts Posts: 7,627
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    What sort of survey did you have done? Did you instruct the surveyor or did your mortgage company? It makes a difference because if you didn't instruct the surveyor even if you paid for it then it was a mortgage valuation rather than a survey.

    This is what should have happened. There should have been a survey carried out on the instructions of the mortgage company which would value the property for mortgage purposes and would be for the benefit of the mortgage company even if you paid for it. It is part of the process of getting a mortgage for a particular property.

    After that survey you should have instructed a surveyor yourself to check for defects to the property. Did you do this and is it this survey where the defects were missed? It is important to know if this was a surveyor instructed by your or not.
  • aneary
    aneary Posts: 921 Forumite
    Cakeguts wrote: »
    What sort of survey did you have done? Did you instruct the surveyor or did your mortgage company? It makes a difference because if you didn't instruct the surveyor even if you paid for it then it was a mortgage valuation rather than a survey.

    This is what should have happened. There should have been a survey carried out on the instructions of the mortgage company which would value the property for mortgage purposes and would be for the benefit of the mortgage company even if you paid for it. It is part of the process of getting a mortgage for a particular property.

    After that survey you should have instructed a surveyor yourself to check for defects to the property. Did you do this and is it this survey where the defects were missed? It is important to know if this was a surveyor instructed by your or not.

    When you apply for a mortgage and get a survey completed you have three options.
    1. mortgage valuation
    2. homebuyers report
    3. structual survey
    So even if the mortgage company carried it out if you picked options 2 or 3 it isn't just a mortgage valuation.
  • AcStar
    AcStar Posts: 12 Forumite
    Thanks for so much feedback and I agree I need to be discrete - however that's probably why no one else has published details of issues similar to mine. That is why I used the forum to ask this question as I saw many posts regarding quality of valuations, a court action which was awarded against them and then overturned. This was why I was wondering if there were a lot of others with quality of survey and advice issues.
    At the end of the day if we are supposed to make our own enquiries about a property and get let down - surveyors need to take responsibility for their mistakes and the impact it has on the person affected. If a particular firm is continuously letting people down then the public need to be protected or the law changed.

    Just so you know:
    I thought I had paid for a full structural survey (over £1200) but it was the Home buyers report. The issues I have are not impacted by this. However the problem was regarding advice given/not given and missed interpretation of obvious signs of a potential problem obvious to others on superficial inspection. No mortgage involved but had used them for a valuation for mortgage on another property. The sole reason was to establish if any defects existed with the house and if it was ok to purchase it.

    Call this a poll if you will.
  • I'm wondering if you have the legal insurance add-on to your house and contents insurance cover?

    If so - have you rung them/explained the problem/explained the timescale of date you bought the house and date you realised what this surveyor had(nt) done?

    I'm wondering if there is a chance your insurers might cover the cost of a legal claim against this surveyor.
  • AcStar
    AcStar Posts: 12 Forumite
    Thanks - already in hand - though this has its issues too.
  • Thrugelmir
    Thrugelmir Posts: 89,546
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    AcStar wrote: »
    The sole reason was to establish if any defects existed with the house and if it was ok to purchase it.

    That's a very high expectation. Possibly unreasonable given particular circumstances. Given that surveyors will not:
    The surveyor inspects the inside and outside of the main building and all permanent outbuildings, but does not force or open up the fabric. This means that the surveyor does not take up carpets, floor coverings or floorboards, move furniture, remove the contents of cupboards, roof spaces, etc., remove secured panels and/or hatches or undo electrical fittings.

    What's the potential for vendor concealment if they were aware of the issues?
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