Fangoria

iTrader: (1)

Given that most survey's these days have so many caveats it almost gets them to the point of being invalid

In places like London you are hardly going to use a survey to get a few k knocked off the price - the vendor will just say, ''get lost''

Theres 4 things I'm interested in in a survey

1. Subsidence
2. Damp
3. Wood issues
4. Is the roof going to need loads of work

The first should be effectively covered when you have buildings cover subject to a £1k excess?

The 2nd one you can usually smell in a place

That then leaves the 3rd/4th point

Now I heard once of someone taking insurance out on a house in the event that there were any signficant issues following the purchase - i.e. if following the purchase it was discovered there was say £5k of essential work required then the insurance policy would cover that and this was an alternative to getting a survey done and the insurance policy worked out much cheaper than the survey

I've done a search and cant find this sort of thing - anyone else heard about this before?

PeteBrant

I have always gotten a full buildings survey on any property I have bought - Costs about £1,000 but when you are spending £300,000+ you want to know what you are buying. The typical mortgage company £300 job survey is pretty much worthless

Would you buy a car with no MoT or service history?

Fangoria

iTrader: (1)

£300k is pretty much nothing in London
I may consider a structural survey if its an old/listed building

Re the car - not with an MOT - no your right, who would, without a service history, maybe depends on the price, especially as I dont rate main dealer servicing anyway

I've always done more than the simple bank survey - but like I said, there are so many vaveats - maybe the full structural survey does away with many of these caveats as they are effectively doing a far more detailed survey

lordharding

iTrader: (1)

In having owned 10 houses only ever had one survey

gut feeling....

take a good builder with you ....

common sense and read up on propery design /pitfalls
if its been standing 50 years it will stand for the rest of your life
under 30 years old will be ok

over 100 years terraced , well lets face it Is the rest of the street standing ?
Yes its a risk but is crossing the roads

Maz

iTrader: (34)

Now that's logic that I will drink to Common sense and a little bit of work on the buyers part is all that is needed. Don't be sucked in by the 'you must have a survey done' brigade. It's a nice little earner for the those that spend an hour or so to tell you what you could probably work out yourself. The cost of the survey is small in relation to the purchase price of the house and people will pay it without too much thought as it's the 'done' thing. When we purchased a house for our mam we got umpteen letters from the solicitor telling us we NEEDED a survey. Suffice to say we didn't have one done as we checked the house ourselves, and obtained the necessary land search information too.

njkmrs

It may well be down to if you require a Mortgage on the property.
Most Mortgage companies insist on a survey before lending.
Regards

NotoriousREV

3 kinds of survey: Driveby, Walkby and Don't Buy Because Although We Haven't Tested Anything We're Going To Make You Think It Needs Replacing Anyway.

Fangoria

iTrader: (1)

Well if you have a mortgage then sure the bank will do one

Current one the bank has done the simple (5 minute) survey but are not obliged and wont provide me with the details......... but they will loan me the money so there is clearly no significant issues

I was more interested in insurance rather than survey - nearly all the surveys I've had done in the last 10 years have been bordering on useless