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AIBU?

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We paid £600 to get the house surveyed before we bought it....

128 replies

TheNoiseHurts · 11/02/2020 14:48

...just in case something huge like the roof needed doing.

We got what we thought was a decent surveyor with good reviews.

We have lived here 6 weeks, the roof is leaking and is going to cost us 8-9k to repair.

What exactly is the point of surveyors?!

Fuck.

OP posts:
Xenia · 12/02/2020 16:33

It is one reason we stopped having full surveys done -they seem to have so many gets out and exclusions these days paying the extra does not seem to help. What we always did and do was quite a lot of looking ourselves - damp course, looking for visible tiles missing, damp inside.

Also you said the sellers did not mention it - olook at their replies to enquiries your solicitor will have sent you as if they lied on that you might have a claim against the sellers.

lottiegarbanzo · 12/02/2020 16:41

Take nothing at face value. e.g. he filled in the relevant parts... of what? Of his own report?

Ok. Does his report structure match with RICS guidance? Does the content included under each heading cover everything the guidance says it should?

Have you looked at any buildings surveys carried out by other surveyors? Are there any differences that seem odd?

Don't just take his word for is that the style, content and length of report he's given you is right. It may well be but don't make any assumptions, or take anything for granted.

Doubt everything. Check everything. Ask questions about everything. Gather evidence of everything.

TheNoiseHurts · 12/02/2020 16:47

I'm asking the latest roofer and he's just confusing me

OP posts:
itwaseverthus · 12/02/2020 16:52

Worth paying a roofer to inspect the roof when buying a house. Surveys are a total waste of time imo. Just a money making racket.

lottiegarbanzo · 12/02/2020 16:56

It will be confusing. Listen carefully. Take notes. Some of it might make more sense later, when you talk to someone else.

AutumnRose1 · 12/02/2020 16:59

My experience is that their survey is valid for the time it took then to conduct it.

If they did look in the loft, that’s shite, but chance are they just looked from outside with binoculars.

anon2000000000 · 12/02/2020 17:03

Go back to your solicitor. The previous owners could be liable for roof repairs. Contact surveyors too.

Snuffkindle · 12/02/2020 17:04

I work for a surveyor. He once said there was no sign of woodworm in a house that turned out to have an active infestation. The buyers complained and his insurance paid out. He doesn't do full structural surveys, just homebuyers reports, and I know that he clearly states that the roofs are subjected to a visual appraisal only from short ladder. If yours was a full structural then the roof might have been included. Havne't read the full thread, but go back to your surveyor.

user1487194234 · 12/02/2020 17:07

That doesn't sound like a full structural survey to me
In any case you would have been better getting a roofer out

TheNoiseHurts · 12/02/2020 17:41

That doesn't sound like a full structural survey to me

Why not?

Are you familiar with surveys?

OP posts:
TheNoiseHurts · 12/02/2020 17:46

He said:

I would expect a survey to pick up water ingress but I’ve also come across companies that miss loads of problems which isn’t really acceptable.

Looking through messages I’ve have here I can’t see anything about a leak which isn’t a problem to me.

Would you rather the leak was repaired rather than a complete re roof at this stage?

I actually forgot to mention the leak. He was the fourth person we got a quote from, I ended up just telling him what we needed rather than just get his opinion.

The first 3 and another one (we have 5 in total for a few reasons) didn't know that and diagnosed it themselves, all the same diagnoses.

He mentioned patching it up but the other roofers gave that option but also warned that the whole felt needed doing. So we can patch that part, but then we'll be patching that part. Then that part. Then that part... so better to replace the whole felt and get the actual job done.

OP posts:
user1487194234 · 12/02/2020 17:55

Yes I am
Where I live they cost about 4X that
Anyway supposing has it might be a cheap one you do need to gather as much evidence as you can then complain using the surveyor's complaints procedure

Justaboy · 12/02/2020 18:02

I'm asking the latest roofer and he's just confusing me

Its called FUD.

Fear Uncertianty Doubt

Can you say is the roof a Tile one or a Slate one and how old is the house, best estiamte!.

TooTrusting · 13/02/2020 00:10

Small claims are under £10k. Yes, a claim for negligence.
Have you checked if your home insurance includes legal cover? It usually does

Emergencycake · 13/02/2020 01:38

I remember how crap ours was. Along the lines of 'there was a number by the door, however I didn't tap it, so it may or may not be secure. There was an understair cupboard. I looked at the door, but couldn't tell you if there was storage behind it'

It just went on and on like that. Absolute waste of money!

TheNoiseHurts · 13/02/2020 08:40

Ours isn't like that at all.
Is really thorough, or appears to be!

I will check the insurance, thank you.
I'm interested to see what the guy emails back.

We might as well fight this, I don't want to take it lying down.

OP posts:
kirinm · 13/02/2020 09:45

On what basis can the previous owners be sued. I have seen this said twice and it just isn't true. Unless you can prove that they knew the roof was damaged - and given a surveyor apparently missed it, you aren't going to be able to - you wouldn't have any case against the previous owner. That is even if you could find a cause of action against them given that you buy a house at your own risk. It is not the vendors duty to point out faults in the house to you. That is entirely the point of a survey.

kirinm · 13/02/2020 09:50

OP yes, you can sue in the small claims court up to £10k. It is pretty straightforward although you'd anticipate the surveyor being represented via his professional indemnity insurers.

As someone up thread has said, check all insurance policies for Legal Expenses cover - those sorts of companies will look at the circumstances and decide if they think you have reasonable prospects of successfully suing him.

Professional negligence claims are quite specialist so definitely check your insurance policies as you will need help.

lottiegarbanzo · 13/02/2020 10:02

Insurance legal cover is an excellent point. If you have a strong case, you might find a solicitor willing to act on a 'no win no fee' basis (not the dodgy ambulance chasing kind, some proper legal work is done this way). But, you might not.

One thing you might struggle with, as pp mentioned, is finding a surveyor willing to write a report to be used as evidence against your surveyor. A lot of surveyors won't do this to their colleagues - it's not so much 'closing ranks' as not wanting to be seen as the back-stabber of the local scene. This will depend a bit on how well-regarded and well-connected your surveyor is. You may have to go a bit further afield to find someone (if and when you get to this stage, post-solicitor involvement). Just be careful about the quality. Other local buildings surveyors will probably be willing to discuss who is reputable and who might be worth contacting, even if they won't do it themselves. Also, you must use a qualified buildings surveyor to provide evidence against another qualified buildings surveyor (lots of surveyors only do Homebuyers, BS is a higher professional qualification).

That's all a way down the line though. With luck, your surveyor will be willing to admit to the shortcomings of his report and compensate you. Obviously, what you're asking for is the cost of the roof work, not just a, relatively paltry, refund of the cost of his report.

One point for now. During the evidence-gathering phase, you need to be speaking to people in person and in situ (your house) as much as possible. Looking at the house while talking may prompt observations and connections to be made that would not come to mind otherwise.

Likewise when you talk to the surveyor. Invite him over, walk round, show him the issues, talk, listen and take notes. You need to see and hear how he reacts, as well as listening to his words.

Moving to formal contact by email comes later.

Puzzledandpissedoff · 13/02/2020 10:05

We did ask the house insurers legal team, who said suing wasn’t as straightforward as it sounded

Suing often isn't, but then that's why some buy legal expenses cover in the first place

They're so quick to sell the policies, and sadly even quicker to start hedging once a claim arrives ... you really don't know whether to laugh or cry sometimes

lottiegarbanzo · 13/02/2020 10:08

As mentioned upthread, you can sue the previous owners if; they knew about the problem, and you can prove that, and they lied on the conveyancing forms (a serious offence).

It's pointless though, because they're private individuals with no professional indemnity insurance, so you'd waste a huge amount of time and effort and never get any money out of them.

lottiegarbanzo · 13/02/2020 10:18

Oh also (and you may have covered this already) but do you know when the current roof was fitted? Is it original, or has there been roofing work done while the sellers lived there? Were there any questions and answers in the conveyancing forms about this?

Any work should have come with a guarantee, which should have been mentioned and passed on in conveyancing. Guarantees can be quite long-term; 10 years, even 30 for some things.

That might give you another angle. If there's a guarantee you can contact that firm (if they still exist!). If work's been done but no guarantee provided, that's something you and your solicitor should have picked up on, when checking through the forms, so you could ask the sellers why.

cabbageking · 13/02/2020 22:17

You can't use the previous owners. It is up to the buyer to check the house out and if they want specific areas checking more thoroughly then you do this via your surveyor. You ask your solicitor for any guarantees, checks paperwork,to remove rubbish, to follow up any concerns etc.
Depending on what you paid for you need to follow up with the surveyor. Was the lift clear, was there storage up there?
Any questions about the roof or any other queries that have gone though the solicitor are legally binding and evidenced. Any other questions and answers are not.

Speak to your surveyor about what he observed, what pictures he took, what he did not cover and why.
The survey may have been months before. When we moved the loft had storage in and the surveyor had to return to check behind it, at our cost
but by the time we moved it was over 6 months later without the additional 6 weeks on top.If

user1487194234 · 14/02/2020 06:47

Another point is to check what you would actually get if you were 100% successful in your action.
It might well only be enough to take into account the difference between what the house would have been worth if the roof had been ok and what it is worth now,and not the cost of a new roof

Mildura · 14/02/2020 10:50

As mentioned upthread, you can sue the previous owners if; they knew about the problem, and you can prove that, and they lied on the conveyancing forms (a serious offence)

As mentioned more than once, you’re not going to have any success going after the previous owners. There is no question on the sellers property information form that requires the sellers to state the roof is in serviceable condition. it is up to the buyer to satisfy themselves they are happy before committing to the purchase.

That is why in this case the OP should be bringing the matter up with her surveyor, and looking for a resolution that way.

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