Building surveyor damaged property

[Iamthedom]

My buyers arranged for a building survey yesterday
I’ve just gone to the property to collect any mail and he’s done the following
Tried to remove a period tile and had broken it in half
Didn’t leave the tile anywhere
Ripped up laminate flooring under the bay window - obviously to check for damp but the flooring can’t be replaced
Removed a kicker and not replaced it
Ripped wallpaper of the bedroom wall to check a crack
Removed a floorboard didn’t put it back and left nails sticking up
No idea if he has done in
I’m furious and upset .Yes the house is old and is a dooer upper but it’s being sold as such

The period tile in the entrance hall can’t be replaced its been there since 1870s so can’t exactly get it from B & Q
What do I do
Im sending a email to my estate agent with photos and I have spoken to them and they were really shocked and said this should not have done this

[quote Iamthedom]@PegasusReturns
I am naturally a relaxed person and while I'm angry at what he did he’s ultimately screwed the buyers over as while I would have been up to negotiating for stuff they couldn’t physically see like the roof and floorboards as far as I’m concerned that survey is worthless as he’s a liar and untrustworthy

Yeah people lie all the time . I’m not above lying myself when I need to 😂 but I still would ask the owners permission to do what the surveyor did
Probably did me a favour as the prices have gone up since last year[/quote]
My worry would be that the surveyor would exaggerate / invent problems found to "justify" the damage.
ie "It's just as well I pulled up that floor because blah blah"

Hopefully the buyers will be so embarrassed about the whole thing, they'll just exchange ASAP with no haggling.
But if I were them, I wouldn't be paying him for that survey. He's proved that he would lie his way out of a paper bag, plus his behaviour has possibly put their purchase in jeopardy by really pissing off the vendor

Some - thankfully few - odd attitudes here.

OP I had to do a lease extension and the first recommendation of surveyor turned out to be a charlatan - found out from googling his name. When my friend used him he was recommended by RICS. He had lost the accreditation later.

It is well worth letting them know what happened. I'd ask for compensation for the stress and worry. I hope it goes smoothly from now.

Oh and I wouldn't trust his survey either!

Hopefully the buyers will be so embarrassed about the whole thing, they'll just exchange ASAP with no haggling.

No, they'll be grateful to him for exposing those floors and checking them.

It is not necessary to pull up floorboards/ laminate to check for damp. There are tools that can be used to ascertain if there is damp/rising damp/penetrating damp etc. Neither did he have to pull tiles off the wall. He had no right to do so as he doesn't own the house, neither do the potential purchasers.

Of course the house is damp! All houses that age are damp and have woodworm until they have CH. What great discovery was the surveyor expecting to make?

If he wanted to pull back flooring then he should have asked @Iamthedom.

Looking at the picture of the tile damage it looks like he bashed something into it as there appears to be damage to the tiles lower down as well. As I said upthread, I think it is possible he bashed into the wall with something hard maybe like his ladder.

It's a Level 3/RPSA Building Survey.

The Surveyor will inspect the surfaces of exposed floors and will lift the corners of any loose and unfitted
carpets or other floor coverings where practicable. The surveyor will assess all floors for excessive deflection
by a “heel drop” test. For a more complete assessment, the magnitude of any identified deflection/slope
should be measured.
Where the sub-floor is inspected, an inverted “head and shoulders” inspection will be carried out at the
access point. If it is safe to do so, the surveyor will enter the under-floor area to carry out a more thorough
inspection.

No codes of conduct have been broken the Surveyor has been very thorough whilst undertaking his job.
I used the word, 'Chain', to describe the parties involved, the terminology was and still is correct.

Thank you for those that understand why I am
Annoyed
If permission was asked I would have ensured I was at the property
I actually got an email from the company after I complained

Email
Again just to confirm, we have not damaged the property and we do not carry any tools with. and I understand that the purchasers are looking to completely strip out the property and refurbish it.

@Iamthedom

Thank you for those that understand why I am Annoyed If permission was asked I would have ensured I was at the property I actually got an email from the company after I complained

Email
Again just to confirm, we have not damaged the property and we do not carry any tools with. and I understand that the purchasers are looking to completely strip out the property and refurbish it.

They don't carry any tools and did that to the floor?

OP thank you for posting. If Hrpuff is correct, I will have to keep all this mind and make sure I'm present for any property surveys.

I actually got an email from the company after I complained

OP was this before you sent them the photos of the damage? I can't believe their barefaced cheek.

And it doesn't matter what the purchasers intend to do since it's not their house yet.

So we didn't do it, we couldn't have done it & who cares anyway? Nice.

Exactly can you see why I’m so annoyed

This was after I sent them the photos
I sent them the link of the rightmove advert

When I spoke to the Surveyor he initially said there was no flooring or floor coverings just bare floorboards
As I was in the house at the time I asked him if that’s the case what am I standing on 😂
Then he blustered and I just kept asking him who gave him permission and could i see either a text or email with that permission
Then he said he kind of had permission

I asked who gave him kind of permission
Then he finally admitted that he didn’t have permission
Kept on about it being an old property and how bad it was and I just kept asking him who gave him permission
Stupidly I didn’t record
So you can see why I won’t take into account his survey - Boris Johnson’s more credible at the moment 😂

@EmmaH2022 your welcome
Its my word against his but why would I go and rip up flooring in a house I’m selling and show what’s underneath it makes no sense . I’ve never picked up a crowbar in my life 😂😂

@Iamthedom

Exactly can you see why I’m so annoyed This was after I sent them the photos I sent them the link of the rightmove advert

When I spoke to the Surveyor he initially said there was no flooring or floor coverings just bare floorboards
As I was in the house at the time I asked him if that’s the case what am I standing on 😂
Then he blustered and I just kept asking him who gave him permission and could i see either a text or email with that permission
Then he said he kind of had permission

I asked who gave him kind of permission
Then he finally admitted that he didn’t have permission
Kept on about it being an old property and how bad it was and I just kept asking him who gave him permission
Stupidly I didn’t record
So you can see why I won’t take into account his survey - Boris Johnson’s more credible at the moment 😂

Please just report the company so they have less chance of doing this to someone else x

[quote Hrpuffnstuff1]@bcc89

Your experience in the house renovations industry is what?
Zero/limited at a guess.

The house is quite clearly dilapidated.
He's carried out an intensive survey. The op is emotionally attached to the house, the buyers are not. Hence the hue and cry whilst selling.

Imagine being on the other end as a buyer in this chain. Nightmare.[/quote]
No no no no!

Intensive surveys that involve tearing stuff up hapen AFTER purchase. That's the way it works in England. There is always a certain amount o f caveat emptor and you buy the elevant insurances - ask me how I know and I will regale you with the story of diggin gup a welsh slate floor, metres of electrical cable and plumbing held together with a zip strap! Oh and the upside down conservatory roof!

The 'hue and cry' is about damage that is not acceptable and certainly not within the RICS guidelines and normal practices. Should these buyers not go through with the purchase their surveyor's actions have directly made the house less saleable. And that is not acceptable to anyone.

You are wrong!

@bcc89 thank you
I will report him and his firm
I am hoping that the buyers will allow me to see the report as I’m sure somewhere in there he will have fucked up about doing something that requires tools that he supposedly didn’t take with him .
It’s the buyers I feel sorry for as I’m a very easy going person and have been extremely helpful to them in allowing them as much access as they needed to check the property with their own builders
But I won’t be taking the surveyors report into account if they want to negotiate on the price
They have paid about 1k for a report that’s worth shit as far as I’m concerned

@Iamthedom

Thank you everyone I’m thinking of asking my estate agent to tell the buyers to put a certain amount of money with my solicitors so that should the sell fall through I get that money to fix the damage If the sale goes through then I don’t give a fuck and I will get my dead mother to curse the house 😂 It’s the only thing I can think of that Is fair to me so that I don’t get stuck with having to fix a damaged house

Yes,, I think that’s extremely sensible …I’ve been sitting here reading thinking what’s going to happen if the buyers pull out or sale collapses, you’ll have to repair it before you can sell again. Definitely they should pay for repair so they need to pay into a protected fund. We had a similar thing where buyers paid money into a sort of trust to cover legal work that might be needed but no one could tell at exchange or completion. As it turned out it wasn’t needed the solicitors released the money back to them post sale I’m shocked. I had a full building survey last year, and half the stuff I asked him to look out he said wasn’t clear cos he couldn’t do this or that

@Iamthedom

He lifted one floorboard in the bedroom didn’t put it back

He ripped up laminate flooring in the front room under the bay window
I’ve attached a photo

That laminate is soaked on the back. You can see it, it's sodden.

@Hrpuffnstuff1

It's a Level 3/RPSA Building Survey.

The Surveyor will inspect the surfaces of exposed floors and will lift the corners of any loose and unfitted
carpets or other floor coverings where practicable. The surveyor will assess all floors for excessive deflection
by a “heel drop” test. For a more complete assessment, the magnitude of any identified deflection/slope
should be measured.
Where the sub-floor is inspected, an inverted “head and shoulders” inspection will be carried out at the
access point. If it is safe to do so, the surveyor will enter the under-floor area to carry out a more thorough
inspection.

No codes of conduct have been broken the Surveyor has been very thorough whilst undertaking his job.
I used the word, 'Chain', to describe the parties involved, the terminology was and still is correct.

From the RICS (who you'd like to thing were the experts on such things rather than randoms on the internet...) Level 3 Home survey description:

"The surveyor does not force or open up the fabric of the building without occupier/owner consent, or if there is a risk of causing personal injury or damage. This includes taking up fitted carpets and fitted floor coverings or floorboards...."

Good

Gosh. What did we miss?