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

I can’t quite believe that some people think it’s ok to walk into someone’s house and start causing damage to it. Mind is blown

@BruceAndNosh

Gosh. What did we miss?

Someone being vile.

@Pluvia

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.

Mildly amused about the fact that you think its ok for someone to come into your house and rip up a floorboard and damage a tile without permission. 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...."

will lift the corners of any loose and unfitted carpets or other floor coverings where practicable

So the instructions are very clear - the surveyor will only lift the corners (ie only a very small part) of floor coverings that are loose.

Only this guy pulled back a whole chunk. So he breached the remit.

It is possible the surveyor misunderstood the instruction and thought the buyers were already owners. Now knowing his mistake is backtracking as fast as he can go.

The damage to the tiling looks accidental (one tile broken plus the two lower tiles cracked). If not accidental I can't for the life of me think what he was trying to find behind the tile.

Taking the broken piece away looks like trying to hide the mistake like a child hiding the pieces of a broken vase then denying there was ever a vase.

This must all be very annoying and frustrating for the OP as the surveyors firm are denying wrongdoing. Perhaps the way to deal with it is the same way as you deal with a lying child by ignoring the lies and pushing through to a suitable resolution such as the previously mentioned deposit with solicitors. Leave the buyers to sort out who pays for that deposit with the surveyors.

Fuly expect the surveyors to stamp off shouting it's not fair!.

I'm stunned to think that anyone considers ripping up floorboards while carrying out a survey is OK!

@loislovesstewie

I'm stunned to think that anyone considers ripping up floorboards while carrying out a survey is OK!

Yes me too. This is really shocking. In your position I’d be raging - they have damaged your house and now deny this. I’d be seriously considering reporting them for criminal damage ( although I know nothing will happen).

I'm not sure what was said in all those deleted comments, but I too find it staggering that people think because you're selling a house that needs renovating it's perfectly okay for a potential buyer's surveyor to come in and rip things up and to damage a centuries-old original tiled floor! It's really, really not.

The buyers don't own the house yet!

@GnomeDePlume probably trying to find Lord Lucan like someone else said 😂

Either way the surveyor and his attitude have done the buyers no favours as they paid around 1k for this survey and because of his lies to me I am not considering anything in the survey as valid . They can fuck off if they think I’m dropping a single £ on the basis of that survey .
I want to sell the property but I’m in absolutely no hurry to sell . The buyers will either buy it or not
If they don’t someone else will snap it up. It’s hard to get houses in this area unless someone dies 😂so they are nearly always a big renovation project .
I can afford to wait for another buyer if necessary

OP - please report the surveyor and his firm to RICS. I find it hard to believe that this is the first time that someone's property has been treated in this way. It would be horrible for others to go through this too.

@Seeline
I plan to report him . I have the email where he says that he doesn’t take any tools with him
I would like to see the survey to see if he contradicts himself in the survey but that’s down to the buyers

doesnt even flipping matter if what the purchasers WANT to do to the house.. they could be planning to demolish it for all it matters the fact is ITS YOUR HOUSE!!! THEY HAVENT EVEN PURCHASED IT YET!!! thats like me going into primark and ripping up a coat because oh i might purchase this soon and im planning to change the look of it anyway! like NO thats not how it works. oh they get my mind buzzing!

definitely stand your ground well done, nice seeing someone not be a doormat haha and yes fuck that survey

Did he have the homes under the hammer crew with him? Exactly the sort of stunt they pull.

@Iamthedom, yeah that was me! Probably looking for Shergar under the floor boards.

I think your parents' house looks like a really attractive renovation project. There is one come up near me (though not as nice an original building as your parents' house). DH and I are tempted. We have done this sort of thing before. DH is now an authority on the subject of damp, woodworm and replacing joists! Hence why I couldnt understand why a PP was mithering on about damp. Damp is normal, comes with the territory.

[quote Iamthedom]@Seeline
I plan to report him . I have the email where he says that he doesn’t take any tools with him
I would like to see the survey to see if he contradicts himself in the survey but that’s down to the buyers[/quote]
So that response from surveying firm denying any damage was just from him? Did you copy any other (senior?) in the firm and did they respond?

Surely the estate agent can verify the damage wasn't there when the house was marketed. You have photos of the listing of the house on either property pal or agents web site?

@WhereDoesThisToiletGo

No that’s from his company - boss
When I spoke to him he was denying that there was any floorcoverings which is not true
He also said he had permission
And when I asked him to screenshot me proof of who gave him permission he then said well I sort of had permission
When I asked him who gave him sort of permission he admitted he didn’t have any permission

@Nikkic2123 yes I have the rightmove link
from the estate agents with clear photos of no ripped up flooring

I’m sure the surveyor will say that the property was like that when he arrived
However I know he is lying - can’t prove it but I know I didn’t rip up flooring and take up floorboards . And I was in the property 2 days before and it nothing was damaged .

I’ve already told my estate agent that if the buyers want to negotiate the price on the basis of the survey then to put it back on the market straight away. I’m not even discussing it .

The Survey is worth shit as far as I’m concerned due to the surveyors attitude and lies
And I’m not letting the buyers back in the property unless the sale is going ahead .
They have been in the property at least 5 times since the initial viewing , twice with a builder so absolutely no need to go back in again

The problem will be if the agent didnt take many photos or didnt photograph in the relevant areas. My experience is that where there is a lot of work to do the agents often dont take a lot of photos. Daft really, we want to see photos to decide whether the renovations would come within our scope of competence before scheduling a viewing.

@Iamthedom
Who let him in?

If the sale doesn’t go ahead I would get an invoice drawn up for fixing the damage. @Iamthedom

It doesn’t matter if the buyers paid for a full structure survey and ther surveyor was ok to do it. He did not get permission either written or verbal from the seller and that’s where he’s fucked up. He should have been supervised at all times not free reign in the house. All old houses need a refurbishment and have damp etc but you should expect that. My house was built in 1920 and has some damp.

I think he also fucked up by telling me how much the work will cost when he was trying to lie about doing the damage

I’ve spoken to two surveyors that I know through friends and they both said as I didn’t book the survey he shouldn’t have told me anything about it and certainly not the cost of how much any work
Will cost
Because I know this I’m prepared if the buyers try to negotiate on the basis of the survey
@GnomeDePlume the house was completely empty - no carpets upstairs and just old laminate flooring downstairs
Nothing to hide behind and the buyers have been into the property loads
@Nikkic2123 there is a keybox at the property

Someone must have told him that? Also, is there a code for said key box?

OP ask the surveyor for a copy of their complaints handling procedure. If they are a RICS regulated firm they are are obliged to send you this. If you cannot resolve this between you, then the CHP will tell you how to get in touch with the ombudsman.