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

@Hb12
Exactly they don’t need to do that
Plus the bloody damp is obvious 😂 it’s not like it’s hidden away behind a 70inch flat screen tv or sofa
Plus I was completely open with the buyers about the condition of the property
Everything that’s been damaged was perfectly transparent

And I’m fairly certain that he didn’t go out in the back garden either to check the roof or the out house roof which you would think he would do so WTF was he doing there

I am in process of buying an old house. On day BS valuer went they had locked door to sitting room. Most likely because I noticed a smashed light switch when I viewed. BS valuer did not seem bothered just noted door to sitting room was locked. I rang EA to complain and vendor agreed to get electrician to replace light switch and check electric sockets in sitting room.

This person has actually damaged your house. I would email EA and solicitors with photos and demand compensation.

[quote Iamthedom]@DreamTheMoors
I actually think the buyers must have said do XYZ because it’s all quite specific stuff especially the tile
My attitude is the buyer engaged him so it there problem to sort out
I’m not chasing a builder
But also the estate agent let the surveyor in the house as well so not sure where they stand
So far they have been really great[/quote]
@Iamthedom

Oh, that’s a shame. I hope your solicitor will have a proper remedy.

I like to believe the best of people, but they always turn out to be the worst - particularly in the last few years.

I wish you the best of luck. ❤️

@caringcarer
That’s the thing I was just working out what I’ve spent in order to get the house ready for sale and it was roughy 2.5 k

I had to pay a clearance company and garden company to clear the house & garden
Get a licence and key for the rear access gate
I paid £750 for probate to be done by a firm as my dads estate was a bit complicated and I didn’t want to fuck it up and it was worth it as I got probate within 7 weeks
I even did a boiler service and gas check even though the boiler is only 4 years old
I know that some of its not necessary but I wanted the sale to go smoothly and they have done this
I feel like telling them to fuck off as I know they have been looking for a place for 18 months and they need to stay in the area and these house only come up when people die 😂
But I won’t I will just curse them under my breath

@DeliriaSkibbly

Christ on a bike - people should learn to fucking read a post.

I advised the OP to 'keep her powder dry' and 'save the righteous fury until you know it's needed'

In other words, if the buyer pulls out then is the time to start raising merry hell. Not before. Sorry some of you are too fucking thick too quick off the mark to get that.

Well aren't you the charmer! Your post was nonsensical.

Bit out of left field, but could you tell the EA to tell the venders that the person who came in needs to bring the tile back? And that you did not give permission for anything to be removed?

I also think you should have a contingency fund for repairs in case the sale falls through. Hopefully your solicitor will get on that.

Just bought end of last year. Nothing house was damaged by surveyor. They use some electronic gizmo to look for damp, there is no need to lever anything up. What a CF.

@DeliriaSkibbly

I can understand why you're upset, but as you're looking to sell the property surely this is what matters ? You're not going to continue living there.

Assuming the buyers continue as planned and pay the price you've asked none of this is really your problem.

In some ways it reminds me of the House Doctor - she used to get rid of peoples (usually horrible) decor and replace it with something neutral and impersonal. They used to kick up quite often because they couldn't see they wanted to move and not continue to live there - so the decor is not something they'll be with long term.

In your shoes, I'd be keeping my powder dry. You've done the right things by letting your solicitor and estate agent know. Until you find out what has actually happened and who has been sent in you can't really do much more. Save the righteous fury until you know it's actually needed.

I thought this was both crystal clear and sage advice.

I have zero knowledge of surveying a property so forgive my ignorance, but I can’t see they’ve done anything really bad.

It looks like those tiles have had a mud bath they look so damp, and it looks like that laminate flooring is almost floating up it looks so damp.

However, I do agree they have made it look worse and should not have done it.

@phishy this is a picture of the front room before they decided to rip up the flooring
The estate agents picture for the sale

And it’s not about if what they have done is bad or not They had absolutely no rights to do it full stop
They haven’t paid for the house so what find them the right to rip up stuff without asking for permission

@Wheresmywoolyjumpers
Money isn’t the problem . It’s a probate sell
I am in no hurry for it to sale as I’m in no need of the money for anything specific and I have plenty of money to fix stuff as I can get it back when the house is sold
It will ask them to find out what they did with the tile as it would be pretty much impossible to replace

I agree, @billy1966, @DeliriaSkibbly's post was perfectly clear and good advice.

OP, I'm shocked at the damage. I hope you get it sorted ASAP.

This is the door with the tiles not the best picture but he literally tried to remove a tile and broke it in half trying to get it out

OP do you have any legal cover included on household insurance? That might be easier than other routes.

My flabber is gasted.

I'd be asking them to make good as soon as possible, or hand over money for repairs, because if they pull out, you've got a bunch of repairs to do before you can remarket.

@EmmaH2022
I think I just have building insurance only as I changed it when my parents passed away
The insurer are aware it’s empty but they were happy to insure it for a higher premium
as long as we check on it at least every month
But someone is always in the house every week

I'm so gobsmacked. That is unacceptable! Was the surveyor acting under instructions? How could he think he is allowed to tear up flooring in that way?

@Pumasonsatsumas
Well he wasn’t acting under my instructions

[quote Iamthedom]@Wheresmywoolyjumpers
Money isn’t the problem . It’s a probate sell
I am in no hurry for it to sale as I’m in no need of the money for anything specific and I have plenty of money to fix stuff as I can get it back when the house is sold
It will ask them to find out what they did with the tile as it would be pretty much impossible to replace[/quote]
Whilst I can see why you're annoyed. You're totally right, it's very presumptuous of them. I'm not sure whyd you'd ever want to replace an old tile? They aren't attractive and likely no one would want to retain the 'feature'. So just sell as is - as it is now.

You're getting angry over seemingly not much. Everything they've touched needs replacing. Yes, the surveyor shouldn't have done it, but equally buying a doer up is so risky, especially as first time buyers. I can see why they want to make sure it's not a money pit.

Take a step back and relax. You'll get your money soon and this won't impact that at all.

I used to be a P.A. to a surveyor so have some knowledge, both through the job and my own personal experience, having bought more than one old property, and in my opinion there is no way that a trained surveyor did that damage. As stated by other posters, surveyors always have a get out clause, stating things like 'the floorboards could not be inspected due to floor coverings being fixed in place'. They use a damp meter to check for water ingress, so ripping up of floorboards is totally unnecessary, and again they would have stated that 'it was not possible to inspect the sub-floor due to laminate flooring covering the surface'. So to my mind, as I think we've all concluded, it was a builder of some sort, and not a very good one at that. Surely the estate agent asked for proof of who this person was, and if it wasn't a qualified surveyor should not have handed over the keys, I would query this OP, and give them a major bollocking if checks didn't take place. I have read the full post, but may have missed it, did you say that you had spoken to your solicitor? If so, did they give any clue as to what should be done? If not, I would contact them with photos etc, a.s.a.p. and ask them if it's possible for them to request funds to cover the likely cost of repairs to be held by the purchaser's solicitor, until exchange of contracts, in case the sale doesn't proceed.

Please come back on Monday and let us know what happens, as I hate it when people post about things like this and then don't come back to update us all. Hope you get it all sorted and the sale goes through quickly now.

@WhenTheyComeForYou
They are aren’t attractive to you but they are still a feature of my late parents property and it’s my property .
And even if the buyers rip it out they had no right to do that without my permission.

It’s not their property to damage as they haven’t paid for it .
Would you go around damaging stuff and say well I’m going to rip it out anyway before you have paid for if .
I don’t care if they replace it or rip it out
They shouldn’t be doing that till the house is theirs they can do what the fuck they want when they have bought it .

@Speakuptomakeyourselfheard
I will update as soon as I hear anything

Good luck.

OP re the insurance

I was thinking your own home cover might have legal cover on it, not the insurance for this house.

If you have it, then they can maybe advise you on this. But I would definitely be asking for money upfront. It's appalling what they've done here.

@EmmaH2022
Ah right I will check

[quote Iamthedom]@EmmaH2022
Ah right I will check[/quote]
It might be a stand alone incident IYSWIM
they have damaged your property

As I say, I'd definitely want money up front, and not just the cost of repair, but for your time in supervising the repair, and for an antique tile

My flabber is still gasted. I can't imagine how you must be feeling. Have an unmumsnetty hug if you want one!

DP works in property and very often tenants/ sellers do a bodge job because they don’t want to not get their deposit back or pay a workman to fix anything. So they might balance tiles in place with no grouting or balance floorboards, cover torn wallpaper with a table and lamp etc. He says one time he could see several tiles not glued in at all and wisely didn’t touch them but when he shut the door he heard them fall. Anyway, this is something else entirely- this is someone who has come in and caused this damage. However, the Estate agents might say it was nevessary to test the property. What I don’t understand is why he didn’t replace the floorboard, tiles, patch the wallpaper which could be done easily

Didn’t explain that well. Some tenants, knowing damage will come out of their deposit attempt to hide damage then claim the EA has done it. Well the EA didn’t take the grout off the tiles, or tear the wallpaper or take the floorboard off- they did then tried to cover the damage by putting it back without glue. You have the polar opposite of this.