mortgage valuation survey - how much ?!

[whatsmyname]

We are moving house and are lucky enough to need only a very small mortgage (under 20K) to buy our new house. However, the building society we are borrowing this mortgage from has quoted us a huge sum for their compulsory valuation survey (£530). We have rung around and the building society figure doesn't seem out of line with quotes from other companies. However, it is clearly based on the valuation of the whole house (plus a bit). Since the survey is presumably just counting bedrooms and checking they will get their money back, which they clearly will if necessary, do we really have to pay so much?? Does this seem right compared to what other people have paid?

Also, grateful for any advice on whether to get a home buyers survey on top or to go for the full building's survey.

Thanks

Bump - anyone?

could you do it without a mortgage? Northern Rock were doing a personal loan of up to 20K at mortgage rates last year IIRC. Might be a better option?

I used to process mortgage apps (for my sins) and collect fees for valuation reports.

Unfortunately the sum you've been quoted is not far off what was charged to applicants when collecting fees for survey reports.

If this is what has been quoted for a Homebuyers report this will cover a lot more than just counting bedrooms. Such reports are several pages in length (at least 10) and do go into much detail re the property. He will be there at least one hour.

Such valuation costs are in set bands and are often based on the purchase price of the property. The lenders concerned should have given you a leaflet outlining the costs of various types of surveys at your initial appointment (note though that Full Structural surveys costs are agreed with the surveyor and not the lender).

How old is the property?. If it is at least 10 years old I would go for a HB report, if a lot older then I would consider a full structural. If you have a HB report you should get this around the same time as the lender does (they can take a few days to type up).

Hope the above helps a bit

That's really helpful, both of you. The quote is just for the mortgage company valuation survey. A home buyers survey was quoted as £850 . I dread to think how much a full building survey would be. The property is probably 1930s/40s. Would a building survey cover the same info as the home buyers survey plus extra?

You're quite right about northern rock's personal loans, although NR's own table suggests other companies are doing something similar. But these are unsecured loans. Is there a catch? Otherwise, they seem to offer the same advantages as a mortgage without the hassle.

our valuation survey just cost us £350ish thru the halifax. dont know if location makes a difference, we are up north. came back telling us there was some damp and a few things which they didnt say much about other than we would need to get a more indepth survey for - like they have had a wall removed and we would need a builders survey or something to check it has been done right

This is what bugs me about these surveys. They cover their backs without telling you anything. Last time we moved we got the most detailed survey there was and it still came back with loads of guff like "there may be subsidence but you would need to carry out a specialist subsidence survey to find out". that's why I'm wondering whether a home buyers survey would be better than the supposedly fuller building survey.

I don't think there is a catch? They have been praised by the financial supplements of the broadsheets.
Might be worth looking at the moneysavingexpert.co.uk website. He'd rip it apart if there was anything untoward.

I think the main catch is that you have to have a completely squeaky-clean credit and employment history to get a larger amount.

Message withdrawn

Orinoco, interesting to hear that this quote sounds the going rate. I would certainly want a thorough survey to cover my back (although I am sceptical of how useful they are - a scepticism hightened by seeing the survey done on our property by the buyer's surveyor). It's just they are so much more expensive than they were when I last moved 6 years ago. I will probably end up going for a Home Buyers survey rather than a building survey. On a quick straw poll of friends who have recently moved, most have not bothered even with this but have just used their mortgage valuation survey (not an option for us if we used a personal loan) so sounds like I'm being extra cautious. Hope it pays off and they check out the property thoroughly.

Hi whatsmyname,

As the property is 1930/40s I would also consider a Homebuyers report rather than a basic survey. £530 for a "basic survey" - ouch!.

Valuation fees are often on a sliding scale and usually depend on the purchase price of the property.

With surveys the lender usually instructs their own valuer from their list of surveyors. They have some firms that they use regularly.

A Homebuyers report will also be looked at closely by the lender as some things mentioned on there will end up as conditions on the Offer of Advance. Common such things that end up on offers include making sure that there is an up to date guarantee for damp proofing etc. If there is a lot of work to be done a portion of the advance can be retained till works are completed.

HTH and good luck with the survey.