Dodgy Survey

[starzzz]

Have recently bought and moved into house. Survey etc was all done, and we were told all fine. Now that we have moved in and had time to sort things out, we have noticed in the attic, there is gaps in the roof which we can see out of (loads of sunlight let into attic). Not had a chance to go up after a heavy rain yet, so not sure what damage is being done, but shouldnt this have been picked up, and us been made aware of, in the survey?

What type of survey did you have?

it was just the standard one as far as I know.

Was the roof actually inspected or does the surveyor make reference to the fact that he couldn't inspect properly due to whatever reason?

I would've thought that regardless of the type of survey you have had done that being able to see sunlight out of the roof is quite a major problem and should be highlighted in a survey.

I think though, if you have the standard mortgagesurvey, all they are going to do is look upwards at the house and not go in the loft. I don't think you have any come back on this. If in doubt (esp. if the house is over a certain age), I would always have a full structural.

There isn't a "standard" survey. You could have had a valuation, which is all the mortgage company will required. This doesn't check the structure of the house at all.
Next is a Homebuyer's Report and this will check anything visible. If there is easy access to the loft then a Homebuyer's report should have noted any holes that are letting light through.
Finally there's a Building Survey or Structural Survey. This will check everything and any problems with the roof would deinfately have bene picked up.

Check the report you received from the surveyor to see what he/she said about the roof.

ok I guess I will have to dig out all the paperwork from the Sols to see exactly what I had done (kinda just left everything to them)....thanks

Basic mortgage valuation will just confirm the house is worth what the bank are paying for it, so as long as the roof exists they won't check it.

However some old roofs are built so that chinks of sunlight will come in but rain won't, so you may be OK. If uninsulated!

You should check the type of survey,if it is a morgtgae valaution you have virtually no comeback on surveyor.You say you were told it was all fine,did you see the report .How much did survey cost If only say up to £200 probably a valuation

We have ventilation tiles in our roof, for air circulation, so you do see daylight ! A Home Buyers report only looks at the very basic structure of the property and comments on its condition relative to age and value.

If you only had the basic mortgage valuation, that is done by the mortgage company for THEIR benefit, not yours. They are inspecting the property to ensure that, in the event of a forced sale, they will be able to get back the amount they have loaned you for the house. They won't care if there is damp, cracks in the walls, or in your case daylight coming through the roof tiles, as long as the property will still sell for more than the amount they loaned you.

Ok what your saying makes sense... it was probably just a mortgage valuation, and I dont think we saw the report, were just given the mortgage. Hopefully it is ventilation tiles then, and we wont get flooded..but boy is it going to be cold in winter! The loft entrance is in our bedroom!

Did you not have any survey at all done for your own benefit?

There must have been a copy sent to you, if only to agree the valuation.

Nope didnt have my own one done (first time buyer, and ive not a clue really)

Dont think there was a copy sent, but digging it all out tonight.

"Survey etc was all done, and we were told all fine." If you didn't even ensure you had a copy and read it then you can hardly blame a surveyor for not picking any issues up !

After my experience with my current property where a negligent surveyor missed floor slab subsidence I would always have a homebuyer's report as a minimum. Luckily we had a homebuyer's report as we had to take legal action against the firm of surveyors we had used, if we had only had a valuation,our solicitor told us that we would have had to pay the full cost of digging back to the foundations, piling and recasting the floor slab ourselves, we would have had no chance of a successful legal action. As the outside walls were unaffected our insurance didn't cover it.

As it was it took us 4 years and a huge amount of stress and heartache to get a settlement and the cost we incurred in professional fees for structural engineers, fresh surveys and legal costs before we got a proportion of it back as part of the settlement was enormous. The cost of the floor slab work alone was £50,000, without factoring in 7 months rent on another property and having to completely replace the kitchen and everything else on the ground floor. After 4 years the case was settled two days before it went to court, and they even haggled over the cost of the photocopying our solicitors had done to prepare the papers. I would say to anyone never think that by saving a few hundred pounds on the survey that you are making a wise financial decision. I am currently moving and will be having a full structural survey on my purchase.

Most surveys are not worth the paper they're printed on. They don't go into the attic, inspect the roof or the electrics. It's much better to have a really good look at the house yourself and then get a roofer/damp expert/plumber/electrician to give you a survey if you think there's anything that looks a bit dodgy

I would get someone in to have a look at the roof asap - you really, really don't want to be going into winter with a damp/uninsulated roof. If it is leaking, if you get it done now it will save you £££ in the long run.