Who should we get to do our survey?

[ThePerfectNegroni]

We have just had an offer accepted on a house. We need to do our mortgage application with the building society but I am reluctant to get the survey done through them.

We had a survey done through them last year and they appointed Countrwide (or is it Countrywise?) who then subcontracted out to another company. When we wanted to ask questions, the surveyor was rude and wouldn't discuss anything. It seemed that they didn't see us as the customer and we had a bad experience.

Is it normal to get a valuation through the bank and then pay for a separate survey? Or is it going to add more hassle if we go to negotiate as they will come in in dribs and drabs? If we do go separate how do we find a good surveyor?

Its up to you. Some do valuations with mortgage company and surveys separately. Other people do them together to save time. Depending where you are surveys are taking a while to get booked. We just had ours yesterday and did the lot through the mortgage company. We did look at doing them separately due to timing issues and it would have increased the cost to us by around £500. Ask around in your area for recommendations if you want to appoint one yourself.

We got the valuation done through the mortgage provider, and then arranged our own more detailed survey separately. I went and had a look on the RICS website for some advice about what sort of survey I needed (the house is in a bit of a state, so we are getting a full survey so we know exactly which bits are going to fall down first) and also used them to get a recommendation for a surveying company in the area. This page also has a guide you can download and a link to the search function RICS Home Surveys Guide.

Thanks. Part of me wonders if I am making a bit of a fuss though. Its a thirty odd year old mid terrace house, whereas the other was an end of terrace Victorian house, so much more risk. If we want to get the chain going and avoid hold ups, am I being silly. Its built after the days of asbestos and lead etc and is in excellent condition.

It's the most expensive thing I am likely to buy in my life, so it was worth it to me, and as a proportion of the amount I was about to spend....I mean, you'd check out a used car, wouldn't you? I think if the house was in better nick I wouldn't have gone for a full survey, though.