FTBs - survey question

[Georgiedawes]

Hello all,

As title says we are first time buyers. We have an offer accepted and have just received a mortgage offer.

Next step is survey, does anyone have advice as to which type we should go for?

It's a two bed Victorian terrace. It's recently been renovated, not sure if that makes any odds.

Thanks very much!

Homebuyer's report. Might be worth engaging your own surveyor though. We let the same surveyor do the mortgage valuation report and homebuyer report. It meant that the lender got hold of a lot of information they wouldn't have had if I hadn't paid for it, and this resulted in a £20k retention being put on the mortgage.

So, drive by mortgage valuation for the lender, and a separate homebuyer's report for yourselves.

What CheeseBadger (best username ever) said.

Also bear in mind that your surveyor will most like suggest you have other surveys done, damp, timber, electrical. This IMHO is an arse covering exercise in the most part... But if you are concerned about anything they suggest ask them why you might need further surveys, if there is a real risk, and then you can make a decision on whether to have further surveys done.

Also, don't forget Victorian properties are old! There will most likely be a bit of damp, the electrics may be old too, but if the house has been refurbished the electrics should have been done, make sure you get the part p certification.

I would always got for a full survey as we went for a Homebuyer's report andthere were several things (radiator leaks) that they didn't pick up as it would have involved moving furniture which the HB report didn't do. If we'd got the full survey then we would have known about them in advance instead of it being a nasty surprise. Was it renovated to sell or renovated for the vendors to live in?

We got a full report. Decided the extra cost would be worth it - just in the off chance something did come up. Ours was a Victorian terrace too.

shop around on reallymoving.com or similar. Speak to the surveyor and make it clear you don't want a report full of 'get specialist advice' because that's what you pay him/her for. The only excusable let out is the electrical system and gas safe.

also do your own survey - turn on all taps, check water pressure, flush all toilets, check all light switches, open all cupboards. Ask for info on guarantees and building regs on all works.

Worth adding that if you use the same surveyor for your lender and yourself, the lander may well withhold funding until the other reports have been done, giving you no choice. We ended up paying a chartered structural engineer to tell us that this house that had been standing 120 years wasn't going to fall down over the next couple of years.

Lenders are also buggers for insisting that things like chemical injection DPCs are done, and that's generally the LAST thing you want to do to a Victorian house. In the end we swallowed the £20k retention (so we couldn't afford to do the work we wanted doing) just so that we didn't have to vandalise a perfectly sound house to get the money for the purchase out of the lender.

Still makes me angry when I think about that incompetent surveyor...

I wouldn't get a homebuyer's report again, personally. It's a box-ticking/arse-covering exercise, and you have no comeback in case they miss something or get something wrong. Either get a full structural survey, or just get the mortgage valuation and have a friendly builder give you an informal look over the place.

I think all surveys are box ticking to some degree. I would probably have a full structural on a big old house (I'm talking more than 200 years old) and then read it with a glass of wine as they can look very scary. I think ALL surveys can make the house look like it is about to fall down. Our last house we went round with a good builder - found out why there were damp problems and had the appropriate work done within the first year of being there. Work cost hundreds of pounds rather than thousands and didn't need any damp proof work or anything like that which is a total waste of time and money in old houses in any case. If the survey comes back with anything you are unsure about talk to the surveyor and find out what he is really saying. Often they are just covering their backs. If it is a good estate agent they can also look at the survey and give you their advice - they are not all out to get you.

Thanks everyone! :)