What kind of survey should I get? Homebuyer Report? Full structural?

[Lightroom]

Hoping for a bit of advice. Just had an offer accepted on an ex-council house that's currently empty. I'm guessing the house is 1950s.

Aside from the compulsory mortgage valuation survey, what kind of survey should I go for? From what I've read online, Homebuyer Reports are usually so full of caveats that they don't really tell you much and the surveyor just does a cursory visual inspection.

I'm on a tight budget, so I don't want to shell out unnecessarily, but equally I don't want any nasty surprises after I move in.

Any advice?

It depends on how much you know about houses yourself and how confident you are that you'd pick up on problems, or if you know a builder you could take round for some advice. I don't think surveys are reliable really, and as you say, are so full of arse covering that they end up telling you very little. We have just moved and our mortgage lender insisted on us getting a roof survey. I phoned around a few surveyors to try to find one who would do a decent survey and not just stick his head through the loft hatch and condemn the roof. In the end, the one we paid £500 for did just that - no going on the roof, didn't go into the loft, didn't lift any insulation etc. Likewise the damp/timbers surveyor the lender insisted on - didn't lift (non-fitted) carpets, didn't move any furniture. Just said probably damp, but not where, or what might be causing it etc.

The surveyor our buyers had spent 3 hours at our house on the survey. About 3/4 of an hour was in chatting to me about my job. He also didn't go into the loft, move any furniture etc. They paid around a £1k for that survey.

Thanks. It all feels a bit pointless, really!