Homebuyers survey or full survey?

[Honey1975]

We are trying to decide whether to get a homebuyers survey or a full structural survey done on the 1960's house we are buying.
We are pretty tightly stretched now moneywise with the move coming up and paying for removals etc and we've got some holidays coming up. The full survey will cost around £650.

Do many people get a full survey done as a matter of course or is it just if you have specific concerns?
Thanks for any advice.

For a full survey at £650, I'd say it was money well spent. Both for the peace of mind if it finds nothing and, if it brings up a few problems you can negotiate or walk away, as you see fit. Hope your move goes well!

We've just had a full survey and, partly as a result of that, pulled out of the transaction.. Thank what could happen if there were defects that were missed in the more minimal survey.

The last couple of propertys I've bought the mortgage lender (Building Society) have requested a home buyers survey. I rang the surveyor to arrange a survey myself and request a full structural survey, but he said, on both occasions, the home buyer's survey was sufficient. (So I'm surprised that you are being offered a full structural survey, but it's good you are!) The home buyer's survey was fairly comprehensive I thought. A couple of things were mentioned and I got a builder look at them see how urgent they might be and the costs involved.

Do you have specific concerns?

I'd say a 1960s house would need a full structural survey as much as a 1860s, especially if there's been any extension work done - older extensions, in particular, can be pretty shoddily built.

Whichever survey you go for, mind, is only as good as what the surveyor is able to see, so if the loft is inaccessible, the survey can only tell you that much. They also tend to be full of evidence that the surveyor has been playing with their gadget to measure damp in walls, but not looked at the state of the guttering near the damp patch and that they've taken note of the colour of the wallpaper, datedness of the bathroom suite and all those things that you surely never noticed yourself as a mere mortal.

I'd be more interested in an electrical survey plus home buyers than a full structural on a 60's house if it didn't have any extensions or modifications like removing internal walls.

Full.

It's not worth skimping.

Full