House Survey

[whiteroom]

Contemplating buying a late Victorian 4 bed detached blue lias house.
Wanted a survey done to check things like drainage, what would need updating etc. Contacted a local firm who spent more time telling me what they couldn't check rather than how they could help. they were also very reluctant to give an idea of price and in the end said a survey on a 1 bed flat would cost £1000 . Any idea how much we should expect to pay and if it's worth it?

We used the RICS webby netty site to find our surveyor when we moved.
We spoke to various companies and we found them happy to explain what we would get and fees in full.
I think we paid about £600 for the middle level survey , possibly a Homebuyers.

Note - the RICS is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. All surveyors of repute belong to them and membership involves years of study and practice as a junior surveyor etc.
If the surveyor you spoke to is a member then I would complain that they were mucking you about and trying to avoid your reasonable questions.

Whatever it ends up costing get the full package on a Victorian house - never know what nasties it will pick up. Well worth the money.

I’ve paid £600 (incl VAT) for a full building survey on a 2 bed Victorian terraced house in east London. Would expect yours to be more given the size of the house, but that seems a lot, especially if you’re not in London. The RICS website has a search function to help find registered surveyors in your area.

Oh I misread your post - a grand for a survey on a 1 bed flat?? Walk away.

Contact another firm - you’ve been unlucky and contacted a crap one. Always worth ringing two or three to work out how helpful they are and what they are charging.

Unfortunately we are a bit stuck for choice of surveyors in this area.
Interestingly enough we went online to check sewerage plans etc and there's very little verified info available - possibly due to the age of the property and the road hasn't been developed that much over the years
Anyway, many thanks for your help.

Surveyors cover huge areas so they don;t have to be really local. Send out loads of enquiries and see what comes back.