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Original poster

Would you bother with a survey if the current owners only bought the house last year?

46 replies

CatAndHisKit · 26/07/2020 21:20

Just that really - I want to save as much as possible, and I@m assuming they've done a survey. They look like tidy couple and looed after the house well, so very ulikely any damage occured since then.
I also wonder if they could pass the info from their survey to me for the sake of speed?
As a side note, what is the current cost of a survey on a 3-bed semi?

OP posts:
Original poster
CatAndHisKit · 26/07/2020 21:21

*have looked after

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SpeedofaSloth · 26/07/2020 21:21

I would get my own survey.

Shurl · 26/07/2020 21:22

How do you know that they aren't selling because they have found a serious structural problem? In some ways, selling so quickly would make me more suspicious not less

PaulinePetrovaPosey · 26/07/2020 21:22

Absolutely. You have no idea what's happened in the last year, or why they're (really) selling it.

JoJoSM2 · 26/07/2020 21:24

I think the fact they’ve been in the property a year is irrelevant (Or perhaps a red flag that they’re moving just after a year). It’s also likely to be the biggest purchase of your life so it’s worth being sensible and thorough. Any mistake is likely to be a lot more costly than the survey.

Original poster
CatAndHisKit · 26/07/2020 21:24

Shurl, ah I wondered why they are moving but founf out that they've decided to move abroad due to a set of new circs, so def not that. House looks fine - it's a 50s-60s semi which aer solidly built usually.

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Tinyhumansurvivalist · 26/07/2020 21:26

Get your own survey done. To not do so would be the height if stupidity I am afraid. Never trust that what the vendor is telling you is the truth.

I had a full survey done and even that missed some massive issues.

Its about £300 but shop around.

SpeedofaSloth · 26/07/2020 21:26

60 year old houses are plenty old enough to have structural problems, OP.

Original poster
CatAndHisKit · 26/07/2020 21:26

oh well, I did suspect that theadvice will be to do it. What is the approx cost, if anyone done it recently? Is it just Homebuyer's or a building survey that 's needed on a suburban semi?

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Original poster
CatAndHisKit · 26/07/2020 21:28

thanks Tiny that's a relief to hear it's just 300 - is that structural or Homebuyer's?

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labyrinthloafer · 26/07/2020 21:29

I'd be very wary and never buy without a survey.

How did you 'find out' why they are moving? It might be true or it might be they gave nightmare neighbours!

Don't cut corners to save a few hundred pounds.

MidnightCitrus · 26/07/2020 21:30

fk yeah!! of course i would - its a MASSIVE commitment to buy a house.

Sure, they say that they are going abroad and its not related......

Jumblebumblemess · 26/07/2020 21:32

I have a builder friend who we are taking round when we find a house. When we bought this place the surveyor missed so much that our builder friend spotted when we had moved in. This time round I am bunging him £100 for coming round and telling us what he thinks. Surveyors reports have so many caveats and get out clauses that I can't be dealing with paying out £££ and still having surprises like here.

yesterdaystotalsteps123 · 26/07/2020 21:33

I just paid £540 for homebuyers report. But what is that as a percentage of your purchase price? Can you even buy a house without some sort of survey? I wouldn't have thought so. I've saved probably that with coronavirus too, not going out, getting haircut etc. Be sensible!

Tinyhumansurvivalist · 26/07/2020 21:34

Mine was a full structural survey, think it was £350, I can try and find the details if you want. It through up a huge amount of damp.issues, so we then had a full damp survey done. Was worth it's weight in gold. Vendor claimed no issues, all historic that had been resolved etc turned out the damp course had failed...£3500 to rectify...i refused to pay my original offer, made her drop the price by £3000, why should I pay for structural work that she should have had done.

Never buy a house without a survey, careful placement of furniture and recent decorating can temporarily hide a multitude of sins

Original poster
CatAndHisKit · 26/07/2020 21:35

labyrinth they told me (vendor showign the house) but also the agent told me that beforehand. Nighbours might be an issue but that wouldn;t show in survey!
In fact next door has a derelict garden (not the attached one, the other side) with broken furniture which I did point out, but the vendor says they are quiet and there part-time , it does bother me a bit but the street and location is very good otherwise. I haven;t seen a perfect house yet in my budget, there's always something!

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Original poster
CatAndHisKit · 26/07/2020 21:38

Tiny thanks! if you are in East Mids then do recommend your surveyor.
As Jumble says they are not always reliable ebough to cover all the issues - great to have a builder friend, Jumble! I wonder if I should try and find one to do the same.

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bankofpennies · 26/07/2020 21:41

We bought a house that a couple sold after 10 months due to both losing their jobs.
We were told that the home buyers surveys are valid up to a year, and the sellers let us have a copy of the one they had done originally in order to save time and progress the sale faster.

labyrinthloafer · 26/07/2020 21:41

@CatAndHisKit

labyrinth they told me (vendor showign the house) but also the agent told me that beforehand. Nighbours might be an issue but that wouldn;t show in survey! In fact next door has a derelict garden (not the attached one, the other side) with broken furniture which I did point out, but the vendor says they are quiet and there part-time , it does bother me a bit but the street and location is very good otherwise. I haven;t seen a perfect house yet in my budget, there's always something!
Be cautious. Ask them direct and in writing if there have ever been neighbour issues and ask other people on the street.
lottiegarbanzo · 26/07/2020 21:48

The reason you pay for your own survey is that you have a contractual relationship with your surveyor. So if they fail to spot something significant, you have recourse to their complaints procedure and the law.

You have no such relationship with your vendor's surveyor, or with your vendor - in terms of casual conversations with them. They do have to fill in the conveyancing forms accurately but those address different issues than a survey.

ShyTown · 26/07/2020 21:53

We’ve pulled out of 2 houses due to survey issues. The first looked beautiful, was marketed as newly done up but the fresh paint was hiding a house of horrors, there was very little that wasn’t wrong with it and you never would have guessed so we pulled out. In the second the surveyor found Japanese Knotweed so we didn’t buy that one either. In the past we’ve also renegotiated on the basis on the survey which uncovered damp problems, roof approaching the end of its life etc. I’d never not get one done and I’d always go for full structural.

Tinyhumansurvivalist · 26/07/2020 22:08

@CatAndHisKit I am indeed east miss so will find the file out tomorrow and pm you the details

Tinyhumansurvivalist · 26/07/2020 22:12

@CatAndHisKit found the email.... bakemans limited, based in Birmingham area I think. They charged me £378 a year ago for a survey on 3 bed mid terrace, they were excellent, very thorough. Missed a couple of bits but nothing overly expensive to put right

Mmmmycorona · 26/07/2020 23:27

We had a survey on a recent purchase as the house hadn’t been sold since the 50s.
Dsis bought a house recently and didn’t have a survey as it had been surveyed a couple of years before.
The house is fine and I knew who she was buying it from, and the reason for sale.

It’s really just luck though. Could have been a disaster.

FlamedToACrisp · 27/07/2020 00:24

@CatAndHisKit

labyrinth they told me (vendor showign the house) but also the agent told me that beforehand. Nighbours might be an issue but that wouldn;t show in survey! In fact next door has a derelict garden (not the attached one, the other side) with broken furniture which I did point out, but the vendor says they are quiet and there part-time , it does bother me a bit but the street and location is very good otherwise. I haven;t seen a perfect house yet in my budget, there's always something!
Some vendors will lie about problems because they're so desperate to get away. Never believe them without checking if you can.

We had broken bits of furniture in our garden for a while, because we were too poor to afford a skip, and they wouldn't fit in our car, but we're (AFAIK) lovely neighbours - we're always quiet, always polite, not at all nosy and very reasonable people.

On the other hand, if the broken furniture and overgrown garden bothers you now, how will you feel if it's still there in 3 years' time?