Fee of around 500 for a survey on standard 3-bed semi - ave the prices gone up?

[CatAndHisKit]

When I was buying 6yrs ago, paid around 400-450 for a much bigger and older (late Victorian) house although also a semi.

Now checked with two surveyors and they quote 490=500 for a 50s standard semi with minor alterations. Not sure if it's worth ringing around or is that a usual price now? East Mids area.

Is it the homebuyers report? I’m in Birmingham and had quotes varying from 350-700!
In the end, my bank (who were paying for the standard valuation) suggested I could pay the difference between the valuation and the homebuyers survey, which ended up being £160!

We just paid £1100 for a 3 bed terrace!

it's Homebuyer's, dizzy. Sounds like the prices have gone up then. Hope you've got a good survey for 350 rather than 700!

Deeply - must be an expensive area or the house had a big extension / not in great condition?

Surveyors are mega busy right now so can get away with charging more. In the quieter winter months they are more desperate for business so prices drop accordingly.

Oh I just thought - I’m sure I read somewhere in my paperwork that there’s a sliding scale for the cost in line with purchase price. Mine is 170k, if that helps you. I’d guess the more expensive surveys are for more expensive properties - though not really sure how thats justified, the difference in a 170k 3 bed semi and a 670k 3 bed semi will be down to location and amenities, neither of which a homebuyers survey really looks at.

My home buyers survey was 625. It was the cheapest we could find. 5 bed detached, but only 35 yrs old. Lots of the surveyors wanted to do the full structural survey which we didn't want. I'd rather put the money towards building insurance. I think the prices have definitely gone up.

Of course prices have gone up. The Bank of England inflation calculator indicates services costing £450 in 2014 would cost £507 in 2019. My surveys costs seem to be based on number of bedrooms and whether terrace/semi/detached. Shop around if you like I'm sure there's a range, but reputation of the surveyor should carry just as much weight in this decision.

@Smidge001

My home buyers survey was 625. It was the cheapest we could find. 5 bed detached, but only 35 yrs old. Lots of the surveyors wanted to do the full structural survey which we didn't want. I'd rather put the money towards building insurance. I think the prices have definitely gone up.

That’s really interesting - I got maybe 7-8 quotes and two of them both said there was no point doing the structural survey coz my house was ‘only’ 60 years old!

Last year we were quoted £1000 for a full structural, about £800 for a home buyer and £600 for a home score report. This was for a 3/4 bed semi for around £800k. All felt very overpriced.

Mine was £350 two years ago for a tiny 2 up 2 down

We just paid £420 for homebuyers for a 4 bed detached. This is in the West Country. Didn't opt for valuation as it was more and didn't really care but they did it anyway. It was so thorough, loads of photos in it and additional information to the points raised.

It was through a company called Cosey homes.

Just paid £850 for a survey on a large Victorian flat (London) - probably about the size of a house though!

If you are buying a house I would go for a full structural survey. It is a false economy to go for a cheap option and end up with a home with problems...

we're paying about 1200 for a full survey. Seems like a lot of money but not that much in the grand scheme of things.

@dizzyupthegirl86 hi dizzy. I think it was a bit of postcode pricing. I think they just felt that if someone can afford a big house in that area they would be happy to part with another 3 thousand for the full survey. But according to official websites they only say structural is best if the house is over 100+ years old so I felt they just trying their luck with me!

We have just paid £385 for a homebuyers survey on a £410k 5 bed semi which was one of the lower quotes we had. The company messed us around a bit so wouldnt have minded paying extra for a less awkward transaction!

Is this via the bank? If so it depends on the lender, Halifax cost us £500 a few years ago for just a desktop valuation on a new build, whereas NatWest charged that for a home buyer's report and nationwide doesn't charge anything for desktop new build valuations.

Not via the bank, nother.
Well sounds like it's actually a good price . Surveyors I spoke to said I'd only need HOmebuyers on a 50s semi. I do get it that detached houses need full srtuctural if an older one- I'm buying on lower scale so anything over a 1000 would be unaffordable especially as not even advised.
Mike that's lucky! Maybe things aer slower in the West currently.
Peach are they a chain co?

I have just paid £200 to upgrade the lender's (YBS) free survey to a Homebuyers report.

We paid £800 for a full structural survey last year and I'm glad we did it went into great detail so we knew what was wrong with the property. The bank unfortunately said it was not mortgagable due to all the work that needed doing. We were upset at the time but I'd rather waste £800 than thousands on a house which could fall down.