What does a buildings survey actually look at?

[arthurdaly]

We have a full structural survey being done by the buyers of our house this week and I'm massively panicking about it!
DH is a builder and has completely renovated the house but it's a 1950s house so will always need bits doing.
The guy buying the house is young and has never owned a house and I'm worried the survey report is going to be negative and he'll either pull out or reduce his offer.
DH says I'm being silly but the surveyors website stating "we save our clients thousands when buying a house...." doesn't help!
What sort of thing will the surveyor look at?

Depends on the level of survey he’s paid for. When we were selling one house the surveyor lifted a corner of every carpet! I know we didn’t ever have a report saying what was under floor coverings when we’ve bought a house. He also used a damp meter to check walls, stuck his head in the loft & went outside front and back to look at the roof.

He isn’t going to be looking at bits that need doing, just things that could cost ££££ for a buyer to put right or they could adversely affect the fabric of the building.

hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/what-sort-of-survey-should-i-have/

Thanks @Whatwhyhowwherewho that's useful!
I'll be a little miffed if they lift the carpet...it's all new!!

I don't think even with a full structural survey they are permitted to disturb anything. It has to be what is visible or accessible (like the loft).
If your husband is a builder and has done any renovation to code you have nothing to worry about.

A friend of mine didn’t have a full survey and bought a house that had subsidence issues that cost £50k to fix, so perhaps that’s what they mean by saving thousands?

Should be taking pictures of any issues.
Depending on what was paid for and age of home.

Damp, woodworm, decay, rot, water tightness, roof, chimney, brickwork, pipework, attic beams and smell, vegetation close to house.
Then RAG rate the condition. The buyer should then perhaps consider the cost to repair or put right all orange and red indicators.
You may have 5 smaller issues or 1 large issue which might cost a couple of hundred to correct or a small crack that implies a bigger issue. Not all red indicator will cost thousands to repair. Equally you can do some of the repairs yourself.
If the loft was full/ covering something and I couldn't get a condition report I would ask for the area to be cleared so a visual inspection could take place. If in doubt buyers should dig deeper within reason.
The EA should share with any future buyer any issues disclosed in the survey. If you know everything is in order there is no need to worry.

On the other side of the fence we are having a full buildings survey done on the house we are buying this week too!

It has cost us over £1000- the sort of money that no one spends unless they are very serious about purchasing a house!

From our perspective we simply want to know that the house isn't going to fall down, and doesn't need anything major like a new roof etc. We expect the survey to bring up plenty (that's what they do!) and would only be walking away/renegotiating price if something serious was brought to light. Ultimately we are having the survey done for peace of mind, not as a way to try and knock money off or find reasons not to buy.

Nerve wracking process for buyers too, we love the house we are buying and have our fingers tightly crossed that nothing serious gets found.

Best of luck with yours OP!

If you stay while they do the survey they will ask you about anything major they spot.

If you have maintained your house well there shouldn't be any nasty surprises. Unfortunately the people we bought off clearly thought they were great at DIY (but really weren't) so we have roofs to replace and a total rewire to do!

Our survey highlighted about £5k worth of repairs (repointing chimney, replacing vents, replacing loft insulation, fixing a few roof tiles, etc) but they are all little jobs and was not enough to renegotiate and certainly not pull out. Getting a survey is just part of the house buying process, the fact your buyer is getting one is a good sign. It means he is serious.

I live in a house built in 1905 so I know that there are bound to be cracks and issues that the buyer will need to know about when buying it. As it happens my buyers asked for a reduction on the basis of the survey and I refused as I had been clear from the outset I could not go any lower.

However I regard having a survey as a wise thing to do and I presume you may very well want to do one on any house you buy. From my point of view my detailed survey was like receiving a maintenance guide for my new home highlighting the issues I needed to be aware of. As it happens I am buying an even older property and there was nothing major to worry about but it told me what I would need to keep well maintained and sorted.

Thanks all! That's very helpful, I know I'm stupidly worrying as we had a survey when we bought the house but only the basic homebuyers...it was more the strap line of the surveyors saying they'll save them money that got me into a bit of a tizz.