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Original poster

How much does a survey cost?

23 replies

Girlmum89 · 16/07/2021 19:27

We’ve had an offer accepted on a house and our solicitors have started their searches. We’ve had the valuation from our mortgage lender but also need a survey done. Is now the right time to arrange that?

I’ve had a quote of £575. Does this seem reasonable? For some reason I was expecting more like £300.

We’re buying the house for £350k if that affects the survey cost and the house is around 50-100 years old.

OP posts:
DragonMamma · 16/07/2021 19:29

Is it a homebuyers survey or structural survey?

I’m guessing not the latter because it would be incredibly cheap but not so much for the homebuyers survey - I’ve paid more but they are shit basically. They tell you nothing .

Original poster
Girlmum89 · 16/07/2021 19:36

Yeah it’s a home buyers survey. Do you think it’s better to get a structural survey? What’s the difference?

OP posts:
SirYawnsAlot · 16/07/2021 19:38

Yes, we got some quotes from a comparison website (big mistake, email spammed and endless phonecalls for weeks after). They all came back around 500-800.
They all use the same check lists anyway: you need new electrics/wall ties/insulation..., due to the age of the property there may be some movement...

Clymene · 16/07/2021 19:43

Around £600 is pretty standard for a homebuyer's. You are paying someone with a post-graduate professional qualification to assess the state of your property to the nth degree and then write you a detailed report.

I'm never sure why people think that should only cost £50.

And the value of the property doesn't come into it. Why would it? If I were a dog groomer and I had two poodles in and one cost £3k and the other £300 from a rescue, they still take the same amount of work and time.

Ps I am neither a surveyor or a dog groomer Grin

cluecu · 16/07/2021 19:49

We payed 325 for homebuyers including valuation. Just paid 540 for a structural survey at the bank's request. There was also a survey level 3 but the bank needed a certain type of qualification. It's really confusing but we saw a massive range in price. Based in Greater Manchester Smile

LemonViolet · 16/07/2021 19:49

We had full structural survey on a 4bed/3storey house last summer for £600, NLondon. They tried to upsell £150 for a drone survey of the roof which we declined.

ShanghaiDiva · 16/07/2021 20:06

Paid £600 last year so £575 is reasonable imo.

Original poster
Girlmum89 · 16/07/2021 20:23

Thanks everyone. Do you think it’s worth paying extra for a structural survey rather than a homebuyers one?

@Clymene I included the value of the house because I was asked for it when getting the quote so assumed it would be dependant on the house value. And my solicitors quotes were dependant on house value too.

OP posts:
DragonMamma · 16/07/2021 20:32

Our mortgage broker said that if the house was relatively new then it wasn’t worth the extra for a full structural. We were fortunate that we bought on an estate where we had a few friends and acquaintances so we didn’t see the need for anything more than a homebuyers. Not to mention there was a shortage of surveyors at the time which would have delayed our purchase by a couple of months if we went for a full structural!

DragonMamma · 16/07/2021 20:33

Sorry to add that we had friends here and nobody had reported any fundamental issues with subsidence and/or flooding etc. House was 15 years old.

Clymene · 16/07/2021 20:36

@Girlmum89

Thanks everyone. Do you think it’s worth paying extra for a structural survey rather than a homebuyers one?

@Clymene I included the value of the house because I was asked for it when getting the quote so assumed it would be dependant on the house value. And my solicitors quotes were dependant on house value too.

It's relative to house prices in your area. Because that gives them an idea of size/complexity.
HorriderHenry · 16/07/2021 20:39

I did a structural survey on a house I nearly bought. Best £700 I’ve spent - found issues which were not at all apparent and the conversion/extension job was not as good as if ought to have been. Identified at least £30k of work we hadn’t anticipated. Anyway, didn’t buy the house…!

LemonViolet · 16/07/2021 20:43

Our full structural identifed things we wouldn’t have spotted ourselves, we did buy the house however as it was still a good deal, it’s just given us a ready made tick list of things that need doing! House is 90 years old.

Livingintheclouds · 16/07/2021 21:14

I've just had two structural surveys and one hinebuyers on three victorian terraced houses (first two sellers withdrew from the sales - grrr). To be honest I found the homebuyers as thorough as the full structural. Unless there have been a lot of alterations and additions then I'd go for homebuyers.
By the way there's a vast difference in building styles between 50 years old (70s) and 100!

Itscoldouthere · 16/07/2021 23:17

My recent full structural survey on a house worth about £800 was £1300 north London, I got several quotes all the similar.
I think cost is based on value of the house. I’d always get a full structural as it’s a small amount to pay in the big picture of things and tells you more than a homebuyers.
I had to pay £600 for the mortgage valuation which I think is expensive but again it is a sliding scale based on buying price.

Hallyup6 · 17/07/2021 10:48

Ours was £400 (with a slight discount) a couple of years ago. Similar value property, 30 years old. Your quote sounds reasonable to me.

nicknamehelp · 17/07/2021 10:53

That's cheap! Even a home buyers will be nearly a full day's work inspecting writing report etc ...

Paddingtonthebear · 17/07/2021 11:01

Just paid £495 for a RICS level 3 survey (full survey). Local surveyor who was very thorough. All the other quotes we had were £700+ for level 2 homebuyers or over £1000 for level 3. So ours was a bargain IMO. Did have to pull out of the house purchase based on the survey results but guess that even saved us money in the long term.

Paddingtonthebear · 17/07/2021 11:02

House was over 150 years old I should add.

elfofftheshelf · 17/07/2021 11:05

We are hoping to purchase a large old property (approx 150 years old), and have spent £3,000 on a full structural survey (this included outbuildings as well as house).

Original poster
Girlmum89 · 22/07/2021 14:07

Ok so we’ve got a quote from another company for £450 incl VAT for a full structural. After reading some of these replies that seems like a really good deal so I’ll go for it. Thanks for your help!

OP posts:
Sar82 · 27/10/2021 11:20

We needed a drone roof inspection as part of a property purchase and struggled to find anyone to help! However, we were lucky and found a local roofing company who offered this service at a very reasonable price. It's worth looking outside the box when searching as often dedicated companies come up who charge more whereas your local companies who have other services may be cheaper! Our survey was around £350.

TheEconomista · 27/10/2021 17:09

We’re paying £850 plus vat for a full structural in SE England. I deliberately didn’t tell the first two surveyors we asked to quote the exact house (they came in at the same price). It’s very dated, not a particularly big house but on a big plot and I knew it would affect their quote thinking we were buying something expensive. The third insisted on having the house name, looked at it on satellite view then quoted £1500 plus vat! So yes, they base it on house value not necessarily size or complexity…

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