Survey costs- upwards of £750?! Is this normal?

[cheasypeasypie]

Shocked at the quotes I'm getting for a level 3 survey for a 3 bed maisonette- 5 companies have come back with costs ranging from £700-£950. I've not done this for a while (our current property is new build so we didn't need one at the time) but I'm shocked at how expensive they are. Can anyone put my mind at ease that I'm not being ripped off?

Do you need a level 3 survey? Or would a level 2 suffice? As level 2 would be much cheaper. I think level 3 is usually only recommended for very old houses or if you suspect serious structural issues.

My level 2 survey with valuation quotes were £550-£650 so i can imagine a good level 3 being that much :(

Just found this website, gives average cost of a survey depending on property price... hoa.org.uk/advice/guides-for-homeowners/i-am-buying/how-much-does-a-house-survey-cost/

Sounds normal to me (London)

I paid £900 on a full survey on a 3-bed house (not a London) 5 years ago so sounds about right…

Yes, it's a period property which has had very little, if any, work done to it in the last 40 years. I don't mind paying for it so we know what we're in for but our last purchase fell through at the last minute and we lost so much money. I don't want to pay out large sums in case the same happens again.

@HomeHomeInTheRange

Sounds normal to me (London)

We're NW London so maybe I just need to suck it up and go for it.

Try gold crest surveyors. We have just been quoted £487 for a level 3 on a three bed house. They are based up north I think but the lovely lady was saying they have surveyors all across the country.

@xXwhenwillitendXx

Try gold crest surveyors. We have just been quoted £487 for a level 3 on a three bed house. They are based up north I think but the lovely lady was saying they have surveyors all across the country.

Aha... thanks! Will have a look now!

@xXwhenwillitendXx

Try gold crest surveyors. We have just been quoted £487 for a level 3 on a three bed house. They are based up north I think but the lovely lady was saying they have surveyors all across the country.

Their quote is £952!

they where the cheapest quote for us. Saying that we are worcestershire so relatively cheap in this area.

We are in Bucks and just paid £600 Inc VAT for level 3 which is taking place this week. It was by far the cheapest we found. Initially I was a bit hesitant given the cost but I then presumed all surveyors need to follow a certain protocol and report on the same things so I just went with it. I’ll get the report next week so I’ll then know how good it is!

@Fretfulmum

We are in Bucks and just paid £600 Inc VAT for level 3 which is taking place this week. It was by far the cheapest we found. Initially I was a bit hesitant given the cost but I then presumed all surveyors need to follow a certain protocol and report on the same things so I just went with it. I’ll get the report next week so I’ll then know how good it is!

Would really appreciate you sharing the name of the company you've used :)

I paid £700 up north for an old 5 bed house recently, so seems ok ish if you are in London?

I paid almost £2000 for a level 3 survey on a 3 bed house in the southeast. It was really worth it though.

I paid £1400 (inc VAT) for 1250sq ft house in London last summer. Your quotes sound about right.

Sent you a PM

950 for a 3 bed semi plus annexe

Just be aware that you get what you pay for sometimes, so the cheapest quote isn't always the best one to go with, especially when it's a period property.

Have you looked into moving insurance? If the seller pulls out they repay your survey costs I think. Though it doesn't cover if you pulled out yourself as the survey was bad, etc.

Sounds normal, if not at the lower end at £750 for L3, which you definitely need from the sounds of it. Make sure they are RICS.

A really good survey could end up saving you thousands if it identifies a serious problem.
Often it identifies multiple small problems which if left unchecked can become bigger problems.
Our last surgery identified that the entire roof needed redoing, but the roof will come off in the extension we have had permission for, but if we had not been planning this already it would have been 10s of thousands of pounds of work.
There are also various plumbing issues again will be fixed in extension, but these could have added up to thousands.

Sounds reasonable to me (and we are rural, not near London).

Maybe try Able surveyors? They were our best quote, SE London.

My level 2 survey done in September last year on a West London property by Countrywide was £850, so yours sounds cheap to me!

Sounds about right. My husband is self employed and surveys are a big part of his business. He makes about £40k a year, which I think is fair given his experience and qualifications - he's not making mega-bucks out of anybody.