Any tips for FTB's first homebuyer's survey?

[camelotte]

We're planning to get a survey done in the next couple of weeks on the house we're hoping to buy. Is there anything we should be keeping in mind?

It's a ca. 1900 Victorian terrace in London, refurbed to a high spec and, to my untrained eye, appears to be in great condition. Still, given the age of the property, is it best to go with e level 3 survey rather than a level 2? One quote I got said the level 2 would only be a 20-30-minute inspection, which seems hardly enough time to get a good look at things (the house is 175m sq).

Is it better to go with a big surveying company or is a one-(wo)man show fine as long as they're RICS certified? We've tried getting personal recommendations, but most of them have been several years old, so not sure if that's up to date enough. Looking at Trustpilot and local Facebook groups too.

Do we ask to attend the survey? Will the sellers be there?

Thanks in advance for any insight.

You don't attend the survey but the sellers will probably be there which is good as they may be able to answer questions for the surveyor.

if it is a terraced property and there aren't any major cracks (big enough to fit a pound coin in) or signs of movement around the windows then there is probably no point getting a structural survey.

Surveys generally only pick up things that anyone with some common sense and a pair of eyes can see. In a house that age it will probably say that the gas, plumbing and electrics need checking, unless they have been recently done, that the roof needs redoing, unless it has been redone recently. It might pick up signs of damp in the ground floor. They may spot woodworm or my personal favourite "signs of rodent ingress". Maybe I should make a house survey bingo card?

Whatever it says, it won't be as bad as it sounds as they always have to cover themselves so if they can't check something completely themselves, they have to say that it might need fixing.

Anyone Ric's certified will be fine.

That's very helpful, thank you.

Is there any need to pay extra for the valuation? We believe we're actually getting quite a good deal on this purchase, so don't expect we'd be told it's been overvalued by the EA.

Would getting the valuation be useful when selling in a few years or is it just better to cross that bridge later?

I thought that homebuyers surveys automatically included a valuation? Either way your mortgage company will have to do one to check they are lending a sensible amount. Don't pay extra for one that you don't need.