Surveyor

[yourjustnotfunny]

Is it ok for a surveyor to make comments about the survey to the vendor if they are in the house at the time.Maybe commenting no major issues that would effect the sale of the house.Thanks

I don't see any issue. If the vendor is in the house they will hear/pick up on what's going on - when we were selling our buyers' surveyor used a dictaphone so we heard it all. We naturally asked a few questions and were able to offer additional information for the report (mention of guarantees etc).

Can’t see why not at all.

Say the actual survey states tiles off the roof,wet timbers seen from void in the roof,dodgy chimney, bits missing.Then you get a roofer round recommending a whole new roof needed(very old house).Would the fact that the surveyor told vendor no major issues make renegotiation on price very difficult for the buyer.
Would sending the roof estimate to the vendor make any difference.

Well of course the roofer is going to recommend a whole new roof. It's in his beat interests.

If a surveyor doesn't think works needed to a property will materially affect the value then no you don't have much grounds for getting money off with the vendor.

His job is to report on whether the house is worth what you've offered on it, not to help you get some money off the price, despite what people seem to think.

If you're not OK with fixing issues, don't buy the property.

Are you the buyer and you're worried they have weakened your position? "Major issues" is subjective, they may have meant that they didn't find anything that would make the property unmortgageable. In properties of a certain age, roofing issues aren't a shocker.

Their role is to carry out the survey, not to negotiate with the seller on your behalf. I can't see how it could possibly impact your bargaining position when you presumably have a written report detailing the issue and confirmation from the roofer.

It doesn’t really change anything, when we had the survey done on the house we were selling the surveyor effectively said nothing to be unduly concerned about for a house of its age. The report noted issues with the roof and a subsequent roof survey identified £5k worth of issues. We agreed a reduction with the buyer, it didn’t occur to me to question a more detailed report on the basis of a comment. Of course a seller may not want to reduce but they can’t really use that comment as justification.

Why don't you just provide a copy of the report to the vendor?

Yes would make sense.But the vendor right from the start has stated he will not renegotiate on the price,which he restated after the buyer said a new roof was needed.He said he had lived there 25 years and had no problems with the roof and that the surveyor didn't mention the roof issues.

So the surveyor has scuppered renegotiation..is that unprofessional .

Sorry you mean the surveyor report not the roofer's estimate.

I thought you were our buyers for moment! I don't think you are tho.
Roofers are a breed unto themselves. We've had "the whole lot needs to come off, extensive work needed" to "just needs 6 new tiles".
Thankfully the first guy blatantly lied to DH, and has so alienated our buyers noone will actually pick up the phone to get an acurate quote - everyone is saying the other party can use him.
The estate agent have proposed 2 roofers they trust, and they have been the most realistic.
I'd strongly recommend getting recommendations for roofers, and several opinions.
If the roof is dubious, and the vendor won't negioate (we have), walk away if the quotes are too large to stomach.

I had quite a chat with the surveyor. He was in my home for several hours. I would take the word on a report over any recollection of the event.

Good luck!

The surveyor wasn't being unprofessional at all. What are you hoping to achieve, would you like to sue them?

If the seller doesn't want to reduce the price, they don't have to. It doesn't matter whether the surveyor had told them the house was about to collapse, they can ask whatever price they please regardless of condition and its up to the buyer whether is it worth that to them. Buyers instruct surveys to allow them to make an informed decision. I'm sorry it hasn't gone as the buyer hoped, but its not the fault of the surveyor.

Our surveyor did the opposite. Told us the chimney needed repointing as soon as possible and the roof would likely need to be replaced in the next couple of years. We didn't renegotiate as it was a 60s property and it's not unexpected for there to be some issues. We asked a roofer to come round after we moved in. He looked at the chimney with some binoculars and said "I'll take your money if you want but there's nothing wrong with that chimney". Then he had a look at the roof and in the loft, again, he found nothing wrong with it. We've been here for 6 years and the tiles are all still in place and we've had no leaks in the roof. He told us surveyors love to say a roof might need replacing as it covers their backs.

Our buyers surveyor told them the roof was at risk of collapse. Due to x,y,z, it’s very outing if I go into detail as I know friends are on here.

There was nothing wrong with the roof, we took photos (& had roofers and builders out) to show x,y,z were all fine and lodged an official complaint with the surveyor. Also Connells. Our buyer ran a country mile at the thought of needing a new roof tho. Luckily we resold quickly for more money. When I told the new buyers surveyor about the other survey he was astounded.