Commission a survey?

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We've just had an offer accepted on a house which was built around 8 years ago by a builder for him and his wife. Given it was for him, the quality is excellent and well maintained. We're very fortunately a cash purchase so no survey required for a mortgage, but should we have one anyway? There is also a massive barn on the land - would that need a separate survey given it's more agricultural or would it all be done under the same one? Any input gratefully received.

I would. It's your way of going in with your eyes wide open, and getting someone who is trained to spot for major defects to inspect and identify things.

A fresh, neutral pair of eyes is always useful, and you are spending a significant amount of cash.

Re: the barn, when you contact the surveyor, I would ask their opinion on what is needed.

Absolutely get a survey. I remember a story on tv some years ago about these guys who bought a new house and didn't bother getting a survey beyond the most basic required for their mortgage. Well, the house was so poorly constructed it was uninhabitable and they had no recourse . They still had to pay the mortgage and had nowhere to live.

Yes you should always have a thorough survey, it's not expensive.

I would get a level 3 done - idk about your builder but they are taught to slap them up fast these days.

I am sitting in an 11 year old house that is shockingly constructed. My other half thinks it was built with internal bricks. Last night we were kept awake with the roof moving because there was a bit of wind, last week I was watching wasps nesting/landing in massive holes in the mortar.

I would also be opening every door and window and testing all the hardware too.

My house also looks very fancy and you would assume it’s been built to a good standard as it was also a self build by a very wealthy individual.

I would be surprised if it’s still here in 50 years time.

So yeah. A self build would send me the other way - more cautious, not less.

My Dad used to be a Building Consultant (covering plans, tenders, surveys) and someone asked him to look at their new house - he literally had two pages of snagging issues and NHBC failures. Hopefully everything is ok, but a full survey is the only way you're going to know.

Are you planning to do anything with the barn? A conversion would probably cover any problems, but if you're going to use it for regular storage, you might want to make sure the roof and walls are safe.

I wouldn't personally. Surveys are either a long list of things the surveyor hasn't checked and is covering his arse about, while simultaneously needlessly trying to scare you shitless... (recommend an additional electric survey, a roof survey, an asbestos survey, etc) or a super-picky list about every tiny thing you already either know about or shouldn't get your knickers in a twist about. There will almost certainly be something where the building regs has changed in the last 6 years, so surveyor will say is wrong, plus you'll be paying someone to comment on the decorative condition, there's a slight drip on a tap, whether they like the fence etc.

You need to have some level of very basic knowledge/common sense to know what you're looking at, but most surveys aren't worth the paper they're written on.