Would I be stupid not to get a survey?

[Littlethingsinlife20]

First time buyer here, recently had an offer accepted on a 2 bed bungalow. The seller has accepted my offer (5k off asking price) but has made it clear from the start that there will be no room for renegotiation further down the line, even if somethings flagged on the survey. They've recently installed a new bathroom and kitchen and I would want to put in a new boiler anyway. The roof is in good nick (Dad is a roofer, came to the viewing with me). My uncle is also a builder and will be helping. A survey seems a little pointless and just an extra expense, especially since the vendor won't reduce the price anyway even if something needs repairing. I think the price is in line with similar properties so not really worried about getting a valuation. I know the lender will do one.

Would I be stupid to not get a survey? For £500-£800, it just doesn't seem worth it but maybe I'm wrong?

How old is the house & whereabouts is it?

Also reading through other threads on here and a lot of people said it wasn't worth the money and most of them are OTT just to cover their backs!

Has it been modified/walls knocked down/extension or anything?

Survey revealed an underlying structural issue, needed a further full and extensive survey as may have needed underpinning, we pulled out of the house. Always have a survey.

You'd be mad to not get a survey. I can't believe anyone buys a house without getting one. 500 quid in terms of buying a house is nothing. It could have an issue like subsidence or Japanese knot weed or dry rot. This is the biggest commitment you'll make for hundreds of thousands of pounds why wouldn't you want to make sure it's a good investment.

Not exactly sure when it was built, I think around the early 90s.

No extension.

Or modifications as far as I'm aware.

I think you’d be mad not to get one. Our last house had a terrible damp problem. You couldn’t tell by looking at it as it was decorated and furnished beautifully. When we sold it, the buyer didn’t get a survey and we couldn’t believe our luck! For the sake of £800 I would do it. It’s also a red flag that the owner has said ‘we won’t reduce it anymore’. It’s like they know something is gonna get flagged up.

Always definitely yes to survey.

What's £500 in the grand scheme of the many, many thousands you'll be pouring into purchase the property?! Barely a ripple on the water. Lots of peace of mind though.

I like to buy things knowing fully what I'm buying with eyes wide open.

You definitely need a survey!

@Moveoverdarlin that's true, I hadn't thought about damp tbh, although it is currently vacant and we didn't see anything during the viewing but I know you can't always tell.

I don't think the vendors hiding anything though, just very stubborn on price! I was lucky to get 5k off, took a lot of back and forth.

Would a Level 2 Homebuyers report be sufficient?

I've been advised previously that survey is sufficient and that anything higher is only required for commercial.
I can't remember what I chose but it cost £750 (London)

@Littlethingsinlife20 I was new to buying too at the time but my solicitor went over everything with a fine tooth comb and challenged everything through the vendor's solicitor. It's the solicitor that I trusted and she was aware I was a newbie. No extra cost, it's their job for which you are paying them to do.

We bought without a survey (victorian terrace). There ended up being some minor damp at the very back of the extension and a few light fixtures that had dodgy wiring and blew a bulb instantly if we put one in.

I had fallen in love with the house and was young and went for a viewing with a builder friend so figured that was enough.

I probably should have gotten one as that's what you are meant to do, but In reality I have/ had no regrets.

Yes level 2 should provide an extensive survey many pages long.

As your uncle is a builder I would be more inclined just to get him round to inspect the house to uncover potential issues. Surveyors do always include loads of caveats and I have become disillusioned with their reports over the years, but it’s up to you.

We didn’t get a survey on our last house as like you, we knew the sellers wouldn’t agree to any further reduction on price anyway and we were confident it represented good value for money. But it’s a personal decision.

This was my experience

We didnt get one either time and it was finnnnneeee.
A builder is much more useful imo.

I got one but I couldn’t understand most of it and the sellers weren’t willing to renegotiate anyway. I probably wouldn’t bother next time as it was a waste of money really.

The only one we had was the one the mortgage provider did.

Looking at the house we knew it needed rewiring, damp sorting out, new boiler (one in was coal fired!) and probably a new roof.
The only thing we used from the survey was the valuation. It went from a £575k asking price to being valued at £390k.

And yes, the house needed £100k+ work doing on it but we knew that from day 1 when we looked at it.

We haven't done one on the house we're buying and neither has our buyer.

The point of the survey in your case would be to identify any showstoppers. Eg. Subsidence, structural damage,

The chances are it's fine but it would give you the opportunity to pull out if anything bad.

Just get a basic survey not a bells and whistles one.

Never just get the valuation one, get the homebuyers. It's not just about asking for money off, it is so you are aware with any potential issues. It will probably say get other checks on things , like damp survey. But then I've only bought old houses. Just do it and absorb into moving costs , hopefully all fine and sounds like you know people in trades, but the peace of mind that things are sound is worth it.

The valuation one just seems to be the mortgage lender googling the house, no one visited to check anything.

Your builder uncle should be able to rule out any really dramatic/ expensive potential issues. The only real benefit of a survey for any thing else is to guve you a list of things to work through..

I would never buy a house without a survey (& never have). Don't pay any attention to people who over-react to the usual caveats and disclaimers. What you are paying for is the paragraph(s) at the end where the surveyor gives their opinion of the property. That's the bit that matters.

What the survey does is tell you if you need to walk away from the sale. As for the owners saying they won't come down regardless of what's in the survey, that sounds warning bells to me and waves a massive red flag that they are expecting there to be an issue for the surveyor to find.

A mortgage provider's survey is only to confirm the price is reasonable. As an opinion on the structural soundness of the property it's worthless.