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?

I didn't bother as it was a 15 year old property (old enough for any major building issues to have arisen but too new for others things, we didn't have a mortgage though.

If you have a roofer and builder inspect it with you it may be better than a surveyor as they care about you!

@BrigadierEtienneGerard the house has stood since late 1700's, a stone built farmhouse.

An idiot could see it was structurally sound.

Had I been buying in an old mining town, or there were huge trees close to that could have compromised the foundations, then I may have done things differently.

As it happens, all turned out well. The house sits isolated, solid as a rock and now fully protected from the elements.

We’re not bothering because we have taken the view that even if there are issues, we can afford the repairs (also FTB but buying quite a lot below what a bank will lend us). Our sale is direct, we get on really well with the vendors, and I know they have gone to great lengths to carefully restore and renovate. So - I trust them.

I also have a nose like a bloodhound and can smell damp at 50 paces.

Initially I tried a few companies and got nowhere in terms of them providing me with a copy of a previous report. Who else asks you to pay 1k without showing you an example of their work? Amusingly, the vendors told me when they got a survey on the house, the surveyor put DECORATING down as a RED flag, as an emergency to be dealt with immediately. Wtf? I have very little faith in these surveys.

However, to FTBs who don’t have builder and roofer relatives who are on a pretty tight budget, I would always recommend getting one.

Edit: however, I am going to make sure I buy the best possible insurance policy we can afford, even if that policy makes my eyes water - at least for our first three years or so whilst we continue to build up savings.

If I had a good builder that I could trust I’d prefer their opinion to a survey anyway.

If your dad and uncle are in the trades then they will probably know what they are looking for better than the surveyor . And they wont give youa load of bullshit like surveyors do .

I'd bring your uncle for a good poke around. Make sure they have all the paperwork about any alterations they have done (building regs sign offs etc).
But yes I often feel a survey is not much use. They can't see through walls and there's generally lots of arse covering in their t&cs to protect themselves if they miss anything. If your uncle/dad are knowledgeable that should be enough.

A survey is money well spent. Get one AND your uncle's opinion. Belt and braces.

The point of a survey is not to get further money off but to reassure you that there are no major structural issues that you would have to address, whether you should buy or walk away. Definitely get one .

Mortgage providers can do a valuation survey which is only to confirm the price is reasonable. Or you can book a level 2 survey through them called a Homebuyer’s report which does comment on structural issues like if the roof looks like it wil need replacing in the near future. This costs extra of course.

This. The survey gives you information so that if you do buy you have a better idea of what issues if any you'll need to deal with, and if you don't want to take them on you can withdraw. I've always had surveys and wouldn't buy without. The surveyor can also express a view on the value of the property, and if they fail to spot something serious that later emerges you have some come-back.

I never really understand these questions. Surely, it’s the equivalent to saying, I’m not bothering with travel insurance as I’m not planning on undertaking any risky activities.

Isn't it to cover all eventualities?

A bit of a gamble, you may save yourself £500 or be in for a whole world of grief.

That comment from the vendor would immediately raise red flags for me. I'd be worried that there was something significant that isn't obvious to the naked eye.

Getting a survey can sometimes be a condition of getting a mortgage as well.

Surveys are an absolute racket and rarely worth the huge amounts of money they cost. You absolutely do not need to pay a surveyor to tell you things like "the house is old, so the electrics might also be old, suggest you pay even more to get an electrician in to confirm this". You absolutely don't need to pay someone to tell you an old house wasn't build to modern building regs, so the stairs might be "too steep" or it doesn't have the right type of smoke alarm. You absolutely don't need to pay a man in a suit to write on a piece of paper what their opinion is on the decorative condition of a property.

There is no magic about what surveyors do - they can't see anything anyone else can't see, they just spend much longer at the property looking at all the visible stuff in detail - then they'll attach wildly inaccurate prices to how much it will cost to fix. (Literally seen 2.5k quoted in survey for issues that actually cost £200 to get professionally repaired)

A survey is worth it
IF you know absolutely nothing about buildings and you couldn't recognise visible issues like cracks, movement, damp etc
IF you've spotted any of the above or similar warning signs and you get a specialist in that particular discipline to advise properly

If you've got friendly trades in the family, they are going to be able to give you WAY better advice than a surveyor. Just make sure you book a viewing in telling the estate agent that it's for the survey so your experts have enough time to really look thoroughly without feeling rushed.

We've pulled out of a purchase after homebuyers report because a house that looked in really decent nick to us turned out to have significant structural problems only turned up by the surveyor getting up onto the roof. We had a call with the surveyor after it came through where he basically advised that we shouldn't go ahead unless we were looking for a really serious project. I've also had a survey which found nothing major where there were holes in the floor and cracks in conservatory walls which we discovered on moving in, and we got money from the surveyors to cover some of the cost of the fixes because they failed to spot them.

You might not be able to knock money off, but you might not want to proceed if you find something nasty- all those people who say it was a waste of money clearly bought a house which didn't have unexpected problems...

The seller saying they won't reduce anything if shown on a survey, and essentially encouraging you not to get one, is a massive red flag. It's like they know something will show up and trying to play on first time buyer naivety. What if you don't get a survey, buy the bungalow, and then a huge issue shows up. You'll be stuck with no comeback. If you're buying a property a few hundred pounds for a survey is nothing.

I understand why so many people think that the seller saying they won't negotiate after a survey is a red flag, but I don't think it necessarily is. It may be they know that many buyers, especially FTBs, think of surveys as tools with which to try and chip bits off the price, often for trivialities and non-problems, and they are warning the buyer in advance that they are not going along with this - so don't bother. Perhaps the seller is confident that there isn't anything seriously wrong, and that's why they are averse to renegotiation! I am sort of this persuasion. I know there isn't anything seriously wrong with my property, and would be genuinely amazed if a survey said there was. In fact I would think there was something wrong with the survey, or maybe the surveyor was a relative of the buyer, and would commission my own to check. And if all the survey contained was the usual 'padding' and warnings that the electrics didn't meet that year's regs, the roof might need work 'in the future' (what roof doesn't?), etc, etc, I'd be irked with a buyer who wanted to re-open negotiations, would say no, and would be willing to find another more sensible buyer.

I've always got one (three houses purchased now!). Not to argue for price reductions but so you can plan ahead and budget for what work might be needed when. We've had things like unsupported first floor structural walls spotted by a surveyor that wasn't at all apparent just from looking. It's meant we're sure we're taking on a property we can afford, not in terms of mortgage, but in maintaining it.

A walk around with a builder relative is definitely worth it too. A surveyor tends to be there a lot longer though than just a normal viewing and ours took a stepladder with him too.

I don't think it's really a red flag either. I think there is a certain type of buyer who think they will pay for a survey so they can then nitpick to get a price reduction. I think the vendor was just making it clear that they aren't going to renegotiate later on.

It is your money so you can spend it on a survey or not, OP.
We bought a house years ago with the help of a good builder friend and a notary (in France) in the family. This did not prevent one of them from not noticing a significant problem and in hindsight was hiding in plain view. It was obviously embarrassing for both of them and we certainly didn't ask either to take on the added costs . Get a survey and keep family' s responsibility to a minimum.

Whoops, didn't mean to quote @zingally and couldn't edit it out.

My friend didn't get one.
All sorts of problems.
She's selling it.

I always get a survey.

It costs a chunk, full of ifs buts and maybes and are mainly pointless (yes frank, i can see the windows are blown for myself) but it can save you a fortune if they find something wrong that could cost many thousands to fix (structural issues etc).

I have exchanged on an old rectory this week and paid for a level 3 and historical building specialist survey. I was concerned that there was subsidence due to a huge crack that had offshoots but no it's not - thankfully, just some shit plastering! They also pointed out issues I hadn't spotted which we have added to our renovation schedule.

The historical building surveyor element was brilliant. He knew or found out loads about the property, gave me a real good insight and he sent me a huge report on the house and how to restore it correctly. Well worth the money.

This is 100% true and I see it in this board and other forums asking how much to knock off after a survey.

This shows that they just want money off but don't know why.

I have always asked what did the surveyor value the house at in its current condition and no one ever pays for the valuation or ignores me. Only one person has ever cone back and told me what the answer was.

As a seller this is all I want to know as if its not less than the agreed price you can jog on sunshine.

Have a survey. They may not be willing to adjust the price but it may flag up something which means you walk away. Even if you don't walk, you can go into it with your eyes open as to what might be required