Surveys

[Changingusernameasalways]

How many of you that have purchased a house got a survey done? The stats show only 20% get a survey which seems really low to me. I just thought it was standard to get one.

Did the people that did get a survey ever have the situation of finding an issue and either pulling out or lowering their offer?

If you didn't get a survey, what was your reason? I am planning to get one as I always just thought it was sensible and part of the process but I'd like to understand the reasoning from people that don't bother with one.

This doesn't sound right. Pretty much everyone I know got a L2 survey, it a L3 one if appropriate. Is this figure just for people who got a L3 one?

Ok … I’ve normally got a survey before buying a property (bought a few).

The reason I didn’t with our last house was that I’ve become a bit disillusioned with them as it’s a lot of money to spend and the surveys can be so general as to be useless - the house “may” have this or “may” have that problem. The surveyors cover their own arses to a large degree.

Also, we felt confident we got the house at a good price and wanted to rush the sale through quickly. We knew we weren’t going to be able to negotiate any further money off the house, which can be one reason to get a survey. Also, we could see the house was in very good condition.

However, I’m not advising others not to get a survey. My daughter got a survey on her Victorian flat that uncovered a few serious issues. She still wanted to proceed with the purchase but at least managed to negotiate 4k off the price so in her case it was well worth the cost of the survey.

Everyone getting a mortgage has to get a valuation survey ( the most basic one) which is really for the Lenders benefit. Maybe the survey OP is talking about is taking that into account in their percentage figure?

Using that criteria we did get a survey on our current house as we were forced to get a valuation, albeit it was a desktop one so no physical inspection of the house took place.

I had a level 3 survey and negotiated 9.5k off the price. It needed over £25k of work doing that wasn't apparent on our brief 2 x 15 minute viewings.

I know it's alot of money to lose if it falls through but I think if anything it gives you an idea of what you need to address in the future when you move in even if you don't negotiate. Also if there's major structural problems you can walk away. With average house prices £300k+ I don't see how you can afford not to and I don't know anyone who hasn't had one done. 20% seems low, as a PP said are you sure that's not the level 3 figure?

I'm talking about a home buyers survey, not the valuation survey which for mortgages is mandatory. I'll insert a link here showing my stats but this isn't the only website, a quick Google shows the same number. It is fact that only 20% of people got any kind of survey when purchasing.

https://www.howellslegal.co.uk/services/residential-conveyancing/surveys#:~:text=Do%20I%20need%20a%20survey,before%20buying%20a%20new%20home.

@Twiglets1 your reasons are very much what I am reading as being the logic behind people not bothering with one.

I was really shocked to read that only 20% get one and found it hard to believe as well but that's the figure so I thought it would be interesting to see who did/didn't and why. I'm buying a house at the moment and weighing up the pros and cons.

I've always had a full survey (is the Level 3?) as it can highlight significant issues which my affect my decision to proceed, but also it provides a list of things that may require attention within the next few years e.g. roof, boiler etc. and advice on the general state of the building that may not be obvious to me.

We paid cash for our last 2 properties. DH got in the loft, checked roof for leaks,beams for rot. They were both do er uppers. We didn't have thousands of pounds to pay for a survey. We did get a surveyor out just to check some cracks in this one, just to set our mind at rest before repairing, and with a view to adding a window and possibly knocking down a cupboard, wanted to check if the wall was loadbearing.

A level 3 survey shouldn't cost thousands. A few hundred, yes, but not thousands.

We’ve usually had level 2 but I have not found them very useful (things signalled as urgent which builders have later said weren’t a problem or extreme vagueness).

On our latest purchase we didn’t do one at all, it’s an old house so I know there’ll be things - there always are on 300 year old houses - but I’d rather save the survey money to spend on the actual house! And we knew we wouldn’t pull out or try to negotiate the price due to the particular property.

But this is absolutely not advice to others not to get a survey, just an explanation of why we didn’t on this occasion!

So subject matter aside, you shouldn’t assume something “is fact” just because you read it on the internet without any background info on where it came from.

I was curious and tried to find the origin of this 20% figure. The only thing I managed to find out is that it came from some research conducted by Legal & General, but I couldn’t find the actual research.

Did this come from a survey? If so, who did they ask and what did they ask them? How did they select their sample? Was it enough to be statistically significant? Was it a survey of buyers? Sellers? Estate agents?

Or did it come from comparing data points, for example comparing the number of completed house sales with the number of homebuyers surveys, which would be an imperfect science given how many sales fall through?

I just wanted to say it’s unwise to read a stat and repeat it as being “fact” when you don’t know where it came from!

Is it normal to get one when buying new builds? If not then I guess that would skew the stats quite a lot too….

You shouldn't need one on a new build but I've always had one. In one case a full structural but found it was no more detailed than the homebuyers. I think the only time I haven't is when buying at auction and I had a trusted builder come round with me instead. Once I had a structural engineer come to view as thought it might be outside a surveyors expertise.
Mind you I've had surveyors who note every single crack and the report reads like the house is about to fall Down, and ones that miss obvious issues.

@blackcatsblackcats I was sceptical too as it does seem very low but I can't find any website at all that says anything different or has a higher figure. I would imagine it would be based on completed sales only.

https://www.leahough.co.uk/latest-news/fewer-than-10-of-buyers-opt-for-home-surveys/

A good few people buy cheaper places, without getting a mortgage.

Yes I know - I was just pointing out that everyone getting a mortgage would need to get a valuation “survey” ( not a proper survey).

I see the link is talking about level 2 & 3 surveys (valuations won’t count in this statistic which helps to explain why the figure is so low though I’m still surprised it’s that low).

That’s a different stat that again has no details on where it came from!

We'd never bothered, FIL was a builder and a lot of his knowledge rubbed off on DH plus we do a lot of DIY.
However DS bought a house in an old mining area so we thought it was sensible to have it checked out for subsidence and red shale in the foundations.

We got an L3 survey done for a house we were buying, and the first line of it was "I strongly advise you to not buy this house under any circumstance"

There were a litany of problems we would never have spotted, but the one which really stood out was a crack in the loft wall they had hidden. So big the surveyor could touch the house next door. The owner had propped a plank of wood against the crack so we'd never have spotted it.

Since that survey I would never not get one.

I got a surveys in the past, house sales then fell through and I just lost that money for no reason.

Also 1 survey for a house with known structural issue basically just told us to get a structural engineer to check literally everything so was worth nothing as it was so non committal and unwilling to comment. Might as well have been skipped and gone straight to an engineer, which I would do in future for anything with structural issues.

I think they can serve a purpose but it depends on the situation. We are waiting to hear back about buying a house privately and depending on what their asking price is will determine if we get a survey. I know this house exceptionally well and have even lived in it so know all its faults I don't need someone to point them out to me. I however would benefit greatly from external non bias proof if I'm going to need to haggle.

Another house I got gazumped on I wouldn't have bothered with a survey as I spotted all the faults a survey would at viewing. There was no haggling to be done and it had a 28 day exchange clause so everything needed to be fast and smooth.

My first flat in London I just got a valuation. Getting surveys on flats was just less of a thing then (2003) and I figured it had stood for 125 years so it’d probably last another 5. Also I don’t need a surveyor to tell me that a basement flat in London is going to be a bit damp.

Also bought a BTL bungalow in 2015 with no survey- it was probate and in pretty dire condition and we were doing a back to brick refurb and massive extension anyway. Builder came and took a look for me.

Current house I’m buying- level 3 plus separate roof, heating and electrical surveys.

My DD got a L3 survey. It showed 3 potentially expensive issues. 1 was sorted by the owner obtaining a building regulations certificate, 1 was to do with the roof and they had accounted for an estimate for that in their offer as it was obvious. The 3rd was to do with the bricks, pointing and related works. They knew nothing about that sort of thing when they viewed. They got an estimate for works (with owners agreement) and reduced their offer by £10k, which was accepted. They were in a rental so got the work done on completion before they moved in.

My son has got a L2 survey and is waiting on the report. He didn't offer full asking not to take account of works, because the house has been internally renovated, but because he deems that the maximum market price. He thinks if he needs to renegotiate, they won't have it as they will view the reduction as taking account of this, so it might compromise the purchase. We wait and see.

We’ve just had a survey done in a home we’re buying, completion next week! We won’t need a mortgage but it’s 1920s so wanted a level 2 survey. It’s been done by a local man who came highly recommended. It was really useful, and we now have a list of smallish things we will make good when we move in, such as more air bricks in certain areas which will mean the house is well ventilated. Things we’d never have thought of.

If you’re strapped for cash then getting a survey is even more important so that it can identify potential issues you wouldn’t be able to afford to deal with.