Organising a Survey (FTB)

[sortaottery]

Hi all.

The mortgage offer came through yesterday, and now I think I should start organising a property survey. (Level 3, probably, unless the cost is a lot higher than I expect).

After the stage of getting quotes and choosing who I want to work with, what should I do then?

Do I ask my chosen surveyor to contact the estate agent directly and agree on a time, with the EA liaising with the vendor?

Or do I speak to the EA and the surveyor, as go-between?

Sorry, I get a bit fixated on Doing Things the Right Way. Any advice about this or other aspects of property surveys would be welcome.

As a FTB, I've done my best to be well-informed, but I still feel as if I'm on the high seas in a little boat that I don't know how to steer.

You'll need to coordinate with the EA to arrange access to the property for the surveyor. Acting as a go-between.

Our L3 survey cost about £1,200 last year so keep in mind they’re expensive and if you drop out of the sale you don’t get any of it back.

I asked the estate agent for their recommended local surveyors, got quotes and then booked one.

I let the EA know who I was using, and the surveyor then booked it through them .
Do you definitely need a L3? The surveyors I spoke to looked up the property online and all recommended a L2 for me (100 year old property, 2 storey recent extension). L3 as I understand is more relevant for much older / listed properties or have been substantially altered.

My L2 was £720 inc VAT, quotes were all £660-900, if that helps with cost!

Speak to your EA. Our surveyor arranged a time/date direct with the EA so we didn't have to go between them, much easier.

No. Usually you just book a surveyor of your. choice. One of the things they will
ask you is who the EA is. They then liase directly with rhe EA to arrange a convenient time.

Thanks, all. I'm feeling better about arranging a survey now after a bit of handholding. @ScoobyDoesnt -- thanks for sharing the amount you had to pay for a level 2 survey. The book I've been using as a guide ('Help me, I'm buying a house!') was published in 2019, and prices have really shot up since then.

I may opt for an L2 survey (I think the house is 1950s), but also ask for an electrician to assess the wiring.

I'll start getting asking for quotes today.

I’m also a FTB, here’s my experience which I hope helps in some way.

I looked for a handful of local surveyors in the area you’re buying the property in and get some quotes . I would then search multiple places for reviews (I don’t trust website reviews so look at other places like social media and online reviews etc )

once you have chosen your surveyor, I would advise them of any concerns you may have and put this forward to them. Confirm pricing and their availability.

if going ahead , surveyor will ask you for the EA details and they will arrange everything but I would also contact the EA to advise them the name /company name of surveyor that will be contacting them and that’s it really then you wait for it to take place and you’ll receive a report .

you may not also need a level 3 , a level 2 may suffice so might be worth looking into that as well.

also I never go for the surveyors the EA suggests , but that’s just me being me. I found these to be the highest quotes probably because they get commission . There’s nothing wrong with this , my advice would be look around if you can

Or just don’t tell the surveyor that the EA recommended them!

My quote I accepted was from an EA recommended one, and whilst not quite the lowest quote, I felt more comfortable about them and they had good reviews.

Thank you all for the advice.

Just dropping in to say that I booked the survey (Level 3), and got the finished report last weekend. Am happy with the way it carefully breaks things down, with each how each observation is accompanied by photographs. It makes this neurotic person feel reassured about the state of the house, plus more aware of its fabric/construction.

Now just got to wait for the searches to come back. And for the enquiries to be resolved. And for the vendor to sort things out at her end.

Yay, conveyancing! 😅 If this falls through, I'm going to live on a canal boat.