I recently had a level 3 survey back that I paid £725 for, and, honestly, most of it is just bullshit or filler.
He estimated the boiler to be 14 years old. It's 21.
He didn't comment on damp on any but two places: the loft (seems to be an old leak, no signs of damp) and the kitchen, which has clearly had a DPC on the outside (high moisture level but apparently the DPC is new - which he could only have been told by the vendors).
No mention of where a stopcock is.
'The gas meter is not bonded.' Thanks for that. So, surely that's the utility company's problem?? No, just quoted me £250 to get it done myself.
I was expecting a survey that was completely relevant to the old building I'm buying, but it was just copy and paste nonsense, e.g. that DPCs can do harm and don't really work. I already knew that, and I've never even owned a house!
What he didn't tell me about the cement render on the outside of the kitchen is that cement renders can cause Victorian walls not to breathe, and you should really get it hacked off. He neither mentioned nor quoted for that. An item that absolutely will do harm over time.
He also sidestepped four specific items I asked him to comment on with other generic bullshit. 'Woodworm is present in most old houses however you only need to worry about it if there is damp.' Dude, I literally said 'check this bannister please.' 'Why is there no mortar in this area [description] and what is causing it?.' No photos, no comments on the missing mortar.
So, if you're worrying, I can reassure you, it seems that standards since you last had a survey done have massively dropped off.
132 pages of utter, utter bullshit. The only useful thing that came out of it was him drawing up on a floor plan where he thinks chimney breasts/walls have been removed.