Do we need a survey when buying an older property with no mortgage?

[allthemind]

I am helping my mother downsize from a 4 bed semi, built in the 30s, to a 2 bed maisonette, built in the 60s. Its in a small development with 30 properties in total and is very popular due to location and good size rooms. Lots of unmodernised ones being snapped up and done up for a profit or buy to let (in the recent past) She is under offer for her sale, 2 links in the chain, and has had an offer accepted for the purchase, no chain. She will be buying the flat with proceeeds of the sale fo her house.

The flat is in need of modernsiation, but looks to have been very well kept by the current owners and was last refurbed, I would guess, when it was last purchased in 2001, or around then. It has a much newer boiler. She plans to do a refurb to include new kitchen and bathroom and then just decorating and new carpets etc in the other rooms.

We were all set to do a Level 2 HomeBuyers report for due dilligence, but I am wondering now whether we need to do a survey, or maybe could get away with a Level 1 Condition Report - due to the fact that lots of flats, including some in original 60s condition, have successfully been sold and modernised in the last 5 or 6 years including 4 this year. We don' have to do a survey as there will be no mortgage or finace on the purchase as it is cash/proceeds of house sale.

Her buyers have apparently, according to the estate agent, declined to do a survey on her 30s semi because their Dad is a builder and he has been round on a couple of occasions and done a good walkround. I personally am quite risk adverse so if it was me buying a 30s house I would have done a full survey (and have only ever purchased with a mortgage so always had to anyway) but is has made me question whether we need to do one on a small 2 bed maisonette in a development where over half of the 30 properties have recently (last 10 years) been sold or re-sold and modernised. What do you think?

@allthemind It is based on size of property! Who on earth believes AI!? Would you not expect to pay much more for a survey on a 6 bed detached! Get it done because you might find there’s something that’s needs doing.

They require a level of invasive work to facilitate lab sampling
If the buyers are OK with that then fine but most buyers wouldn't be.
These type of surveys are usually carried out by homeowners so more appropriate once OPs mum has bought.

Asbestos that’s not been disturbed is often safe. There is no need to panic and you can get a survey done after buying but it’s usually to spot any disturbed asbestos. Once invasive testing takes place, it IS disturbed! So there’s a risk in this unless you are doing a big refurbishment.

What are the service charges on this flat. Has been recent outcry about how astronomical rise nationwide in these charges.
Also what sort of Management set up have they got in place?

Don't know about this block..But quite a lot of these type of flats were bought years ago for quite cheap prices.And have been let out to private renters for years. So not all owners.

Sixties built flats were quite poorly built is some cases. Yes, l know they are airy and have big rooms. But they also have concrete floors,

So if you live below another flat . Even everyday noise can be quite loud l should know l live in one.

.Good luck.
Hope it goes well.

yes and pay for the drains survey as well. My colleague didn't . Poor guy. Such a nightmare

I agree. Either level 3 or don’t bother 🤷🏻‍♀️

We did with our recent purchase. He did an excellent report, and whilst he didn't find anything major, he picked up on a few things and gave suggestions on things we could either negotiate over, or how to easily fix. I was very happy to have done it. Our house is about 125 years old.

Mortgage lenders don’t require a survey. It’s a basic
valuation. That takes about 15 mins

anyway how much is it going to cost you? You may as well. A friend recently bought and didnt get a survey (yes they have a mortgage) and now regret it because they have had no end of issues that a surveyor would have found and they would have sought resolution before exchange

Are your mum’s buyers time wasters?

i think not having a survey is a red flag for a seller

we had a buyer who wasnt going to “bother with a survey”. She dropped out. No explanation. Never intended to buy

I would always do a full survey, no matter what. Can’t understand why someone wouldn’t. Saving a few hundred pounds is daft.

We have bought two old houses in the last 5 years (one a holiday home) and didn't bother with a survey on either.
I know enough what to look out for and there have been no nasty surprises.
On the other hand, our buyer commissioned a detailed survey and used EVERY SINGLE COMMENT as a price negotiating point.
The house was old, sound, a bit shabby in places but with newish kitchen and bathroom.
I bought like an honest buyer and the sellers ditto. No sidling around.
I ended up hating our buyer!

We have never had surveys for our houses - DH's dad was a builder, he checked for us when he was alive (and DH picked up a lot of knowledge from him over the years). Since he died we've only had one special one done when DS bought a house in a (no longer active) coal mining town.

Here in Scotland it is the seller who has to do the Home Report, (Survey). We did last year when selling my late MIL's house. Saves a lot when you are buying a house and your offer is not accepted. Seems to be fairer.

@pouletvousThat just happened to a friend! Very late getting a survey and then pulled out based on survey. Didn’t disclose what was in the survey so probably nothing as the house is immaculate. DH is a structural engineer and their house was fine. He just didn’t intend to buy, probably a money issue.

There is no way most builders understand the detailed structures of older houses. Especially timber framed ones. These have often been chopped about by owners over the years and end up with all sorts of structural issues. Not cheap to put right. You might spot damp, but you might not if it’s hidden. Potential owners might not spot dpcs being covered, chimneys being taken out and destabilizing a structure and why a roof is sagging! There’s a lot to look at in very old properties and not needing a mortgage is besides the point. It’s the cost of repairs that’s the killer, especially if it’s listed.

Go for Level 2. All the people saying no have a builder, architect or experienced diyer in the family. Funny that.

Yes you probably could spot "most" of the defects yourself but most housebuyers don't look as carefully, or as long, as a surveyor and most buyers are mentally measuring the rooms to see if their furniture will fit or counting plug sockets. Surveyors can be in/around the property for a good hour, how many buyers last that long?

They seem to be used recently by unscrupulous buyers exaggerating the points listed in them for a dicount on the price.

@wherearethesnacks As a buyer though, would you honestly not want to know about sawn through structural beams or a sagging roof? You might need further investigation to see what needs to be done. People who have renovated a bit really don’t know the ins and outs of structures.

I actually do pay for them, begrudgingly, but none of them have actually spotted any issues we hadn't already seen for ourselves.

@wherearethesnacks That’s down to the properties you’ve bought though. A complicated timber frame house that’s been altered, or one with insufficient foundations for the ground conditions might be another matter.

You've landed on the right call with the £400 Level 2, and on a 60s block I'd push the surveyor on asbestos and the service-charge and cyclical-maintenance history, which is where these flats usually bite. The thing nobody's flagged though: you're moving your mum for the long term and already planning a refurb, so that refurb is the cheapest moment you'll get to make the place actually work for her as she ages. While the bathroom's stripped out, a level-access shower instead of a bath, lever taps, and a bit of timber behind the plasterboard for grab rails later cost next to nothing now, against thousands and a DFG application if it's retrofitted in a few years. Worth checking the flat itself too, whether it's step-free to get in and if there are internal stairs she'd be doing daily. Full disclosure, I help build a tool, Senso, that flags that sort of access detail from the listing photos you can check it out at wearesenso.com if you want. Is it all on one level, or split over two?