We have made an offer, which has been accepted on a modest house.
We are currently chewing over whether we really need to have a surveyor look at the property.
(there is no mortgage involved, so the choice is ours).
The house is a traditional constructed brick and tie, semi-detached, built C 1994.
There are no signs of cracks, subsidence or other problems and the whole estate seems to be in good general condition.
It is, however, in an ex-mining area (a mining search will be carried out).
What are your thoughts on the necessity of any survey at all?
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Absolutely and emphatically a yes from me. Just had a survey done on our new house (new as in newly built as well) highlighted a couple of problems we would not have necessarily found - I used a surveyor who did some work for me a couple of years ago when I nearly bought a flat two years ago when Mrs P died. I was able to negotiate a cash deal so don't pay the sticker price. The potential for trouble is huge - you may well be able to re-coup the cost through negotiating a lower price on any of the defects you find. Ex-mining makes it even more important. Go for the mid-priced one.
Last edited by: Pugugly on Tue 22 Feb 11 at 13:37
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>> a survey done on our house (snips) highlighted a couple of problems we would
>> not have necessarily found
What sort of problems, AAMOI?
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how much are you spending?
In my opinion most basic surveys are not worth the toner they are printed with. BUt in a mining area? yes probably
Last edited by: Zero on Tue 22 Feb 11 at 13:37
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as you said do a mining search and maybe get the insurance to protect your interestsagainst mine subsidence.
If it were my money i'd get a survey.
i only paid £400last year to get an excellent survey on a £90k house and it was 7 yrs old but it showed up stuff id missed and id spent an hour going over the house and lifting carpets, with the ownersw permission
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What sort of stuff had you missed?
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the concrete slab the house sits on had a crack from one side to the other and the crack was an inch wide.
turns out to be a slab that was not thick enough and soil drying out under it.
underpinning was done as part of the sale conditions and a concrete lintel above the bathroom window had cracked right at the top left corner and had to be replaced as well.
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Get the mining report - you can order it on online. Even if you are not in a mining area the ground stability,flood report available from the same source can be useful if you have any doubts about the ground on which it is built.
www.groundstability.com/(S(v5fmppzzyeg3kiau1koj0f55))/home.aspx?IsNewSession=False&
I don't think I would bother with a surveyor's report on a standard construction 1994 house. It will only tell you what you can see for yourself, but at great length to justify the cost.
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I think if you ask this question you should get a survey.
I wouldn't, FWIW.
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>>It is, however, in an ex-mining area
I would. And it would be a full structural survey, too.
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As Mapmaker says... if you are minded to ask the question you need a survey... but I never have them.
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i think its a basic attitude to risk.
i wasnt going to have a survey done but my mother nagged my wife who instructed the surveyer without me knowing but im glad she did.
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If any sort of subsidence worries you, then ...emphatically yes ! Even if the survey gives your new home a clean bill of health it's the perfect weapon with which to hit your insurance company if you ever experience post purchase cracking and structural damage. It's the ideal proof that you bought the house in good order and that damage occurred after purchase and AFTER you took out the insurance policy.
Last edited by: Dulwich Estate on Tue 22 Feb 11 at 17:42
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A few hundred, if that's what a half-decent survey costs - is not much for peace of mind.
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>> We are currently chewing over whether we really need to have a surveyor look at the property.
YES get a survey. We were in the same position last year. The survey was about £460 and they found the house had the front rebuild off new foundations. Further investigations via build regs at council and the sellers (actually children of the deceased owner) showed it had indeed had subsidence. And then they tried to say no it didn't at one point.
Needless to say we didn't buy it and the £460 was money well spent IMO.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 22 Feb 11 at 19:33
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I seem to remember I persuaded you ! :-)
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You probably did PU. Got a discount on the second survey (on this house) though.
Edit: The houses date to the thirties so more likely to have issues.
Also realised you can do free searches at the council planning offices to check out planning permission, building regs. Had I done this on the house I mention the survey would not have been done - I'd have known about the underpinning for free.
Last edited by: rtj70 on Tue 22 Feb 11 at 21:42
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Survey or not? - R.P.
