Do Need A Survey? One For Builder, I Think.....

[jourdain2]

Ignoramus me here again. The advice I have received before has been fantastic, I hope this will bring the same sort of help.

We have an offer in on a semi in an East Yorkshire village (basically a chalk area) and are having all the usual searches done. It is in a flat valley bottom...The brick-built house was erected in the mid-1990's and we stayed in a different one on holiday in the same village 2 years ago, which we are convinced was erected by the same builder. It was a warm, well-constructed house and we could see no problems.

When I viewed, I saw no problems and it felt fine (hardwood dble-glazing). Now the Estate Agents (who are also surveyors) are asking if we want a survey done. We are used to buying in France - where you 'buy as seen' but with 500 euros worth of surveys for lead, termites etc. (paid for by seller).

I don't know how much surveys now cost, we're reasonably straightened because of the huge costs of moving to UK. So - does it sound as if we really need a survey? Help! - and many thanks in advance.

[jourdain2]

Should have added that the present owners bought it in 2001 - presumably they wouldn't need a survey as it would still have been under guarantee.

[Sycamore3House]

If you are buying a property it is probably the biggest expense of your life no matter how many houses/properties you own. So if for example you are going to pay £200k for it 1% of that would be £2000 so surely it would be worth paying up to that amount for a survey to be sure no matter when the property was built that the building is sound. If it is not sound get the vendor to put it right before signing. Make sure they have certificates for electrics, gas appliances etc if not get them to supply the, before purchase. They are selling and probably making a profit so make sure as much as you can

[buildersmate]

What a surveyor does is to spend between half to one day crawling all over the property, looking for signs that it either wasn't constructed well or that it hasn't been maintained to a reasonable standard. He will look behind things, pull things out, look in lofts, check the services seem to work OK, lift manhole covers, check that construction seems to confirm to building regs in force at the time. He will use a damp meter, look for corrosion or rot. Plus lots more.
If you are a practical person, some of this you can check for yourself, so I wouldn't necessarily agree with the above on a modern house, which this is.
However a surveyor is a second pair of eyes, and I would definitely recommend it on a house older than 50 years.
In terms of costs, phone a couple of RICS people and ask. They work off a scale recommended by their Institute so variations may be minimal. I recently bought a Victorian semi and despite my reasonable all round knowledge of building I did pay for a survey. It cost £700 for a two bed semi.
Pound for pound these people are far more useful than the legal fraternity.

[woofgang]

I'd get a survey done. As Sycamore says its a small percentage of the price of the house. When we bought ours around 25 years ago, it was still under NHBC. The surveyor found a few minor things which wouldn't have been covered by the guarantee but which would have been expensive and inconvenient if missed. (loose roof tile, a bit of dIY wall building that had bridged the garage damp course and so on.) We weren't living locally to the house when we bought so he also went back to the house after the repairs had been done by the seller to confirm that they had been done to the correct standard. I can't remember if he charged extra for that but if he did, it wasn't a lot.

[The Builder]

I agree with the others to a point. BM mentions houses over 50 years old ... I couldn't agree more.
With a 20 year old house, the construction is predictable. It will have been covered by NHBC or Zurich, or similar. That goes a long way. There are rogue cases of course, but generally, a good back-up.

It sounds as though BM had a Full Building Survey. I honestly don't think that's essential here.
A "Homebuyer's Survey" is a kind of halfway house between a Valuation and a Full Survey.

I think that would point up any serious problems. Certainly enough for your needs. Do bear in mind that any survey will have "get-outs" and conditions. Anything impossible to get at will be marked as uninspected.

I would just have a walk around since I know what to look for. Your peace of mind is important to you though.

Have some sort of survey by all means, but don't spend too much. Your own common sense should guide you as you look around.

[jourdain2]

Thanks everyone. Things to think about. It 'felt' all right and, as I said, we are now used to buying 'as seen'. We are going to take the weekend to do some hard discussion. Thank you all again and thanks for pointing out the difference between a 'Homebuyers' survey and a full one. It's all getting very complicated and my lists are getting longer!!!!