First Time Buyer

[jan01]

how vital is it to have a survey done on a 14year old house?? it seems very expensive...

[factor-fiction]

Are you getting a mortgage? I would have expected the mortgage company to insist on one

[jan01]

a small one, but they haven't mentioned it as yet..

[ubasses]

No Mortgage Company will only look at it to ensure whether they think it is worth the mortgage they are giving on it. If you are borrowing a high percentage of the purchase price (used to be over 80%) they will commission a Home Buyers report which is a bit more in depth but the cost will be passed on to you. (again used to be approx £200). If you want the full works you will have to instruct a surveyer yourself. Sorry I have not got exact figures, been retired 8 years now. I have only bought 3 houses in my life and have never had a survey, but it could be risky.

[BRIGHT SPARK]

Would you buy a car without an MOT?

[boxtops]

It's said that a large amount of structural problems which only come to light after people have moved in, would have been evident to the would-be buyers if they had only had their own survey done beforehand. The mortgage company only covers the basics to make sure the house is worth more than what they are lending. I've bought several times, and I'd never do so without a structural survey first - in two instances, I changed my mind about buying once I had the survey report in my hands.

[jan01]

ok guys... thanks for your advice .. I will bite the bullet & get one done... it's a safeguard .. ..

[BRIGHT SPARK]

The survey could show issues that could become a useful bargaining tool and could easily repay its costs.

[boxtops]

Good point - I had an issue with the damp proofing in this house, and was able to negotiate down to cover the cost of getting it redone.

[Hymie]

I had a survey done on a 20 year old house, which I purchased – but quite honestly it (the survey) was rubbish (and not worth the money).

Modern houses (not high-end quality) are built using the cheapest materials they can get away with. Chipboard is used for floorboards which results in the inevitable creaking and even breakage that would not occur with conventional tongue & grove solid wood floor boards.

So my advice is to carefully inspect the upstairs (and stairs) flooring of each room for obvious defects. If you can get in the loft, take a look for any dampness due to rain getting in and the state of the loft insulation.

If the house has a combi-boiler, check that it works correctly, providing hot water and heating all the radiators, otherwise this could be an expensive repair.

[danchip]

It depends what sort of survey your going to get, a full in depth structural survey is expensive but a good report gives you peace of mind, a ok report gives you a bargaining tool and a bad report could save you a lot of money and hassle! The key is to go to a reputable company a lot will give you a guarantee so if anything goes wrong within a timescale which should have been picked up in a survey they will cover the cost!