| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? 10:53 - Jun 27 with 1648 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
I've had loads of quotes come in - from around the £500 mark to more than double that. Had a couple recommended by the estate agent and solicitors (but obvs don't know if they're getting backhanders for introductions). And is it a case of the cheaper companies being rubbish and the expensive ones charging over the odds?
It seems like a minefield! |  |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 10:56 - Jun 27 with 1633 views | portmanking |
In my experience, surveys are barely worth the paper they're written on unless you go for the most intrusive survey. If it's a HomeBuyer Survey you're after, just go for one of the cheapest options I'd say. |  | | |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 11:20 - Jun 27 with 1538 views | Cheltenham_Blue |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 10:56 - Jun 27 by portmanking |
In my experience, surveys are barely worth the paper they're written on unless you go for the most intrusive survey. If it's a HomeBuyer Survey you're after, just go for one of the cheapest options I'd say. |
This.
Unless you get an in-depth survey, its really just someone visually inspecting the house. Mine didn't even go into the loft. |  |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 11:21 - Jun 27 with 1531 views | Swansea_Blue |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 11:20 - Jun 27 by Cheltenham_Blue |
This.
Unless you get an in-depth survey, its really just someone visually inspecting the house. Mine didn't even go into the loft. |
What's the point? You can tell if the roof's missing from outside  |  |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 11:37 - Jun 27 with 1496 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 11:20 - Jun 27 by Cheltenham_Blue |
This.
Unless you get an in-depth survey, its really just someone visually inspecting the house. Mine didn't even go into the loft. |
Yeah, we are going for an in-depth survey because of this. | |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 11:57 - Jun 27 with 1439 views | Zx1988 |
Under RICS rules, a firm of surveyors is obliged to state whether or not they are paying a referral fee for the work.
It's always worthwhile to ask any firm that is quoting to provide you with a sample report. You will see that quality and depth varies widely, even just amongst the Level 2 surveys (the old Homebuyers).
If you're going for a Level 3 survey (the 'full' survey), again it's worth checking whether you'll get a bespoke report, or just something put together on the RICS template for such reports.
I'm a surveyor myself, so happy for you to ping me a message if you want more info/pointers. | |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 12:14 - Jun 27 with 1413 views | clive_baker |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 10:56 - Jun 27 by portmanking |
In my experience, surveys are barely worth the paper they're written on unless you go for the most intrusive survey. If it's a HomeBuyer Survey you're after, just go for one of the cheapest options I'd say. |
Agree, guess its a result of increasing litigation and threat of comeback that from my experience they all just cover their ar5s and just about everything could be summarised as 'looks fine but could not be'. Cheers then, really helpful.
That said, a friend of mine did have something quite material flagged on his, but I'm not sure the survey was anything more than a basic one. I would always get one but go on price, no point spending a couple of grand or whatever, put the savings towards fixing anything. |  |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 12:21 - Jun 27 with 1382 views | textbackup |
the bloke that brought my old house paid for the top one he could find (admit it was an old house so fair enough)
the lady gave him a massive report..... but accidently sent to me too..... claimed she'd been in the loft and all sorts, which was b011ocks as i was stood with her the entire time.
i've never had a separate surveyor, only the mortgage one, as always brought houses that need work doing, so i'm not fussed if material things arent any good |  |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 12:40 - Jun 27 with 1346 views | usm |
We had a full structural survey done on our house when we bought it 12 years ago, mainly because its a fairly old property (1938) and has had several extensions over the years.
£500 sounds well cheap btw, but best ask the guy who responded to this thread who is a surveyor.
Anyway we found the survey a waste of money. Nothing structural in it really as they said they could not access the loft and could not take any samples etc, so all very vague. 30 odd pages of very little.
Although they did tell us that most rooms could do with redecorating (no sh1t Shylock!!!) and that there were signs of damp in some paces.
Horses for courses I guess but if I were you I'd refer to the surveyor on here. |  |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 12:44 - Jun 27 with 1331 views | Plums |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 12:40 - Jun 27 by usm |
We had a full structural survey done on our house when we bought it 12 years ago, mainly because its a fairly old property (1938) and has had several extensions over the years.
£500 sounds well cheap btw, but best ask the guy who responded to this thread who is a surveyor.
Anyway we found the survey a waste of money. Nothing structural in it really as they said they could not access the loft and could not take any samples etc, so all very vague. 30 odd pages of very little.
Although they did tell us that most rooms could do with redecorating (no sh1t Shylock!!!) and that there were signs of damp in some paces.
Horses for courses I guess but if I were you I'd refer to the surveyor on here. |
I’d agree with this. Paying hundreds of pounds for a report full of caveats was a waste of money for me. In my naivety, I asked the surveyor who reported on our old house for the buyer why he didn’t even carry a ladder and he just laughed. [Post edited 27 Jun 2022 12:44]
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 12:46 - Jun 27 with 1313 views | ElephantintheRoom |
Depends what you want it for. If it’s for the mortgage get the cheapest you can find. If you actually want an in-depth survey ask what they will do for the money. If you think it will highlight any faults don’t bother - anything vaguely difficult will simply refer ‘ seek structural engineer’s opinion’ etc.
If you don’t need to get one don’t. Toilet paper is cheaper - and more useful. | |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 17:30 - Jun 27 with 1158 views | Weekender |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 12:40 - Jun 27 by usm |
We had a full structural survey done on our house when we bought it 12 years ago, mainly because its a fairly old property (1938) and has had several extensions over the years.
£500 sounds well cheap btw, but best ask the guy who responded to this thread who is a surveyor.
Anyway we found the survey a waste of money. Nothing structural in it really as they said they could not access the loft and could not take any samples etc, so all very vague. 30 odd pages of very little.
Although they did tell us that most rooms could do with redecorating (no sh1t Shylock!!!) and that there were signs of damp in some paces.
Horses for courses I guess but if I were you I'd refer to the surveyor on here. |
Im a surveyor and although acquisition surveys are not my core business I do them from time to time.
Although its my trade I agree many surveys are not very useful. They are template based and caveated so can offer limited useful advice. My company writes bespoke reports and we provide a costed schedule of defects/maintenance issues in each but we are expensive and tend to only cover high end property.
Whatever you get you should at least be reassured that any major issues *should* be picked up. Additionally remember that you are buying a surveyors PI cover so if they really screw up you have recourse for any losses due to negligence. |  |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 20:12 - Jun 27 with 1102 views | KingsCrossBlue |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 17:30 - Jun 27 by Weekender |
Im a surveyor and although acquisition surveys are not my core business I do them from time to time.
Although its my trade I agree many surveys are not very useful. They are template based and caveated so can offer limited useful advice. My company writes bespoke reports and we provide a costed schedule of defects/maintenance issues in each but we are expensive and tend to only cover high end property.
Whatever you get you should at least be reassured that any major issues *should* be picked up. Additionally remember that you are buying a surveyors PI cover so if they really screw up you have recourse for any losses due to negligence. |
Totally this… we bought a chapel to convert that was built in 1860 - we knew if we got a full survey, we’d have dozens of ‘don’t really know, so you best consult a specialist’. Anything major should get picked up in the most basic of surveys. Spend any money saved on what is actually wrong 😂 | | | |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 10:29 - Jul 13 with 859 views | Sarge |
Did you get anywhere with this? I'm now in the same position, got quotes of £400-500 for Level 2 and £500-800 for Level 3. | | | |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 10:35 - Jul 13 with 826 views | GeoffSentence |
The flat roof will need replacing soon.
If there is a flat roof on the property they will tell you that. Guaranteed. |  |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 11:56 - Jul 13 with 755 views | Zx1988 |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 10:29 - Jul 13 by Sarge |
Did you get anywhere with this? I'm now in the same position, got quotes of £400-500 for Level 2 and £500-800 for Level 3. |
Hi Sarge, happy to provide some advice pointers if you'd like (I'm a surveyor). Feel free to drop me a PM if needed. | |
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| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 13:18 - Jul 13 with 707 views | The_Flashing_Smile |
| How the hell do you select a property surveyor? on 10:29 - Jul 13 by Sarge |
Did you get anywhere with this? I'm now in the same position, got quotes of £400-500 for Level 2 and £500-800 for Level 3. |
Level 2 for £700. This is in London though, and we decided to play safe and go with a more reputable (and recommended) surveyor than with some cheaper options. Was pretty happy with the service and they also went in the attic, which other surveyors couldn't guarantee. | |
| Trust the process. Trust Phil. |
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