Hi. The Georgian house we're trying to buy has a fairly recent survey by a very good company -summer 2023 - that the vendor has given to us. It's 60 pages with plenty of issues picked up. What I would like to do rather than commission another survey that comes back pretty much the same, is find somebody to help us create a property specific list of works with a sensible order in terms of safety and cost efficiency (grouping works). It will need to cover electrics, damp, roof and ceilings. Has anyone done something like that before and, if so, who would you commission? Thank you.
- Thread starter MrsJelly
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A genuinely good heritage surveyor will do exactly that, you can buy a days time to walk the building with them and agree the level of their output vs make your own notes. For what it’s worth, they also may not write a survey ‘pretty much the same’ if you did commission them.
What was the reason the vendor had a survey commissioned?
What was the reason the vendor had a survey commissioned?
stuart45
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You can get a Building survey tailored to what concerns you. Some things such as electrics would be referred to an electrician anyway, so even with another survey there would still be extra surveys, such as drainage, Structural Engineer reports etc.
Thank you so much for your reply. The vendor had the survey commissioned when they bought the ppty.
Noted that a good heritage surveyor might not write the same!
We have fallen in love with the ppty but really do need to get to the bottom of whether it's viable for us. Will look for a heritage surveyor.
Hi, thank you. So, if some of the main issues picked up were electrics, drainage, roof and damp, we'd need to get a specialist for each? Could it be wiser to spend the 'exploratory' money we have on these rather than another survey?
stuart45
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People with some experience in property will often go directly with a specialist survey and not bother with a general one. One of the common complaints about surveys is that you tend to get a list of additional experts to call in. Some of them like electrics, drainage and heating systems are relatively straightforward, but some like damp issues can be more complex.
Damp surveyors will often misdiagnose rising damp as the issue and recommend unnecessary and expensive remedial work.
However, for people with little, or no experience a general survey could highlight some issues which need further investigation.
Damp surveyors will often misdiagnose rising damp as the issue and recommend unnecessary and expensive remedial work.
However, for people with little, or no experience a general survey could highlight some issues which need further investigation.
If you get a genuinely decent surveyor, they will be able to ballpark costs for all of the above anything more they uncover.
Avoid like the plague, anyone who labels themselves as a damp specialists
Note that survey reports are always KYA generalities. If it were me I would commission a good surveyor and get them to tell you what they find verbally, without a report, so you get their full experience and honest opinion. Sounds risky but the true risk is an identikit report that says nothing. At the very least, include a follow-up phone call in the quote.