Search for Surveyor

[Gripper2801]

Hi all. First post - possibly of many. Seeking recommendation for surveyor around Lichfield, Staffs to survey a g2 listed house for me in the next couple of weeks...current contacts looking at early/mid Dec. Feel free to suggest away.

 

[Feltwell]

Not at home at the moment, but when I am I will dig out the surveyor who did our place 10 years ago, he gave a very fair and realistic survey and knew about older houses, importance of lime and breath ability etc. He was also happy to discuss the written survey verbally in more realistic terms (eg survey says “signs of past infestation”, but verbally he’d happily say that it appeared to be an old furniture beetle infestation with no sign that he could see that it was still active - “I wouldn’t let it worry you”). I seem to remember he was Telford based so about an hour from Lichfield, a bit far away but not impossibly so.

A top tip I received was get the mortgage company to do a valuation survey, and get your own private structural survey. The valuation survey really is brief, I know they used to just look at the property from outside, now I wouldn’t be surprised to find they use Google Streetview!

Any old house is almost guaranteed to have “ evidence of infestation” - ie an old “woodworm” infestation - somewhere, and probably a bit of damp. Mortgage companies are ignorant of old houses and may put a retention on until undesirable work such as woodworm spraying or injected damp proof courses are done. Best not to let them see the detailed survey.

A final point, I seem to remember a very old post on here that SPAB had a list of accredited surveyors - try their website.

 

[Gripper2801]

Thanks...booked the heritage consulting guys. Talked with a good few within a 20 mile circle...got told a wide range of stories!! Good tip on the mortgage...

 

[Anonymous]

Great news, let us know please your experience. My survey wasn't really worth the paper it was written on and even and my mortgage company's valuation surveyor mentioned the word damp (I mean no heating no ventilation for 8 months what do you expect) and that resulted in a 5k retention on the mortgage until I got some damp proofing / timber infestation "specialist" to give me a guarantee... we agreed they could keep their "poxy 5k retention" but how they expected me to put in the 5k central heating that would help cure that was now going to be more difficult.

It's a bloody lottery, surveyors so please if you have good one shout it from the roof tops so we can all benefit... Good luck!!
Paul.