Survey Needed?

[cazzz]

I have had an offer accepted on a 1700s cottage. The seller bought the property late 2017 but is having to move because of work. He had a full structural survey carried out which he is happy to pass on to me.

As it wasn’t that long ago I wasn’t going to bother having another survey but now wondering whether I should. Any thoughts please?

 

[noj]

I'd gratefully ask to see the survey, judge how comprehensive it looks and decide then if there are any issues it raises that you consider justifies another.

But that's just my opinion...

 

[MikeG]

If you are buying it with a mortgage, the decision may not be in your hands.

 

[cazzz]

Thanks Noj. I was thinking the same. I understand that it had “a clean bill of health” but do need to read it and decide.

No mortgage.

 

[88v8]

The value of the survey depends on the knowledge of the surveyor.

Ivor

 

[Flyfisher]

Read the small-print of the survey report very carefully. As I understand things, such reports are usually only for the exclusive use of the original client and are rarely transferable to anyone else. At one level this is nonsense of course because if the original client is happy to let you see the report then you can make use of whatever information it contains, good or bad. However, on another level, it means that you have no professional relationship with the original surveyor and, more importantly, they have no professional relationship with you, meaning that you have no recourse to any compensation should the survey be flawed. In other words, if the report has missed a serious structural defect then you would not be able to claim compensation from the surveyor for negligence.

 

[Kearn]

It's all subjective, but the value to be had from a survey is often the direct, off the record conversation with the surveyor, rather than the referenceable report itself.

And with a property that old, assuming this survey was for the sake of a mortgage, then the likelihood of the surveyor being knowledgeable in old buildings is variable. For example, we have a late 1500s timber frame cottage, almost all on show - the surveyor who valued our property for a remortgage, ticked the 'modern construction, post 1960' box on his form. The mind boggles?! :roll:

If it were me, I'd want to thoroughly investigate the house myself. And have any concerns looked over by an old house expert as required, to avoid too many nasty surprises....

 

[cazzz]

Thanks all. Some very sensible advice and I think it might be wise to get another one done to be on the safe side.

 

[cazzz]

Leading on from this can anyone recommend a good surveyor in Herefordshire? Many thanks.