Offer accepted!
Discussion
We have had an offer accepted on the house we want (yay!) and have instruced a solicitor to act on our behalf. We have our meeting for mortgage application tomorrow and should be well on our way by the end of the week!
Now, are they any PHer's who can help us with a survey? East Coast near Lowestoft is where the house is. (We know someone who had their survey conducted by a friend who genuinely looked on google maps and said 'yes, that is a house, thats fine' but not sure if that is possible? lol)
Now, are they any PHer's who can help us with a survey? East Coast near Lowestoft is where the house is. (We know someone who had their survey conducted by a friend who genuinely looked on google maps and said 'yes, that is a house, thats fine' but not sure if that is possible? lol)
Pvapour said:
congrats!
no expert but from memory the mortgage company have a say in who the surveyor is i think??
good luck with the application!
Well we already have a mortgage promise in place, as far as they have made out, it is just the paper work and 'official' credit searches.no expert but from memory the mortgage company have a say in who the surveyor is i think??
good luck with the application!
I'm sure they would carry out their own survey/valuation on the property but I thought we had to arrange our own. I may be completely wrong, its my first home so I have no idea!
From memory, the lender wiil carry out a valuation survey as standard, just to ensure that the property is not worth less than the loan amount.
If you want a structual/home buyers survey then have a look in yellow pages or http://www.rics.org/
If you want a structual/home buyers survey then have a look in yellow pages or http://www.rics.org/
Typically there are three 'levels' of survey as follows:
1. Valuation - minimum required by mortgage company. At its most basic the surveyor may only view the property from the kerb to confirm 4 walls, roof, not run down, yep its worth £X.
2. Homebuyer survey - this is basically a homebuyer survey with some additional observations, it might be suitable for buying a flat in the middle of a massive block (where any structural issues are on the block not the flat) but other than that its a waste of time in my opinion.
3. Structural survey - in theory a full structural inspection of the property.
In reality, any survey, including a full structural, will have multiple caveats such as "it was not possibly to inspect XYZ due to floor coverings, wall coverings, furniture etc etc"; "detailed inspection of the roof was not possible due to weather/etc" "it was not possible to confirm the electrics are up to modern standards" and will recommend multiple things for you to get further inspections on from relevant specialists.
It is perhaps understandable that a surveyor can't rip up carpets etc in a property that you do not yet own, but the majority of these remarks are basically "ar$e covering" by the surveyor, as if they fail to spot something that subsequently turns out to be an issue then (in theory) you have a claim against the surveyor. In practice I'm not sure how realistic bringing any claim is in the real world, the legal cost of second opinions etc may well make it economically inviable to claim and you'd be better just repairing yourself and footing that probably smaller bill.
Having bought 4 properties and sold 3 in the last 10 years, I am now firmly of the opinion that the way to go is to get your own builder, electrician, plumber, damp inspector, structural engineer etc etc to look over the property with you. They are much better able to give opinion on current condition, existing/likely problems, and a ballpark estimate on any costs. You will of course have to have the valuation survey anyway. A structural survey will cost you a significant amount, and then you'll want to see second opinions anyway. Key thing of course is having relevant tradespeople that you trust to give you a honest opinion. I'm sure you might locate some on here to help.
Good luck with it!
1. Valuation - minimum required by mortgage company. At its most basic the surveyor may only view the property from the kerb to confirm 4 walls, roof, not run down, yep its worth £X.
2. Homebuyer survey - this is basically a homebuyer survey with some additional observations, it might be suitable for buying a flat in the middle of a massive block (where any structural issues are on the block not the flat) but other than that its a waste of time in my opinion.
3. Structural survey - in theory a full structural inspection of the property.
In reality, any survey, including a full structural, will have multiple caveats such as "it was not possibly to inspect XYZ due to floor coverings, wall coverings, furniture etc etc"; "detailed inspection of the roof was not possible due to weather/etc" "it was not possible to confirm the electrics are up to modern standards" and will recommend multiple things for you to get further inspections on from relevant specialists.
It is perhaps understandable that a surveyor can't rip up carpets etc in a property that you do not yet own, but the majority of these remarks are basically "ar$e covering" by the surveyor, as if they fail to spot something that subsequently turns out to be an issue then (in theory) you have a claim against the surveyor. In practice I'm not sure how realistic bringing any claim is in the real world, the legal cost of second opinions etc may well make it economically inviable to claim and you'd be better just repairing yourself and footing that probably smaller bill.
Having bought 4 properties and sold 3 in the last 10 years, I am now firmly of the opinion that the way to go is to get your own builder, electrician, plumber, damp inspector, structural engineer etc etc to look over the property with you. They are much better able to give opinion on current condition, existing/likely problems, and a ballpark estimate on any costs. You will of course have to have the valuation survey anyway. A structural survey will cost you a significant amount, and then you'll want to see second opinions anyway. Key thing of course is having relevant tradespeople that you trust to give you a honest opinion. I'm sure you might locate some on here to help.
Good luck with it!
Years ago, I had a full structural survey on a property I was interested in. Yes the place needed work, but the report read like a war zone, as a result the mortgage company turned it down! Like the previous post, I now get my trusty tradesman to advise and go for the standard survey everytime.
eastsider said:
At its most basic the surveyor may only view the property from the kerb to confirm 4 walls, roof, not run down, yep its worth £X.Good luck with it!
Not so likely these days. Valuation should also catch anything that is likely to put the lenders security at risk.EG Dodgy roof, damp etc. Valuers will usually ask for reports where these may be a concern.
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