Choosing a surveyor

Page may contain affiliate links. Please see terms for details.

Spinney

Bimbleur extraordinaire
Location
Back up north
Buying a new house, probably need a Buiding Survey rather than just a Home Buyer's Report.

Spoken to several - dearest quote is £700 plus VAT, cheapest is £350 incl VAT.

Haven't got personal recommendations (don't know many people in the area) - just a couple of names from the estate agents (and who knows whether they have an interest...they are representing the vendors, not me)

How do you choose? Just on price? Assume they are all professionals and will all provide a similar quality report?

Edited to say have had a couple of names given to me by estate agents.
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
do not go on price alone. ask local estate agents for who they recommend. your mortgage company usually appoint a surveyor so you may be able to use theirs for a fee and its in both your interests to do so.

go for the full report . I had a few items picked up by the surveyor when i bought my 1st house. negotiated a lot more than the cost of the survey and the remedials for the defects picked up from the asking price.
 
OP
OP
Spinney

Spinney

Bimbleur extraordinaire
Location
Back up north
Thanks subaqua. Unfortunately the £700 + VAT bloke was recommended by the estate agents - I can't believe he is more than twice as good as the cheaper one!
 

Arjimlad

Tights of Cydonia
Location
South Glos
The estate agents have a vested interest in not queering the sale or seeing the price go down, and may even be getting a "referral fee" from the surveyor.... you are better to pick someone independently. I would also look for someone with expert witness training if I were you.
 

subaqua

What’s the point
Location
Leytonstone
The estate agents have a vested interest in not queering the sale or seeing the price go down, and may even be getting a "referral fee" from the surveyor.... you are better to pick someone independently. I would also look for someone with expert witness training if I were you.
avoid the estate agent who is selling the house . use another estae agent for surveyor info.
 

dellzeqq

pre-talced and mighty
Location
SW2
do not go on price alone. ask local estate agents for who they recommend. your mortgage company usually appoint a surveyor so you may be able to use theirs for a fee and its in both your interests to do so.

go for the full report . I had a few items picked up by the surveyor when i bought my 1st house. negotiated a lot more than the cost of the survey and the remedials for the defects picked up from the asking price.
I think this is dangerous. The surveyors who are, shall we say, 'easygoing' are known and liked by estate agents. Equally the mortgage company appointments are done on a block booking basis. Some of the people doing the surveys would be better employed flipping burgers at MaccyDs

None of what I am about to tell you is good news, so, apologies in advance. In my opinion surveyors who value houses are, by and large, rubbish. Time and time again they write things like 'couldn't lift fitted carpets'*, 'couldn't get in to loft'. And, if they are contracted to the mortgage company or building society, they can spit in your eye if their survey turns out to be pants.

My suggestion is this. Take a long, sober look at the house. Forget that you love it, forget that you've always wanted to live in that street, and spend a couple of hours going round it asking yourself what the risks are. Take a friend who is a builder if you can, and, if you have any doubts about the roof, take a roofer. Take a plumber. Look for cracks, look for deflection in the floors, look for windows and doors out of square, check the heating, look for sagging or cracks in the ceilings, look at the lighting flexes........

If you have any worries at all about the structure of the house, then get a structural engineer to survey it. I'm very fortunate, in that I know a structural engineer who will look at something and say what they think, and if he said it was a loser then I would walk away for the price of a drink. If the structural engineer sticks his or her head in the loft or points to a crack and says 'forget it' take that as good advice.

Get your list to builders and tradesmen, and ask their advice. Bear in mind the condition of the heating and the wiring - because that can be more expensive than you might reckon on.

Unless you are convinced that there are no problems with the house, go to a surveyor and say 'you're not doing this for the building society, you're doing this for me, and if you screw it up, your arse will be in court'. If they run away you will have done yourself a favour. And, as subaqua rightly says, if the surveyor turns up a bunch of problems, then you might be able to negotiate on the price.

If you have to have a mortgage company appointed survey I'd pay for a valuation survey (which is nigh on useless) and then get all the additional assurance you need from people you appoint.

You should also ask if the house has had any work done to it within the last five years. A lot can be achieved with polyfilla and wallpaper.

* I bought a flat once and the surveyor said 'couldn't lift fitted carpets'. The carpets weren't fitted.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Maz

Globalti

Legendary Member
Fantastic good sense there Dell, well said.

Unfortunately when you're viewing a house it's terribly hard to remain dispassionate, especially if you've decided it's the one for you and your mind is racing through all the possibilities. It's a bit like when consultants give bad news to patients; they prefer a relative or friend to be present to hear the practical stuff because they know the patient's mind will be reeling in shock and will have switched off. My money would be on taking along a builder for a second visit, not only will he spot problems, he will also be able to give you an idea on the cost and viability of your proposed alterations.
 

ASC1951

Guru
Location
Yorkshire
Buying a new house, probably need a Building Survey rather than just a Home Buyer's Report.
....
How do you choose? Just on price? Assume they are all professionals and will all provide a similar quality report?
I used to be a property lawyer in a previous existence and was occasionally asked this by clients buying unusual properties. My ten pence worth:-
- make sure the surveyor you choose is on your likely lender's panel, otherwise you will pay twice for the same work. Most surveyors will do the mortgage report for about £25 extra;
- when you say a 'new' house, I presume you mean new to you? There is no way you would need a full survey on a brand new building unless it is outside the NHBC system e.g. a conversion; and even then, it should come architect-certified;
- even if you are going to use the surveyor put forward by the lender, if you are going for an HBR+ you are better instructing them yourself. You can then discuss the survey before and after with the person doing it and you will be their client, not just the lender;
- never use the seller's agent (even if he happens to be a surveyor, not just an estate agent). There is an obvious conflict and tbh they wouldn't accept the instruction anyway;
- by all means ask for recommendations from the selling agents, but try other sources e.g, who do your solicitors recommend? If you haven't instructed solicitors yet, ring up a couple in that area and ask them to recommend a surveyor. (And you can ignore 'secret referral fees' - it just doesn't happen these days. All referral fees have to be disclosed in writing by solicitors and I'm pretty sure the same rules apply to surveyors);
- if it needs more than a House Buyer's Report, maybe you should have a basic valuation but instruct a structural engineer as well;
- Dellzegg's advice about taking a builder/roofer etc with you isn't really practicable for most of us. If you don't know the area, you won't know builders and other trades either. And as he points out, you need someone you can sue if they give a negligent report, because that is what your lender will require.
- don't just judge on price, but certainly ask for an explanation of any low price. Like all these tasks, there is a minimum price for doing the job properly. In my part of the world, £350 would be below it for a full Building Survey.
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
Make sure the Surveyor is a Chartered Building Surveyor not just a Chartered Surveyor if you want a proper building survey. There is nothing to stop a regular Chartered Surveyor doing a survey, but tbh half of them will not have the correct expertise to undertake a proper building survey. How do I know this? I am a Chartered Surveyor and I would not even consider doing a building survey of a house despite being qualified in the eyes of the public, various friends have said "ooh your are a surveyor can you look at the house I am buying?" . As others have said don't rely on the estate agent to reccommend a surveyor. Have a look at the RICS website for building surveyors in your area.
 
OP
OP
Spinney

Spinney

Bimbleur extraordinaire
Location
Back up north
It's an old house (19th C according to agents), extended maybe 40 years ago and then extended again maybe 20 years ago. From the amount you see during a normal viewing, it appears to be OK, but you don't really get time to poke around.

I think I had come to the same conclusion about not using the bank's surveyors (or ones recommended by the vendors' agents) - I want them to be working for me.I don't mind paying a bit extra - but I'm still puzzled by the vast difference in the two prices in my original post!

We got partway through the process of buying last year but backed out because we didn't like some clauses in the deeds (that's a different story). We had a HBR there, and I sent that surveyor back to stick his head down the manhole covers for the drains - I wasn't accepting he 'couldn't find' the covers so he hadn't checked the drains. The owner was there when he went round FFS - why didn't he ask the owner where they were??

So my opinion of surveyors is starting from a relatively low point anyway!

I already know I need to get a roofing contractor round as well, as the house has a double roof with a valley that is not going to be visible from ground level, and apparently no surveyors use ladders long enough for them to do an inspection.
 

Hacienda71

Mancunian in self imposed exile in leafy Cheshire
You definitely need a building surveyor from the description of the house you give. The guy who will do a quick home buyers report for a few hundred quid isn't bothered about looking at the drains and structure in any depth. He is simply interested in doing what is expected of him (a basic visual inspection, probably with access restricted to what he can reach with a 12 foot ladder). If it ain't visible he will caveat it isn't his problem. The more you pay the more digging they will do (metaphorically).
 

dellzeqq

pre-talced and mighty
Location
SW2
Spinney. You're really not going to like this. Victorian houses, valley gutters, newish extensions - there's a lot of stuff to keep you awake at night. Leadwork, lead piping (both above and below ground) redundant gas pipes with gas in them, understrength timbers in the roof and floors, dodgy strutting and ties in the roof, timbers that have been compromised by plumbers or electricians cutting in from top or bottom, different foundation depths, lath and plaster to ceilings and walls, sash windows, bessemer beams, cross ventilation compromised.......I could go on and on and on.......

Honestly - the price of the survey is neither here nor there - and, for what my opinion is worth, I think £700 is light. The quality is absolutely vital. You need a surveyor with a lot of experience and a talent for plain speaking. Good luck, matey!
 
OP
OP
Spinney

Spinney

Bimbleur extraordinaire
Location
Back up north
Thanks Dell - you're right - there's lots of potential not-to-like stuff!
I just wish I liked modern new-build houses, but I don't, much!

All that AND some artexed ceilings! :angry:
 
Top Bottom