Homebuyers report / structural surveys etc - pointless or invaluable?

All being well we are buying a new house. The house is from the 1920s and we know that it will need major refurbishment including a full rewire (my father is a builder and has seen the property) which we are planning for. The mortgage company is commissioning its own valuation, however I am also considering further options independent of the mortgage company. I've had home buyers reports in the past and they have been rather pointless full of statements of the obvious and caveats. I've had a quote for a structural survey and at £1300 this is significantly more than I anticipated. What are other peoples' experience of these types of reports - pointless or invaluable?

I’ve always found the homebuyers to be pointless, but full structural to be invaluable with a lot more ferreting, explanation and clarifying pictures. Mind you, I’ve never paid more than £800 for one and that’s down south. So yes, absolutely, but I think yours is overpriced.

TBH, pointless.

Let the mortgage people do their thing, get a decent opinion from your father.

Budget for a rewire and what ever your father finds.

I agree, the homebuyers report is pointless.

A full survey is useful to rule a building out if it has structural issues, however, don't rely on it as any sort of protection should there be problems after you complete. I know several people who have had surveys done, only to find problems later, but the surveys have so many caveats that they will never be held responsible.

Had a very expensive survey done on my current home built in 1779.

Waste of money.

Guy was recommended for older properties. Comprehensive survey.

Had to replace the roof 3 years later. Lots of replastering due to water ingress through stone walls. Been rewired and lots of plumbing done.

Next time round I'll just visit the property repeatedly with a builder, electrician and plumber and get quotes for any remedial work. Rather pay them up front than a surveyor. They are protected against future claims.

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Your dad’s a builder ; id value his opinion over a survey. They’re not worth the paper they’re written on. Written just to protect the surveyors behind .

Thanks all - that seems to be a rather unified view!

Quote:

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Originally Posted by M4tt

I’ve always found the homebuyers to be pointless, but full structural to be invaluable with a lot more ferreting, explanation and clarifying pictures. Mind you, I’ve never paid more than £800 for one and that’s down south. So yes, absolutely, but I think yours is overpriced.

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I agree c.£800 for a commercially sourced structural quote is what I would expect. I would not rely on a homebuyers survey - worthless.


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Had full structural done on our ‘new’ house - they missed the subsidence. Guess what ? Absolutely no recourses




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Quote:

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Originally Posted by eagletower

Your dad’s a builder ; id value his opinion over a survey. They’re not worth the paper they’re written on. Written just to protect the surveyors behind .

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Agreed; if you have a builder in the family, getting a Survey is superfluous.


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