Is it worth getting a Home Buyers Report?
Discussion
I am sure that this will elicit all sorts of different opinion but...
We are currently in the process of moving home. The home we are moving into is quite a large, mid 80s home with a fairly large garden (and the all important double garage). The decor inside is very dated but it all appears to have been well maintained.
Our plan is to redo pretty much every room. I'm fairly handy and so within reason am happy to doing most stuff (overboarding plaster, installing new bathrooms etc etc).
Given that the house appeared in good condition and we are planning to redo most of the decor anyway, is a Home Buyers Report (RICS level 2) really worth it?
The only two things I would be interested in are the roof (looks fine to me and there was no obvious damp but this is not my area of expertise) and the interior ceilings (they have artex on them and so I would want to know if they have asbestos in them). Obviously the latter is not going to be tested during a basic survey.
In the past when I have had surveys, they have largely told me what I already know or could easily see. Equally when my friend had a survey recently, they totally missed that the entire floor was rotten. As such, I'm really not sure whether it is even worth the expense. If it was an older home or had areas that concerned me (massive cracks in the walls for example) I would pay for a structural engineer but for a relatively modern home in good but dated condition, I'm just not sure whether it will tell me anything I don't already know.
So what are people's opinions?
We are currently in the process of moving home. The home we are moving into is quite a large, mid 80s home with a fairly large garden (and the all important double garage). The decor inside is very dated but it all appears to have been well maintained.
Our plan is to redo pretty much every room. I'm fairly handy and so within reason am happy to doing most stuff (overboarding plaster, installing new bathrooms etc etc).
Given that the house appeared in good condition and we are planning to redo most of the decor anyway, is a Home Buyers Report (RICS level 2) really worth it?
The only two things I would be interested in are the roof (looks fine to me and there was no obvious damp but this is not my area of expertise) and the interior ceilings (they have artex on them and so I would want to know if they have asbestos in them). Obviously the latter is not going to be tested during a basic survey.
In the past when I have had surveys, they have largely told me what I already know or could easily see. Equally when my friend had a survey recently, they totally missed that the entire floor was rotten. As such, I'm really not sure whether it is even worth the expense. If it was an older home or had areas that concerned me (massive cracks in the walls for example) I would pay for a structural engineer but for a relatively modern home in good but dated condition, I'm just not sure whether it will tell me anything I don't already know.
So what are people's opinions?
Apparently a lot of the mortgage valuation surveys are done electronically these days (as in somebody googles the area, looks at the price of nearby houses, and then calculates a value using an algorithm). We are getting a free valuation survey but based on the above, it will be next to useless other than confirming whether we have paid the right price (we got it for a decent chunk under asking).
Panamax said:
Although they will all say "we're not electrical or gas experts" and they will all say "we don't lift carpets or crawl around in the attic".
And this is why I am not totally convinced about the value in this instance. All of the things which might actually be useful to know, won't be covered in the report anyway...I always get a builder mate to go round with me, they're far more likely to pick up on stuff, don't stress about liability and can immediately cost up said works. I pay them for their time. On the last house which was a full refurbishment I'd missed that the water pipes into the house were lead which they spotted and got a contribution from the vendor to the £1,300 cost of replacing them.
Kwackersaki said:
I’d go by your last paragraph. On a home that is 40 odd years old I wouldn’t bother.
Reading through the last report I had, most of it seemed like stuff you could check yourself if you’re reasonably competent at diy.
40 odd years if not maintained or if a incompetent DIYer has been having a go is quite a long time. We chose an independent rather than just the drive by lender one. It was less than £1k and as stated much of what was spotted I could or should have noticed myself as long as allowed a much lengthier viewing, ability to stick my head in the loft spaces, pop a damp meter around the walls etc. I still think that second pair of eyes and the ability to chat through stuff afterwards was worth it. Reading through the last report I had, most of it seemed like stuff you could check yourself if you’re reasonably competent at diy.
For the sake of a couple of hundred quid on top of a valuation survey I'd go with the homebuyers. Appreciate they're fairly standard worded etc but may point out a few bits you've missed or give you some pointers on where to start remedial works etc On the couple of occasions we've moved house, I've contacted the surveyor in advance with specific points I was interested in and they've been happy to help. Also they've lifted carpets where they can, gone into loft spaces etc despite saying they wouldn't in their T&Cs
In the great scheme of things the survey cost is negligible when compared to the property price but if they do find something concerning could save you a fortune
In the great scheme of things the survey cost is negligible when compared to the property price but if they do find something concerning could save you a fortune
Mortgage valuation - very basic, they are working for lender not you, if they miss anything, you have no recourse. If loan to value low, may well be desktop valuation, or drive by.
Home buyers report, more detailed , more expensive, they are working for you, so if anything major missed you have some recourse against them. But there will be many disclaimers, don’t lift carpets, don’t go into roof spaces etc.
Structural survey, much, much more detailed, you have recourse against them if anything missed. But much more expensive. Worth doing if buying something really old or non standard construction.
Best advice so far on here is to pay a builder to look, particularly at areas you are concerned about like the roof.
With regards to the Artex you need a specialist asbestos survey, not overly expensive.
Home buyers report, more detailed , more expensive, they are working for you, so if anything major missed you have some recourse against them. But there will be many disclaimers, don’t lift carpets, don’t go into roof spaces etc.
Structural survey, much, much more detailed, you have recourse against them if anything missed. But much more expensive. Worth doing if buying something really old or non standard construction.
Best advice so far on here is to pay a builder to look, particularly at areas you are concerned about like the roof.
With regards to the Artex you need a specialist asbestos survey, not overly expensive.
Just spent best part of £2k on a full inspection (on top of what the mortgage company wanted) for a 300 year old mill I'm about to move to. What a waste of money! Basically highlighted a bunch of stuff I could see anyway and said "Advise further assessment by an expert"
Might as well have bunt the money!
Might as well have bunt the money!
Mark Lewis said:
Just spent best part of £2k on a full inspection (on top of what the mortgage company wanted) for a 300 year old mill I'm about to move to. What a waste of money! Basically highlighted a bunch of stuff I could see anyway and said "Advise further assessment by an expert"
Might as well have bunt the money!
Same experince here, but with a more modern property. Things like the electrical installation is x years old so get an expert to check it. I thought that's what I was paying for!!!Might as well have bunt the money!
I would pay to get an expert to check specific things I might have concerns about, but not a generic survey.
Weirdly a home buyers report nearly lost us our house.
On the survey it was pointed out that there was a "small bulge" in one of the rear walls and a wall tie survey needed to be done by someone registered with "sorry I can't remember the exact body"
They wouldn't provide the mortgage until this had been done but we didn't have any companies that covered our area and were members of said body.
Into the bureaucracy of nationwide we fell. The underwriters have to pass through the ok to the lender before they would release funds.
Many many phone calls and emails later, with me asking how much it could possibly affect value vs what we wanted to borrow, they finally relented and ended up paying us £350 for our treatment if I remember correctly. Took over six months to get it sorted out.
So if you do get one done, get it done for yourself, not with your mortgage company paying for the standard and you upgrading it.
On the survey it was pointed out that there was a "small bulge" in one of the rear walls and a wall tie survey needed to be done by someone registered with "sorry I can't remember the exact body"
They wouldn't provide the mortgage until this had been done but we didn't have any companies that covered our area and were members of said body.
Into the bureaucracy of nationwide we fell. The underwriters have to pass through the ok to the lender before they would release funds.
Many many phone calls and emails later, with me asking how much it could possibly affect value vs what we wanted to borrow, they finally relented and ended up paying us £350 for our treatment if I remember correctly. Took over six months to get it sorted out.
So if you do get one done, get it done for yourself, not with your mortgage company paying for the standard and you upgrading it.
We had a fairly expensive survey when we bought our current house, highlighted issues with the roof which we negotiated off the price so it “paid for itself”. However the owners had done a refurb about 15 years before we bought it and some of the work they had done was questionable which we are now discovering as we’re making some alterations and have lifted a lot of boards etc to fit a new heating system.
The main thing I would do is get a thorough heating and electrical inspection, you cannot rely on the electrical report in older properties. “A drive by” report requires physical inspection of 20% of circuits which can be “gamed” it is supposed to be random but clearly might not be.
We’ve got 60 year old wiring which is now being replaced….wouldn’t have passed a proper electrical inspection when we bought the house three years ago if the electrician had done his job.
The main thing I would do is get a thorough heating and electrical inspection, you cannot rely on the electrical report in older properties. “A drive by” report requires physical inspection of 20% of circuits which can be “gamed” it is supposed to be random but clearly might not be.
We’ve got 60 year old wiring which is now being replaced….wouldn’t have passed a proper electrical inspection when we bought the house three years ago if the electrician had done his job.
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