A friend of mine is buying a house...

i_agree_with_i_agree_with_nick

Is this a survey?

The advice she has been given is generally what you would expect from the agents.

Personally, I agree with you that if you are spending that amount of money, what's another few hundred quid.

Having said that - I have had a couple of full surveys done in the past and there is a huge amount of arse-covering that goes on - ie every single flaw is pointed out with advice that it could possibly be a problem. So you have to view the report with an amount of scepticism which can sometimes defeat the point of getting it done in the first place!

Gin - the Homebuyers Report is also full of exclusion clauses.

At least with a FBS they move furniture and floorboards, check heating etc and would identify a significant issue which the HR wouldn't.

Ah okay - I've never had a HBR done before so didn't realise that.

In that case I would personally always spend the extra.

My brother has worked on a lot of new-builds the last 30 years and says he wouldn't touch anything built in the last 15 years with a bargepole!

Houses built in the 50s and 60s best quality.

I've never understood how a 'surveyor'could claim to have 'inspected' a property without climbing on the roof. They can always tell you the location of the nearest brothel, though.

That doesn't sound encouraging. Is that because they're "mass-produced" and not as solid as older properties?

No they are not. Those built in the 30s much better. I have owned several Structurally so far superior than the modern breeze blocked constructions! No brainer- get a full survey. 10 year NHBC guarantee could not be worth less if it was written on Andrex or a discarded Guardian newspaper!

The estate agent is giving her the runaround. From what she's told me, they're either clueless or cowboys.

everything is better, the build quality, the materials used, the size of the rooms , the brickwork and plaster on the wall, the wooden floors the shape of the rooms and the shape of the garden, the appearance of the house and garden, the standard of the electrical and plumbing work etc
50s and 60s properties have had more time and quality and pride into the building of homes.

You got that right. Gotta be lucky to find a good one!

slicer may be correct about the 30s, but 50s and 60s very good and all things being equal will not present a problem.

i_agree_with_nick 29 Aug 17 16:11 Joined: 21 May 10 | Topic/replies: 9,269 | Blogger: i_agree_with_nick's blog
That doesn't sound encouraging. Is that because they're "mass-produced" and not as solid as older properties?

I'm assuming that was aimed at me iawn.

He says that the build quality has deteriorated badly over the years. Of course that is a generalisation but its another complication to add to the mix when buying a house!

be cautious if any work has been done to the house, extensions and that sort of thing. They will have botched it causing problems big and small

Thanks for your help, gents.

I would never buy a house that has been changed from its original build.(apart of course electrics/plumbing)
any structural changes, new rooms, bathrooms moved , extensions..don`t go near it.

It's fallen through.

Someone else made an earlier offer which was accepted. The vendor ditched him because his mortgage paperwork wasn't forhcoming. The agent has just informed my friend that his documents have arrived and the vendor is going with him.

It is a nightmare selling and buying houses. I am currently downsizing and the purchaser is keen to move in. The house i am buying have currently taken 5 weeks to provide the forms that are to follow - it's a leasehold so important forms. I have given them a week or it will fall through and I will buy a freehold instead but will have to rent for 6 months as I don't want to disappoint purchasers.

The solicitors are a nightmare, mine especially - I have had to correct so many mistakes. I have no legal training and just based on simple reading of documents and a little internet research. Solicitors are the biggest scam ever. This will get a report to the Law society on completion, though doubt it will achieve anything.

Someone else made an earlier offer which was accepted. The vendor ditched him because his mortgage paperwork wasn't forthcoming. The agent has just informed my friend that his documents have arrived and the vendor is going with him.

There offer must have been higher or no chain? If not another disgrace of the English conveyancing law.

The fact that it cost £140k and it would cost an extra £200 (I think it would cost more than that) is beside the point.  The relevant cost is the cost of put anything right that might need attention.  I would apply common sense on a case by case basis and only pay for the full survey if I thought the property warranted it.

In a buyers market I'd be more inclined to get a full survey than in a sellers market.  Can use anything wrong with it to argue for a price reduction.  I've bought 3 properties in my time and used problems to get a price reduction on two of them.  One thanks to the survey and one thanks to the solicitor.  First one was because the property was sold with damp treatment guarantees, and thanks to the solicitor asking for them and them not being forthcoming I requested the vendor to get a damp report and got half the cost of the recommendation off the price.  Last one I had the drains checked on recommendation of the survey.  The survey said that repairs were needed and quoted over £2.5k, which I got off the price.  Turned out that the drain company was dodgy and there was nowt wrong with the drains.  I was a bit sceptical and it was the only time I've rang trading standards.  About 6 months to a year later they were on one of those dodgy trader tv shows.

What they did was charge £25 a hour (instead of a fixed cost of just over £100 which was what I was quoted elsewhere)  and quote for work that didn't need doing.  The property was vacant when I bought it and they said the job took 6-8 hours   That's when I rang trading standards and was basically advised they had me over a barrel.  Never got the work done so it all turned out well in the end.

Clyde - the HBR is about £375; FBS is £600 - £650.

Pandoras - yes, it makes you wonder how anyone moves.

No solicitors were involved. My friend is the better prospect - she is a cash buyer with no chain. The other guy has a mortgage. (It was the mortgage approval that was slowing him down.) The agent would only say his offer was similar. My friend offered 138 (asking price was 140 but she'd made earlier offers of 120 and 125)

Indeed Clyde. I did say to her that she may be able to pay for her survey by negotiating a reduction if there were any faults.

Personally i wouldn't pay it as an 11 yr old house shouldn't need one .. they have to publish anything Serious anyway .

Searches are also a scam as a Cash buyer she doesn't need these either !

Estate agents are a**holes though they keep you waiting & waiting in hope of somebody upping your offer by 2k

My apartment they told me i needed to complete within 14-28 days  using their solicitor .. it ended up taking 4-5 Months so i used my own & knocked the price down .. she even advised me Not to speak to 'that woman' again

there's probably no need if it's 11 years old. if she can trust her own nose so to speak or she can see that the property is in good order than there's probably no point, imo.

last house i bought lender wanted a home valuation report bout £300 i had to pay

forget that i said i having full structal survey bout £600 house 1/4 mill

dont work that way told i had to pay both surveys

rip off

barstoots all of them including me

Full survey not worth the money imo. You have no chance getting any money back from surveyor if fault found. Going through building work myself at the moment. After removing a wall damp was found under the floor rotting one of the plates. The area had a kitchen cabinet above it plus the floorboards. No surveyor is going to find that unless he/she (must be PC) rips your house apart. Check it yourself or get a mate in the trade to give it the once over.

Most things involving 'professionals' will normally mean a large bill for a small amount of work. I've seen a man do a £300 roof survey in 15 minutes, plus writing up time of course.

Don`t buy a house in a nice area if it has a council estate or that sort of thing nearby.

They walk their dogs out of the estate into  the nice streets close by and let their dogs sh1te
and then walk back leaving the pavements and gateways and sometimes gardens a mess.

Couldn`t figure out why such a nice pleasant area had so much dog mess on the pavements, anywhere there might be a tallish hedge on a corner, there it was, if a tall  garden fence there it was, on that side of the road maybe both sides anywhere not overlooked.
And then it became clear after all, they were working class dogs from the council estate!

and their owners.

There are some playing field where I go, football pitches and running tracks used by the schools nearby and for other stuff like that.
Walking round the margins you have to look at the grass all the time to avoid the dog mess.

It's only a matter of time before dogs are banned from the area. Then dog owners will be moaning that there's no where to exercise their dogs.

they were working class dogs from the council estate!

The dog's made a mess on the carpet.

maybe worth a look now on C5



    Nightmare New Builds

Next on
Episode 1 S1E1 Tonight, 10pm

Went to view a house two years ago and the whole escapade was suspect from the off. If the old bird said "to be honest" once she said it 20 times. Was evasive about roof work, the extension, a boundary issue etc. She said the only offer she'd had was £75,000 below the asking price. Estate agent was also quite obviously complicit in the obfuscation.

Left it at that, later found out that at the time someone else had had an offer accepted but the survey had shown all manner of issues and pulled out.

6 months ago the house sold for the old bird's asking price. She had finally struck lucky and found a buyer who didn't fancy paying the extra £200-£300 for a full survey.

Not sure I want to get involved in this, my son in law is an estate agent.  But I couldn't resist....

Mc Moonbeams - "Searches are also a scam as a Cash buyer she doesn't need these either!"   This is possibly the silliest piece of advice ever offered on this august forum.

One final observation - Your consumer rights on purchasing a can of baked beans are significantly higher than buying a property, particularly a new one.

Way to kill a Thread ... well Done!

Did you realize one of the only regonized trades that you don't need One single Qualification to apply for is in fact .. an Estate agent

so i only have one Question for your Brainbox of a Son .... 'ARE THERE ANY OTHER HOUSES IN THE STREET'