House surveys

[ashaw1]

We are trying to buy our first house and i am beginning to wish we hadn't bothered. The house we are trying to buy is a house we are currently renting. It is an old Victorian 3 storey house. My question is with regard to surveys. Is it normal for a survey to pick up slight damp patches, wonkey chimneys and other problems that to me sound like a complete minefield or is it just my survey. Do most surveys come back saying that the house is immaculate and that the investment potential is huge. Please tell me this is 'normal'

[mums angels]

If it helps we've just had a survey done on the house we are buying and its only a few years old and the survey came back with the value, and under "remarks" section said that the a few verge tiles were missing and that due to recent storms slight water damp had come through one of he window vents however none of this was serious enough to be put under "work to be done before purchase" section. so aslong as this section of the survey is empty then i wouldnt worry about the work too much, from the age of the property i'm not surprised there is a few niggly points in the survey. Good luck it can be very stressfull buying or selling as i'm finding out myself at the moment, fingers crossed we'll be miving in March

[johno]

We are trying to buy our first house and i am beginning to wish we hadn't bothered. The house we are trying to buy is a house we are currently renting. It is an old Victorian 3 storey house. My question is with regard to surveys. Is it normal for a survey to pick up slight damp patches, wonkey chimneys and other problems that to me sound like a complete minefield or is it just my survey. Do most surveys come back saying that the house is immaculate and that the investment potential is huge. Please tell me this is 'normal'

i think it depends on what kind of survey you pay for. isnt there a full survey that picks every thing up and a structural survey that just doe,s just for the mortgage lender, not to sure but if you do a google search it would give you the full sp.?

[Torvaig]

As johno has just said, there are different scales of survey. I've just had a property valued for selling and my surveyor reported about three problem areas needing attention. The only one he insisted on being rectified before putting it on the market was a damp area between the bathroom and bedroom where the sealant had worn away round the bath and caused the shared wall to become damp.

The others were non-urgent e.g. the barge boards on the outside needed repainting and a condensation problem in the toilet area also needed attention.

As I was just looking for a guide price to put it on the market, I was pleased to know about future problems so that I could deal with them and it only cost me approx. £140.

When buying, I would go for the most comprehensive survey which includes searches etc., so that you know exactly what you are getting for your money. It is not always enough to "know" the property you want as there can be all sorts going on with the building or the included land that are not apparent or general knowledge.

It is the only way of being sure you know what you are getting for your hard earned money!

[peedie wifie]

When buying, I would go for the most comprehensive survey which includes searches etc., so that you know exactly what you are getting for your money. It is not always enough to "know" the property you want as there can be all sorts going on with the building or the included land that are not apparent or general knowledge.

It is the only way of being sure you know what you are getting for your hard earned money!

I would agree with Torvaig. A full survey is a must when buying - we've been "saved" by having a full survey on a house where a crack which we thought was just because of the age of the house turned out to be a problem with subsidence and it would have cost a fortune to put it right.

Err on the side of caution!