why do i need a survey?

"I don’t need a surveyor to tell me what I can see for myself."

When you view a property you will probably be there for about half an hour. You will be thinking about how big it is; will your furniture fit; is the décor nice; what about car parking; how much might they be willing to come down; and a dozen other things.  When I do a survey I will be there for 3 or 4 hours - and as long again afterwards assessing evidence and preparing the report.  All I am looking for are problems in the property, and I am trained to recognise them.

"But I’m having a mortgage – don’t they get a survey done?"

A mortgage valuation is not a survey. A valuation is unlikely to identify any defects with the property that are not obvious. The purpose of the valuation is to protect your lender, not you. 

"It is only a few years old – there can’t be much wrong."

All homes have some defects.  They may be apparent when new, or they might take time to be noticed or to develop. That is why most new houses have a 10 year NHBC guarantee.  This guarantee does transfer to subsequent owners - but recent cases suggest it may not pay out for a defect that would have been identified by a survey at the time of sale.  If you do not get a survey, the NHBC guarantee may be virtually worthless.  There have also been cases where buildings insurance has not paid out for pre-existing defects because the new owner did not get a survey.

So what do I recommend?

Before you buy, arrange for a survey by an independent surveyor.

Why an independent surveyor?

The mortgage company may offer a survey alongside their valuation, which will usually be cheaper than a separate independent survey.  The downside of this is that the surveyor will be from a large firm which is likely to constrain how long they can spend on each survey, and you may not be able to speak to the actual surveyor.   With an independent surveyor you will be able to speak to the person actually looking at the property, both before and after the survey if you wish.  I expect to spend about 3 hours on site for a typical house, but if it needs more time, it gets more time.