House buying.

[Fastpedaller]

Many years ago I asked a surveyor's office the following to decide whether it was worth getting the survey done:-
Q1) there is a tree in the garden about 20 ft from the building, are you able to advise as part of your survey?
A. You would need a tree expert to tell you if that was likely to be a problem.
Q2) The consumer unit looks like a museum exhibit, so do you advise on this and wiring.
A. We can tell you roughly the age of the consumer unit.
These answers confirmed the doubts I had about the worth of (at the time, 30 years ago) £600 for a survey.

 

[Jameshow]

Many years ago I asked a surveyor's office the following to decide whether it was worth getting the survey done:-
Q1) there is a tree in the garden about 20 ft from the building, are you able to advise as part of your survey?
A. You would need a tree expert to tell you if that was likely to be a problem.
Q2) The consumer unit looks like a museum exhibit, so do you advise on this and wiring.
A. We can tell you roughly the age of the consumer unit.
These answers confirmed the doubts I had about the worth of (at the time, 30 years ago) £600 for a survey.

That's probably one thing that concerns me the neighbours have some large (roof height) leylandi.
I wonder if they will be an issue come survey time?

 

[Jameshow]

Going for a second visit today 1pm - meeting the vendor what questions should I ask???

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Going for a second visit today 1pm - meeting the vendor what questions should I ask???

WHat are you planning on leaving?
what problems do you know of? (They may or may not lie!)

what are the neighbours like (again - they may lie - who knows?)
how old is the boiler etc etc

What are the energy bills like?

that's a starter anyway

 

[Electric_Andy]

Going for a second visit today 1pm - meeting the vendor what questions should I ask???

We had loads of things leak/break/become unusable in our first 12 months of moving in. But they were not things you could necessarily check during a viewing. Also some things looked fine when we viewed but soon deteriorated. Those tpyes of things can be fixed though, and are not usually something you can haggle over.

The big things are structural (cracks/signs of repair) and damp (mould or musty smells). This often happens on the most exposed corner or side of a house i.e. where the weather usually blows in from. I would also check the damp proof course around the house and any out buildings - driveways and paths often get concreted in and can intrude into the damp proof course. Some people also screw pipes and fittings into DPC as well, so check that. Look at drainage - any signs of pooled water, especially dried up mud which indicates regular and pooling rain water.

Try visiting the property during rush hour, and see how long it might take you to get in and out. Some places around here are terrible (if you own a vehicle).

The loft is also worth a look, mostly for damp and any cracking of the beams or brickwork

 

[DRM]

in my experience they’ll always find something, it’s like asking turkeys to vote for Christmas.

Not this one, he's done work for us, and never ripped us off, he said to walk away from this one, so not even after the work

 

[ebikeerwidnes]

Not this one, he's done work for us, and never ripped us off, he said to walk away from this one, so not even after the work

As always - it is finding an honest one that is the problem - looks like you have!

 

[Profpointy]

Another thought is if you know a builder. You'd have to know them quite well, as a builder would likely not want to "do a survey" on a professional basis, but might be willing to give you a list of jobs-to-be-done on a more informal basis, perhaps for a day's pay.

You'd need a mortgage valuation as well in this instance

 

[Gunk]

As always - it is finding an honest one that is the problem - looks like you have!

Ideally a roofing contractor you know personally