mark wrote:
"Duncan Di Saudelli" wrote in message
...
Hello

We're buying a detached house, built in the 1960-69 period. It's standard
construction as far as I can see (bricks, don't know about cavity wall,
tiled roof)and is on an established housing estate. There's been an
extension built at some stage, ading an upstairs bedroom and a downstairs
dining room. The extension seems well-done to me, and there are no obvious
signs of cracks in the brickwork etc. but note that I know almost nothing
about building houses or extensions.

I suspect that a standard "homebuyer's survey" would have sufficed but I
decided to be extra sure, hence going the extra 250 quid for the building
survey. Apart from asking the surveyor to pay particular attention to the
electrical wiring and the flat roof that makes up the attached garage and
utility room area, what other things might you suggest that I ask the
surveyor to highlight? I have only ever had a homebuyer's survey done
before, so I don't know how much extra detail I should expect for my
outlay or what I should be entitled to ask for specifically.

TIA for opinions based on your experiences

DDS





One thing I do know is surveyors don't like being told what to look out for.
I would imagine that a large proportion of the surveyors fees is for
insurance or indemity fees etc.
A surveyor can only see what you can see. However he will be better at
interpreting cracks and other apparent defects.
I think a lot of people use the surveyor as a negotiating tool as he's bound
to find something which you can use to get at least his fee off the asking
price.

I've bought several properties but have never used a surveyor. I don't need
to pay £500 to be told it's a pile of junk, or that the gutter leaks, when I
can see that for myself.

mark




The fact that they wear suits and don't carry ladders tells you a lot