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When buying a house, you need to be aware that you must always have a survey carried out before contracts have been exchanged. This is because upon exchange of contracts, you and the seller become legally bound to go ahead with the transaction upon the terms and at the price agreed.
The principle of caveat emptor applies, which simply means “let the buyer beware”. It’s basically up to you to discover any physical defects in the property, the seller doesn’t have to tell you about them.
A survey (and not a basic valuation) is always money well spent because not only might a physically defective house be dangerous for you to live in but it will also be difficult to sell in the future. In addition, the cost of putting problems right could be huge and the market value of the house could be reduced if you don’t put them right! You could be paying more than you should for the property and a full survey is the best way to avoid this.
Sometimes when buying a house, a survey of a neighbouring property might be necessary e.g. if you are purchasing a flat or a property attached to a neighbouring property. In these cases, you can ask your surveyor to inspect the main structure of the house and the adjoining house.
This is particularly relevant when buying a flat, because if the main building is in poor repair, you might find yourself paying an increased service charge to the landlord to repair it in the future.
When choosing a surveyor, make sure they are registered with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors and get three quotes for comparison. You can check registration or find a surveyor in your area by visiting;-
http://www.rics.org/Usingasurveyor/Findasurveyor/spotlight.htm
Don’t forget that the surveyor won’t move furniture during his inspection. Horror stories of missing plasterboard, holes, missing carpet, concrete instead of flooring etc. do exist for good reason! Inspect carefully and don’t hesitate to ask your conveyancing solicitor for his advice.
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