A penetrating look behind the scenes

House of Cards

TRUE STORY. Needs work! Yes, the young couple knew that the handsome and detached - and also old and tired - house in an upmarket London suburb needed work. They budgeted for renovation. They did not anticipate living in a building site.

When their decorator prepared to start painting, he realised that the walls were on the verge of collapse - and redecoration just might push them over the edge. Replastering was needed before painting could begin.

Fragile walls were not the only problem.

Almost every room needed shoring up, and builders were on the job for more than a year. During that time, several rooms were off-limits, and dust and mayhem were everywhere. The total renovation was financially costly and enormously disruptive.

A pre-purchase full structural survey would have paid for itself many times over. The buyers could have walked away from the property altogether or negotiated a lower price, many thousands of pounds lower.

Some homebuyers don't hire a surveyor because they want to save some money. Others believe that surveys are worthless and a waste of money: surveyors can't lift nailed-down carpets; they can't see behind walls, and their reports are filled with disclaimers.

Unfortunately, these cynics are not entirely wrong. Some surveyors do provide a poor service.

But most do not, and a building survey would have benefited the couple described above emotionally as well as financially.

Similar point on a smaller scale from another true story: a homeowner inherited some money and used it to buy a flat to let. The flat was fairly new and in apparently good nick so she did not have a survey.

For several years fortune smiled on her - she had a succession of tenants but none caused problems and a new tenant usually followed quickly on the heels of a departing renter. After a few years, however, the bathroom needed refurbishment due to clearly inadequate ventilation.

A surveyor would have identified the ventilation problem at the outset. Paying for the surveyor and the followup work at the very beginning would have been cheaper and easier on the emotions than having ro remedy the problem under severe time pressure years later.

Why Waste Money on a Survey?

Many—in fact, most—buyers do not commission their own survey, relying instead on the lender's valuation (which is not really a survey at all). But most surveyors do a professional job, and it is simply too risky to not have a survey.

Is the Surveyor Always Right?

A first-time-buyer in Ealing, west London had a survey report which stated that the windows needed replacing. However, his handyman noticed that their neighbours' windows were all original, and he recommended repair rather than replacement. "He saved us hundreds of pounds, and now we are doing other work in the house which we previously couldn't afford," says the buyer.

Surveys and New Properties???

Many buyers of new homes think that, in light of their 10-year NHBC or Zurich guarantee, they do not need a survey. Some property professionals disagree:

Stephen Kew, a solicitor with Essex-based Cunnington's, advises homebuyers to get a full structural survey even for brand new properties. "One of our clients did this for a flat under construction and they discovered subsidence. They backed away from the purchase. The client lost only the local search and partial legal fees."

Surveyor and author George Collard emphasises the different time frames covered by the guarantee; for example, one year for boilers, two years for building faults, and ten years for structural defects.

"But, but, BUT...it is entirely up to you to find these faults, if they exist, and to report them before the particular guarantee periods expire - and how can you do this without a structural survey."

Collard recommends a thorough inspection before the two-year deadline, and a structural survey before year ten. Collard is the author of D.I.Y. Surveying: A Practical Guide to House Inspection and the Detection of Defects.

Q - When is a survey not a survey?

Correct Answer I: When a lazy surveyor does a too-casual inspection.

Correct Answer II: When the "survey" is really - and only - a mortgage lender's valuation.

There are surveyors...and there are surveyors.

As in virtually all professions, surveyors range from below-average to above-average, with most in between. Some surveyors cut corners, but most surveyors are honest and hardworking - and their reports offer good value.

Instead of simply picking a name from a hat, interview the prospective surveyor. Ask if you can accompany him or her during the survey. If they refuse, ask them if they will take digital pictures during their survey and send them to you. If they refuse that request as well, find another surveyor - one who is more prepared to provide the kind of service you want.

Tony Saffrey is one such customer-orientated surveyor, albeit one who prefers that clients do not accompany him as he makes his rounds. He explains: "I tend to work methodically and if interrupted I can easily miss something. But I don’t mind meeting the buyer on the site after the survey and pointing things out to them in the property.”

In addition to a post-survey meeting on the premises, “I show the client the photographs I’ve taken and give them copies,” says Saffrey. With digital photos, you can email the pictures to friends or property professionals for their evaluations and opinions.

"Pretend" Surveys

A survey is not a proper survey when the "survey" is really - and only - a mortgage lender's valuation or appraisal.

Don't make the common mistake of believing that the lender's valuation is a report on the general condition of the property.

The valuation primarily answers one question: will the lender's money be safe? A property can need a great deal of work and still pass that test.

The mortgage lender's valuation tends to be extremely superficial. In some cases, the surveyor doesn't even enter the premises, let alone inspect or actually survey it. So-called "drive-by surveys" are precisely that: the surveyor drives by the property, takes a look, sees that the structure looks basically sound, and returns to base.

Furthermore, although you pay for the lender's valuation, you are not really the client. The surveyor is reporting to the lender.

What the Surveyor(s) Saw

Here is an anecdote with two morals to the tale: the dangers of DIY, and the virtue of a good survey:

Graham Waterton, an estate agent with Strutt & Parker in Salisbury, was selling a converted barn that appealed to several buyers but didn't deceive their surveyors. “To the layman the property looked fine, but several surveyors working independently for different buyers identified major problems with the central heating, the roof, the windows, the wiring, and just about everything else the seller had touched. He had run out of money during the conversion, let the builder go, and finished the job himself."

The final price was £100,000 less the asking price. The buyer negotiated the lower price due to the remedial work he would have to do to get the property up to scratch.

These comments from Tony Saffrey and Graham Waterton originally appeared in "Who Surveys the Surveyors?", an article of mine that appeared in The Observer.

Be Your Own Surveyor

Before you instruct a chartered surveyor for a Homebuyer Survey and Valuation or Structural Survey (see below), you can do yourself some favours by doing some amateur sleuthing of your own on the properties you view.

Is the property reasonably priced? Will you have to make numerous repairs? If those cracks on the wall are symptoms of subsidence, will you be able to get a mortgage? Indeed, will you want to buy that property after all? You can start to answer some important questions before you instruct a surveyor, and perhaps save yourself the expense of hiring one at all.

That is the why of it. What about How?

Windows and doors. The roof. The loft. The brickwork. The radiators. The boiler. The ceilings, walls and floors. Look at each systematically, and note cracks, evidence of water stains, unevenness in walls or ceilings, holes in floorboards, and anything else that seems unusual. Make a master checklist and bring it to each property you view.

Toolkit tells you what to include in your viewer's arsenal.

Types of Surveys

RICS - Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - supports two types of surveys:

Homebuyer Survey and Valuation (HSV) This is most suitable for conventional properties built within the last 150 years, which are in reasonable condition. It provides a concise report detailing any significant problems that could make a difference to the value of the property.

In addition to providing a valuation of the property, the HSV alerts the buyer to problems that the buyer urgently needs to consider before buying the property.

Building Survey This is suitable for all residential properties, providing a detailed report on their construction and condition, says RICS. Building Surveys are particularly useful if the property is dilapidated, has been extensively altered or you’re planning a major conversion or renovation.

Another Option: Your choice is not limited purely to a homebuyer's report versus a structural survey.

Hire a surveyor by the hour? Yes, it can be done, and some circumstances cry out for it - for example, at an early stage you might want to know the general condition of an old house rather than detailed specific reports on the roof, the windows and numerous other bits. A surveyor's superficial or casual inspection may provide the information you need at that stage. It will take much less time, and cost much less, than a structural survey. (If you remain interested in the property after this casual report, you can then commission a full survey.) www.rics.org/propertysurveys

Who Judges Surveyors?

An Ombudsman, that's who. RICS has set 1 June 2007 as the starting date for their new ombudsman programme.

How to Find a Professional Surveyor

RICS will provide you with the contact details of three surveyors in your area.

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