Mortgage Survey findings

[Chris_81]

My sisters friend has just asked me if I'll go round and test a house she's put an offer in for. This is the report she got....

The meter and consumer unit are located in the cupboard within the kitchen. Where visable, the instalation has been wired in plastic covered cable.

Surely that just means its wired in t&e?

There are a number of surface mounted fittings within the property which is now regarded as unacceptable practice.

Is it? Since when? So why do places sell surface mounting boxes then!!

When considering the presence of rewireable fuses it would be prudent to have the system checked an tested before exchange of contracts by an approved electrical engineer.

Fair enough but surely you can say the same about any system. My house was rewired 10yrs ago, has mcbs, no rcd in site and the cable for bonding are to small. None of this was picked up on my survey. Guess this is just them covering themselves.

The bit that has confused me is they're classed the condition as 3, which in their info is effectively the same as a code 1 on a pir. I fail to see how a few surface mounted sockets and rewireable fuses can point to that without any testing?!

Am I missing something really obvious here??

 

[m4tty]

Sounds like they ain't got a clue mate. How you doing anyway you ain't been on for a while?

 

[Chris_81]

Exactly what I thought mate! Not been bad, covering ridiculous distances for the idiots I work for and major amounts of diy haven't left me much spare time. How you getting on?

 

[ProDave]

The important thing is are the mortgage company making a big thing about this, in particular are they talking about a retention until the "faults" are fixed. If so perhaps you (or somebody else) should do a full PIR to see what really needs doing.

When I bought a previous house (which I knew needed rewiring) the mortgage company wanted to keep back

 

[Chris_81]

The insurance company aren't bothered by it at all, have said its up to her if she wants it done. I'm going round next week to do a full PIR on it for her.

Biggest joke about the survey is it doesn't mention anywhere the house used to be prefab and has only recently been converted. Neither my sister or her friend realised this until I pointed it out to them!!!

 

[revjames]

cut and paste paragraphs on the report usually. No idea at all.

 

[steptoe]

re-wireable usually means its 30+ years old so time frame for a rewire in their eyes probably.

Im puzzled about how you can convert something from being a prefab unless you pull it down.......

 

[Chris_81]

Its concrete panels for the ground floor then the upstairs is plywood with tiles attached to it. You put in a load of akros (sp) then remove the lower walls and replace with a proper cavity wall.

Changes it from this:

Google Maps

To this:

3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Knockhall Road, Greenhithe, DA9

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 20:59 ---------- Previous post was made at 20:56 ----------

Here you go Steps, another example.

Level Line Construction Ltd

 

[wozz]

If the surveyor was provided with the paperwork to say the house was of standard construction would he have mentioned it?

I thought this was the point in changing these places from non standard construction?

 

[steptoe]

Its concrete panels for the ground floor then the upstairs is plywood with tiles attached to it. You put in a load of akros (sp) then remove the lower walls and replace with a proper cavity wall.Changes it from this:

Google Maps

To this:

3 bedroom semi-detached house for sale in Knockhall Road, Greenhithe, DA9

---------- Post Auto-Merged at 20:59 ---------- Previous post was made at 20:56 ----------

Here you go Steps, another example.

Level Line Construction Ltd

with you now mate, have saw a few of them, just never heard it referred to as a converted prefab before....

see, learn something new all the time in this game

 

[Chris_81]

If the surveyor was provided with the paperwork to say the house was of standard construction would he have mentioned it? I thought this was the point in changing these places from non standard construction?

The big problem with them is the dividing wall is still concrete. So although it looks converted it technically isn't fully

 

[mikep]

Surveyors know nothing, they try to give an opinion on subjects they know nothing about or even try to research, I was buying a house which the y said the roof was overloaded in weight due to the fact that the tiles had been changed from clay to concrete, the fact was I was held up on the mortgage for this and contacted the manufacturer of the tile, it worked out that these new tiles were 25% lighter than the clay ones so I wrote to the building society who actually gave me a refund on the survey.

 

[sprocketflup]

And of course house surveys aint worth the paper they are written on - I shant be bothering again. If you read the small print, its nothing more than an arse covering exercise, they dont even move furniture out of the way ffs

 

[batty]

Ok if they are done by a decent company there was one on a rogue trader programme that had been done very badly that needed a lot of work doing to put it right. As for surveys you would be better getting somebody in who knows what to look for. I had a customer that brought a property without a survey and this was an early truss roof house that didn't have the ties on the trusses now the roof was leaning over nearly a foot at the top it could have fallen over at any time. They paid to much for the property and have had the loft converted into rooms to get over the problem. So they have spent a fortune it may have improved the house but they would not have spent the money if the problem did not exist.

 

[Doc Hudson]

There are a number of surface mounted fittings within the property which is now regarded as unacceptable practice.Is it? Since when? So why do places sell surface mounting boxes then!!

Gosh!! looks like an increase in work around to replace all these surface fittings then gents? Can we do metal clad garage, shed, workshop fittings as well? How about fuse boxes, lets go flush, rip out all these big ugly surface enclosures! Unbelievable.

Doc H.

 

[Badger]

whats the point of a survey if your sole intention to buy a house is to refurb the property yourself, ie strip the electrics, heating and replace all wiring, gas pipes (suitable heating/plumbing trade for gas/water stuff) and basically make the house into something that is upto standards from the day you move in ie the house id look at buying is a house refurb job wher its been repossed by the bank, its cheaper, and the works needed are not imporatnt as everything will get ripped out.

whats the point of a survey on something like this?

 

[apprentice87]

Yep, surveyors are a waste of time. I bought a house years ago, and from the survey report [details of which i cannot remember] they had not even been inside. For a start off they claimed it had cavity walls when it had solid ones and then they went downhill from there. Actually, from what i remember, it was doubtful that they had actually even BEEN to the house...

The only thing they are looking for basically is that the house is worth what the mortgage company are lending you, after that they do not care and it is just a talk crap to justify the cost exercise.

Best of it is, if you buy a house surveyed by them and it is all wrong you have got no comeback at all. First off they will say it was a "housebuyers valuation survey" so "tough on you you tight arse, you should have paid for a "full structural survey"

OK, ok, lets say you DID have the full structural one. IF and it is a big IF you manage to convince a court that the surveyor was wrong [and where you gonna find a surveyor that will back you up, cos they will all stick together] you will find that the maximum damages the court will give you will be the difference between what the house is worth as it is, and what it WOULD have been worth without the faults.

Trouble is, it might not affect the value of the house all that much, but the cost of having the work done is liable to be bundles.

Forget about surveys and surveyors, you would be better off to get an ordinary firm of builders to have a look!!

As to the question of why have a survey in the first place, it will be a condition of the mortgage, the survey is for THEIR benefit, but you are paying..... Something wrong there..Oh yes, i forgot, a scam just like the banks!!!!!!!!!!

john

 

[steptoe]

remember, when you buy a house all you are buying is 4 walls and a roof,

it that is sound then all is well,

if they arent sound,

then walk away.

 

[ProDave]

Actually, in law, when you buy a house, you are just buying the piece of land.

It may happen to have a building upon it, but in law, it's the land you buy, not the house.

 

[steptoe]

so how come you pay ground rent then?

isnt it the other way round?