house purchase survey

[Terry7556]

not sure about the correct section but here goes
im buying an unoccupied house,my offer was accepted yesterday. as i dont need a mortgage i assume that i am responsible for a survey.
which method do i use to survey the property, im thinking there will be some get out clause in the house insurance that is a disclaimer if something should go wrong, if i dont carry out a survey by someone who is rics qualified.
a friend of mine who is a project manager is coming with me next visit to carry out a survey of the property. whilst practical this survey will have no legal weight.

 

[big-all]

as you might expect your insurance company would be a good place to start

if your house is falling down you will have to declare this when you fill in the questionare
they wont cover lack off maintainance issues

 

[^woody^]

You are under no obligation to have any survey as part of a purchase, and normal home insurance is not dependent or conditional on there being a survey done

 

[Terry7556]

ive been looking on google , seems theres 3 choices
valuation
home buyers report
full structural survey
as they wont touch a wall or lift a floorboard i dont see the use of any of them.if they see a potential problem ie wiring they say get a specialist in.
they dont offer me any security or peace of mind that will match the experience of someone in the trade, like my pal
the lad i work with, not the project manager says to me the only use of any house report is the chance to go back to the seller and say so & so needs doing like a rewire, can you knock some money off
i suppose at the end of the day you need someones opinion when its the biggest purchase you ever make

 

[Terry7556]

i have booked a home buyers report with a local surveyor for £375 +vat
for this i get a report 25-30 pages long detailing the condition of the property, values , insurance values and whether he recommends if any work is required. he estimates his time on site at 2.5 hours, and during the last half hour he is prepared to see me to discuss anything i want to bring up.
woody was correct about no requirement for a survey, my soicitor said "buyer beware" applies
also she said that the seller was required to empty the house but does not have to clean it