Would a home buyers survey comment on wall construction

[pgriff35]

I'm having a home buyers survey on a late Victorian brick semi-detached cottage. Would the survey comment on the construction of the external wall and the neighbouring dividing wall?

Just wondering if they would mention the wall thickeness and whether extra sound insulation has been added at all. If they thought the dividing wall was thin because of the age of the house would they comment?

Many thanks

 

[TonyW2]

Ask the surveyor that you wish to engage.

 

[pgriff35]

Ask the surveyor that you wish to engage.

True but it's arranged through mortgage lender so no idea who they're using yet!

 

[sjchapman]

I very much doubt it, essentially they are acting in the interests of the lender and not the buyer, to establish if the property is worth the monies being lent. If there's structural defects this may affect the value of the house, thus not being worth what you're paying for it, but things like wall construction will require you getting your own structural survey I reckon.

 

[^woody^]

Is it a valuation survey for the mortgage, or a Home Buyers Survey for you?

They are different, but either way, neither will comment on the wall unless it's out of the ordinary. They will just state a likely construction.

 

[tony1851]

It would be highly unlikely that any surveyor would comment on the thickness of the party wall; they wouldn't know unless they had access to both properties and could take careful measurements.

Most urban houses from the late 19th c. would have 9" party walls, though many still had 4 1/2" walls, which noise-wise can be like sharing your house with another family.

 

[^woody^]

Unless the surveyor has a Labrador, then he should be able to say, with a high degree of confidence, what the construction and party wall is most likely to be just by looking at the front of the house and knowing what area it is located in.

 

[tony1851]

Yes, silly me; I forgot surveyors could count bricks.

 

[SimonH2]

And when you do see the report, expect to see lots of "standard terms" (boilerplate text) - mostly designed to absolve the surveyor of any risk.

For example, on the electrics there may be some general observations which are meaningless - and a recommendation to get an electrical inspection done.
So unless there is something glaringly obviously wrong, the report is worthless on the electrics.

Ditto for many other things.

But it does depend on what you are paying for. Unless you shell out for the full survey, it's little more than checking that what you are buying is worth enough to be surety for the loan. Put another way, if they have to repossess it and sell it, will they get their money back ?

 

[^woody^]

A building surveyor is not qualified to comment on electric, and is unlikely to have a bag full of the required test equipment either.

What the surveyor will or won't inspect will be in the confirmation of instruction.