As Safe As Houses by Silas J.Lees

Author:Silas J.Lees
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781784522186
Publisher: Panoma Press

Surveying The Property

As a surveyor myself, I felt that it was apt to add a chapter to the book regarding surveys and valuations on properties and what is involved, as in my experience this is the one area that many investors know very little about and it appears to be shrouded in mystery by the surveying profession! I hear many different views on the benefits or otherwise of having surveys and valuations performed on properties, and a lot of people do not see the value of having an independent, impartial and professional pair of eyes view the property as they feel they know what they are looking for.

Unfortunately, in my experience, this isn’t the case. To my mind, I will tell you that an independent survey and valuation is as important as using a solicitor to buy the property. There are so many instances I have encountered over my time as a property investor where people have lost a huge sum of money by thinking they knew what they are doing, however they have bought properties that needed significant structural work which was unseen at the time of viewing the property. Some rookie investors have bought properties which were unmortgageable, and as a result ended up leaving all their money in the property as they decided to buy it for cash. In the worst instances, I have known rookies buy properties on a bridging loan, which ended up costing them a small fortune on a monthly basis because they couldn’t refinance away from the bridging loan onto a traditional mortgage due to the lack of structural integrity within the property.

All told, not knowing the structural condition of the property you are considering buying can be the single biggest mistake you can make. The problem with getting a survey done after you have bought the property for cash is that there is no course for redress on the seller as the usual caveat emptor (buyer beware) applies. It is assumed that you know what you are doing and you have had every opportunity to inspect or have the property surveyed before you purchase it.

The main benefit of getting a professional survey on a property is that it provides you with enormous peace of mind that everything which is or might be wrong with the property is fully documented in a comprehensive report that you can review and pass onto your builder to ensure you have accounted for all items of work required. If you have missed something which will affect your potential profit margins, etc., you are in a strong position because you can then renegotiate with the seller in light of the findings in the surveyors report, or pull out of the purchase of the property if the findings are significant. The main advantage of using the report as a negotiating point is that the seller knows, if you don’t buy the property, anyone else coming along to buy it will find the same problems with the property based on another surveyor looking at the property.

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