Home Buyer Report Complaint

sandy10 · 29 Feb 2016 at 19:49

Hi,

I had a RICS Home Buyer report undertaken in June 2012 prior to the house purchase.

I am now selling the house, and the buyer has sent a surveyor round to do the same.

Having spoken to the surveyor, he indicated a few things on the previous report which were questionable and that I "might" be able to claim against it.

Firstly, it's a 1930's house with the original roof, and it effectively needs replacing - it's moved a fair deal and there are a number of tiles missing. The previous report indicated the roof level as "1 - no repair is currently needed". As a consequence, the new survey will indicate this within his report, which the buyer is obviously going to ask for a discount. The surveyor indicated this is an age problem and hasn't happened over the last 4 years.

Also, the original report indicated electrics, water and gas were all rated as "1" but I have been told a RICS Surveyor is not allowed to review these as such and can only offer advice such as referal to a specialist.

Does anyone have any experience in such a claim, or knowledge if this? obviously if we had know this at the time of purchase we could have asked for more of a discount.

We have had a Roof Company around today to survey and offer a quote so we have something to compare the buyer's demands against.

Thanks in advance.

knip · 29 Feb 2016 at 19:59

My electrics got a 4 on the place I have since bought, it advised they be replaced so I'm not sure where the info came from that they can't advise on stuff like that.

I've since had it rewired. But I knew I was going to have to when I bought the place. I did get it for a very good price though and am in the process of modernising it.

Cavallino · 29 Feb 2016 at 20:10

I would recommend to start here bud:

http://www.rics.org/uk/regulation1/complaints1/

But tbh, I would be surprised if you get anywhere with this as more often than not they've got ways to swindle their way around this. But wishing you good luck.

sandy10 · 29 Feb 2016 at 20:13

Thank you -

The fact that they committed to saying no work was needed is a bit disappointing.

All we can do is try

Cheers ,

DB_SamX · 29 Feb 2016 at 20:25

Surely, it could juse be two differing professional opinions. Just bear in mind you may need a third independent one.

rubberduck · 29 Feb 2016 at 20:33

Best of luck but I would imagine their T&Cs are pretty watertight to avoid having such things come back to haunt them... Even if they did carry out a shoddy job with the report.

Efour · 29 Feb 2016 at 22:43

Sounds like a great way to waste a lot of time and money to get nowhere. Good luck though.

sandy10 · 29 Feb 2016 at 22:47

Efour said:
Sounds like a great way to waste a lot of time and money to get nowhere. Good luck though.

In what way am I wasting money? Thanks for your valued input though. Highly regarded.

Destination · 29 Feb 2016 at 22:48

Have you had tiles missing for four years and never realised, or have they become fractured and gone missing in the time you pirchased the house?

sandy10 · 29 Feb 2016 at 22:50

Hikari Kisugi said:
Have you had tiles missing for four years and never realised, or have they become fractured and gone missing in the time you pirchased the house?

The obsolescence was over many years rather than three I'm told.

Destination · 29 Feb 2016 at 23:16

Indeed, it may slowly fail over time, but there is a straw which breaks the camels back.
When did the roof tiles go missing for example?

swillsy · 29 Feb 2016 at 23:25

I got one and regretted it - literally just says that everything COULD be an issue and doesn't really identify the serious stuff. If anything does go wrong and it's not in the report then you can't do anything as you will need to sign a disclaimer to get it.

jbh110tdi · 1 Apr 2016 at 11:10

My dad's in the same situation regarding the home report.

He sold the house we grew up in as it was to big for just him and my step mother.
so they bought a 3 apartment house and the home report listed the roof as level 1 no repair is currently needed...

this was around 18 months ago..
so 6 months ago when we started to floor the loft we found the insulation was wet in places.. so a quick call to a mate and he came for a look. once they were up on the roof they came down and told us it needed redoing.
My dad got a second opinion and that boy said the same.

so My mate started work on it and it turned out there was no under felt beneath the tiles and most of the wood was rotten. so it turned out to be a fair sized job considering it was level 1 no repair currently needed..

when my dad contacted them they stated that as they couldn't get access to the roof they could only go on a visual from looking up from outside!!
when my dad told them that the insulation was wet in places they told him
as the loft wasn't floored they never went into the loft to inspect anything they only shined a light in from the access hatch!!

as for the electrics being in good condition... that's another story!! lets say if my dad wasn't a qualified sparky he would have had a very large bill...

Teknobry · 1 Apr 2016 at 11:59

follow their complaints procedure, then take it to the ombudsman.
they've found in my favour and the surveyor has to pay me 4k for an asbestos issue he missed.

delta0 · 1 Apr 2016 at 12:07

We've had a few powerful storms in the last few years. These could easily have removed tiles from the roof. I remember a couple of years ago laying in bed listening to the tiles sliding along the roof and smashing on the ground.

joelk2 · 1 Apr 2016 at 12:10

those reports have a lot to be desired.

my shed electrics were reported as being unsafe and needing urgent attention (my mate who is a sparky came and tested all my electrics and they were fine)

the shed was described as being dilapidated and recommended we rebuild it (brick attached to the house - I asked a friendly neighbor builder to have a look and he said it looks fine)

sometimes these reports seem as if theyre not worth the paper theyre written on.

kaktus · 1 Apr 2016 at 15:05

joelk2 said:
sometimes these reports seem as if theyre not worth the paper theyre written on.

Sometimes? They aren't worth the paper they're printed on 100% of the time. It absolutely boggles me how people expect someone to tell them things like joists are rotten. and structural supports have issues. Newsflash - If you can't see it, they can't see it.

Surveys are a waste of money and time. If you absolutely insist on having a survey done, pay for a verbal walkthrough and assessment. It should cost less than £120 and you're more likely to get real advice since the surveyor isn't on the hook for things he doesn't have to put in writing.

As with anything it's common sense, if the roof is sagging there's a problem. If there's a big damp patch half way up the wall, there's a problem. If window sills look like someone's been chewing on them for 10 years, there's a problem.

Raumarik · 1 Apr 2016 at 15:11

Someone asking for a discount on buying your house over this? I'd be saying "this is included in the current asking price" and telling them to do one.

If it was a structural fault that needed rectifying because of safety etc then fair enough but this is mostly cosmetic stuff or as expected due to the age of the property.

Slam62 · 1 Apr 2016 at 15:17

Just ignore it, its only a recommendation

danielanthony · 1 Apr 2016 at 15:22

The surveyors report will also affect the valuation for mortgage purposes and so is a bit hard to ignore if your buyer needs to get a mortgage.

If the house was valued incorrectly 4 years ago due to issues missed, then this could have a financial impact on you today i.e. lower sale price due to necessary repair.