Unhappy with Surveyor Report - should I pay?

redt0m

Ok, so this is the report I received, if anyone wants a gander at it:

killers1

redt0m wrote: »

Ok, so this is the report I received, if anyone wants a gander at it:

Sorry but that genuinely made me laugh out loud... Looks like a builder giving you a list of a few jobs to be carried out. Go to a proper surveyors website, print off a sample report and tell him you want something similarly detailed or you're not paying OR tell him the report was extremely unsatisfactory and you'll pay half the fee, but then get an expert to do a proper inspection. You're making possibly the biggest purchase in your life - why do purchasers cut corners on a survey to save a couple of €00's when the end result could cost €000's??

D3PO

OP seriously did his 3 year old child put that together ?

im assuming you have gone back and refused to pay ?

what did he say when you asked for a copy of his professional indeminity insurance cert ?

MouseTail

I retract earlier post, that's very poor indeed. Not sure what you can do though. You will certainly need another report to satisfy Bank and Solicitor.

killers1

D3PO wrote: »

what did he say when you asked for a copy of his professional indeminity insurance cert ?

He probably drew one on the spot....

redt0m

I rang him, said I have shown it to a few people and they have all basically laughed at it and so I am concerned that I won't actually be able to use it. He said 'I do these kind of reports all the time'. I'd hate to see what he charges for a proper report. I told him I'm awaiting feedback on it and will get back to him after that (have reached out to IEI for any comments). I also asked him for his Indemnity Insurance cert and he mumbled 'yeah, yeah, ok'. I'm going to draw a line under the whole thing on Monday and move on. If the IEI express reservations about the report I'll have some official feedback and won't be paying.

killers1

redt0m wrote: »

I rang him, said I have shown it to a few people and they have all basically laughed at it and so I am concerned that I won't actually be able to use it. He said 'I do these kind of reports all the time'. I'd hate to see what he charges for a proper report. I told him I'm awaiting feedback on it and will get back to him after that (have reached out to IEI for any comments). I also asked him for his Indemnity Insurance cert and he mumbled 'yeah, yeah, ok'. I'm going to draw a line under the whole thing on Monday and move on. If the IEI express reservations about the report I'll have some official feedback and won't be paying.

The bank only need to see a copy of the report if the property is over 100 years old or if the banks Valuer indicates a survey is required. That report is for your peace of mind that there are no structural issues etc not that it's very comprehensive. Many people get surveys carried out by competent builders who wouldn't have PI cover and the surveyors that do have PI cover will have a load of disclaimers in their report to protect themselves anyway.

Doop

killers1 wrote: »

. Many people get surveys carried out by competent builders who wouldn't have PI cover and the surveyors that do have PI cover will have a load of disclaimers in their report to protect themselves anyway.

Using a builder for a condition survey would be a bad idea, fair enough if you simply want to price getting work done.

Surveyors can write in disclaimers until the cows come home, it isnt a get out of everything clause unless its genuine case of something they could not have seen. As long as any other competent surveyor would have picked up on the issue they have little to no defence.

See;
Walsh v Jones Lang Lasalle

infoguy

I just noticed your question and hope that i can be of help.
I'm an Engineer registered with the Institute of Engineers of Ireland, sole trader, and with thirty six years of experience in house surveys. I have to say that you were treated very badly by who ever it was that provided you with a hand written sketch. No! do'nt pay for it - you did,nt get what you asked for.As for the guy who said that he got a massive number of pages in his report - then that's nearly as bad because the examination was of a house - it was,nt a hotel !
If that guy was registered with the I.E.I. his name should appear on the register of that institution but you need to know what title he is using first before you can check. You were charged far too much for what he did anyway. The going rate locally is 250 euro for a fully comprehensive check of the property. Furthermore, never take the recommendation of a builder in a case like this as there could be a conflict of interest.

hometruths

bovril wrote: »

I'm not sure I would pay if I were you. Just for a comparison, we got a surveyor's report a couple of weeks back and it was 47 pages in total. Some of it was a glossary at the front but for the most part the Surveyor had photos of everything he checked. He even took photos of some readings from the gadgets he used to measure humidity etc. I feel he did a very thorough job and mentioned everything no matter how small. I'm not even sure if your guy gave enough information for your solicitor to work with. Usually the report is sent to your solicitor as it mentions any extensions/changes to the property and boundaries which the solicitor might need to check. Also our surveyor was then available to answer any questions we had on the report afterwards.

Hi bovril, if this guy is anywhere near Dublin/Wicklow any chance you could pm me his details?

Thanks!