Читать книгу Money: A User’s Guide - Laura Whateley - Страница 43

When you get a mortgage your bank will want to check that the property you want to buy actually exists, as well as that it is worth the price you are going to pay for it: the bank does not want to lose money if it has to repossess. It will therefore carry out a mortgage-valuation survey, which you will probably have to pay for: a few hundred pounds. Do not make the frequently made mistake of relying on this as some kind of comprehensive survey of whether or not the house you are buying may fall down.

You need another building survey, by a qualified surveyor, or the less extensive homebuyer’s survey to check for damp or rot or Japanese knotweed or a ceiling that is about to collapse. You are not obliged to have one, but you may regret it if you do not and there are extensive problems in your new home.

Some are considered not worth the paper they are written on, however, so put some research into what kind of survey to go for, and whether it is worth it for the type of property you are buying. Expect to pay from £300 to well over £1,000, according to the HomeOwners Alliance. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors site (RICS.org) is a good starting point.