Surveying the equestrian property - advice please?

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kit279

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Starting to think about getting a surveyor involved at the yard/house I'm trying to buy. The house and the land are being sold as separate transactions although by the same vendor. The house is in need of some work although the land looks absolutely fine to me.

Should I get a survey done by a surveyor who is experienced with old houses and get the land surveyed separately by a rural-type surveyor? Or can I find someone who can do both? Am just a bit worried that something might get missed by an all-in-one equestrian surveyor.

Can anyone talk me through their experiences? This is my first house and I would be enormously pleased if it could be as stress-free an experience as possible!! If anyone can recommend a reputable company (preferably from personal experience) in the East Anglia area, I'd also be very very grateful!!
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I used to be a Mortgage Broker so I will try and help if I can! First thing is:

Are you getting a mortgage on the property?

If you are there are 3 types of survey possible a basic survey, what is called a 'Homebuyers survey' which is more in depth or a 'Full Strutural Survey' which is the most expensive and thorough one available. If there is a mortgage on the property (house) the lender will insist on a basic survey and depending on findings possibly a 'Full Structural' survey to look at anything that may cause concern in more detail. It is probably best to approach your mortgage broker or lender to discuss this in a bit more detail with you as they will know the property.

If it just just for your own peace of mind Countrywide do a large proportion of surveys for Mortgage lenders and may be worth a look.

Regarding the land i'm affraid i'm not sure on that one.
Hope this helps a little?
 
Yes I agree with the post above. If you have a full survey dont worry if things show up, all old houses have something. As far as the land goes, if you are borrowing money to buy it they may request you have a valuation done on it. On a personal level I would check with the local council the planning staus of the land and buildings and if there are any contaminated land issues. I would check if there is any rot or woodworm in the stables, if there is a manege or sand school ask how it is contructed/planes etc to determine if it has good drainange/land drains etc. This will help you determine if its worth what they are asking. This is probbaly a good time to by land as you are seeing it at its wettest and worst. Good luck.
 
No, don't have to get a mortgage at this point. Might get one later on if decide to do an extension or similar but for the moment, not planning on it. The survey is more for peace of mind and so that if I have to resell it, I know that I'm not buying something that somebody else won't be able to raise a mortgage for.
 
When we bought our house we had a local surveyor do a full survey of the house and outbuildings on our behalf, and then arranged a basic homebuyer's report through the bank to meet the mortgage requirements.

I can't remember how much the independent surveyor's report was; I think about £450, and the bank's was £280 I think. It worked out cheaper to do it this way (I think the bank wanted about £800 for a full survey), and I felt a bit more confident relying on the report of someone who had been recommended to me and who I could get in touch with easily to discuss things.

The report did say that our house is pretty much falling down, so don't be suprised if a lot of scary things come up.

With respect to the land, we didn't have it surveyed, we knew the area and figured any scary things would come up as part of the conveyancing process, just make sure your solicitor runs mining and county council searches on the entire property.
 
Another good point of having a survey done is that if it revelas problems that you are prepared put right you can negotiate on the asking price using the information you have from the survey. When we sold our last property their survey showed the house had woodworm in the roof and a damp problem on one wall. The cost to treat both was about £1400 i had to knock that off by asking price for them to do the repairs!
 
Yeah we had the price reduced by £1000 when the vendor saw the report; I think he just felt a bit sorry for us, he had done nothing to the house since 1977!
 
I'd back up what greedyguts says.. And with no disrespect to any solicitors, do actually read all the searches yourself and check that they have included County Councils (as well as District). In my experience things which solicitors have glossed over, might be important to you. In particular do you have all the rights of access to the land that you might need for horses, and lorries etc , not just access for "grazing animals" or some wording which could throw up problems later. Sometimes when properties haven't changed hands in a long time, the descriptions doesn't reflect well how land is now used.
 
I would always get a survey carried out on a house just so that you know what is wrong with it.

As regards the land a local land surveyor can check it out for you. You need to check out that the land has had planning permission for change of use from agricultural to equestrian (otherwise you may not be able to keep your horses on it). If there is a seperate water supply to the field determine where the water metre and mains stop cocks are as you are resposnible for paying for any water used and if the pipes burst etc you can end up with a big bill!. Also find out about any drainage in the field and where the pipes are. Check the fencing as it is not cheap to replace. Also if there is direct access from the road to the field check that the highway authority have agreed to it.
 
We went to someone who was a specialist in agricultural properties and experienced in surverying houses in the area where we were buying. They will always come up with potential problems, that is their job, but don't be too put off by superficial faults. The survey tells you what you are getting into and it is better to know before than after! It is also important for insurance purposes because insurance companies will not cover for 'pre existing' problems. One of our past houses suffered from subsidence, an expensive fault to put right, and if we hadn't had the survey report that cleared the house of subsidence at the time we purchased, the insurance co would not have covered us. THat survey was worth its weight in gold! You can also sue the surveyor if they fail to pick up a fault they should have noted.
 
One little point - if you are buying the house and land as 2 purchases and they are related (or deemed to be ie from the same vendor and at the same time or close to the same time) the cost of both is added together to work out what the stamp duty will be!
We got hit with that one and ended up paying 4% (OUCH)
 
Also check with the council re council tax / business rates.

We have just been hit with business rates on our stables as we purchased the land separately from the house!!
 
As the house has some age to it, I would definitely get a Structural Survey completed and by a company experienced in old properties from your area.
A survey for mortgage purposes, which is what your basic survey will be, is nothing more than a surveyor’s opinion on value and whether it's a good risk on the day. We learnt that to our cost.
We had a 'survey for mortgage purposes' completed on our 250yr old house as recommended by the Bank. General notes were made regarding repairs and maintenance, as well as the comment 'evidence of movement seen. Appears long standing, non progressive and not a threat' or words to that effect. Four years on and £100k spent on builders, the movement was progressive and almost catastrophic. Two gable walls rebuilt, one of which bowed and virtually collapsed whilst the builders were on site, front of the house rebuilt and rear heavily repaired. No come back on the surveyor what-so-ever and the insurance company managed not to part with a penny. Check the insurance company know exactly what your house is built of, that's also another bonus from a Structural Survey.
Would we still have bought the house if we'd known? Absolutely, it's felt like home from day one, but I wouldn't have paid what we did for it. A full structural survey would have saved us literally thousands, plus we would have had some support when it went bottoms up.
Don't risk going for the cheaper survey option, however tempting.
Luckily the Solicitor was pretty hot on the land searches and raised some issues over boundaries on the land, which we resolved before parting with any cash.
Good luck with your purchase. We're learnt so much about old houses and the correct way to maintain them. On a separate note: if you need to repair your old house, make sure your builder is knowledgeable in restoration of old property, not renovation. It was a builder trying to renovate our house in the 70's, using inappropriate materials, which caused our troubles in the first place.
Again, good luck with your new, old house.
 
hmmm... we had an EXCELLENT surveyor when we bought our very old, falling down property. he was someone Hawkins from Bidwells in Cambridge... but, when we moved this time, we tried to get him and he doesn't work there anymore. he specialised in old houses, and unlike many surveyors, was sympathetic to the old property (instead of recoiling in horror at the damp and telling us to get damp proofing done, he told us how to deal with the damp in old fashioned way - it worked much better).

sorry, that's no help... but you could try Bidwells and see if he's gone off on his own?

also, if this is your first property and an old one... don't be scared by the survey. they are there to pick every hole they can... find a good surveyor who you can talk to properly, and get an honest answer from... because they are all so scared of being sued that they don't say anything definite... (e.g. there MAY be evidence of woodworm')

have you got a solicitor? i can recommend a VERY good one in cambridge... x
 
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