Why buyers are skipping the home survey

One in five buyers thinks they can spot structural problems themselves. Direct Line's research suggests otherwise.

When you are in the process of buying a home, there are 101 different things you will have to consider, from shutting down your current abode (whether it's mortgaged or rented) to sorting out your new property.

There is the financial and affordability side of things (the deposit, the mortgage payments, and settling the final bills), the legal side (overseeing the transfer of your current property to the new owners and the transfer of the next property into your name), and everything in between, from sorting out the utilities at both ends and removals to updating your change of address. And so much more.

It inevitably all comes at a price and, because the home survey is not a legal requirement, it can often be dropped from your radar, or perhaps you think you can shave a bit off your tight budget by taking the decision not to go for a survey. Then once you've moved in, you feel a certain amount of buyer's remorse when you find that there are issues to be fixed, especially if you need to find more money to finance the remedial work.

But don't worry, you're not alone.

Direct Line Home Insurance carried out research to understand the reasons why people decide to forego a RICS survey report. Some of the findings are probably unsurprising, and many homebuyers can likely relate to them:

• 21% of those taking part trusted their own assessment as to whether there were any significant structural issues within the property they were buying
• 15% of those buying a new-build property felt a survey simply wasn't needed, since the property had only just been built
• 14% said the cost of the survey was simply too expensive on top of everything else connected to moving home
• 13% thought that, since they had someone in the family or friend group involved in construction, they could rely on them to identify any significant issues
• A further 13% said they hadn't thought about getting a survey done, or weren't aware it was recommended before exchanging contracts

It therefore makes sense to follow the recommendation to take out a  Level 2 or Level 3  survey to protect yourself from major problems that might surface once you've bought the property. A survey is your best chance of finding the issues that only an expert surveyor would uncover, and the remedial work can be a major expense once you've moved in.

As Direct Line points out, some problems found on a survey won't necessarily be covered under the terms of your insurance policy.

So, before you decide to abandon the idea of a survey, take a few moments to think about what you'd want from it and the particular areas of concern you might have. Because understanding the condition and structural integrity of a home you're planning to buy matters, and that's where booking a survey with Surveyor Local comes in. Your chartered surveyor will look into your specific requirements, whatever your concerns might be, so that you're clear about exactly what you're taking on.

Surveyor Local connects you to the best professional advice through our nationwide panel of chartered surveyors, all of whom are RICS members, so the survey you get is always delivered to a professional standard. They'll work hard to identify all kinds of problems, including the impact of any prior flooding on the structure of the property.

Call to get your no-obligation survey quote started, or use Surveyor Local's easy-to-use quote generator for an instant quote by email.