Charted surveyor missed defects in newly purchased house

Gill...

Hi, I apologise if this is posted in the wrong forum.

After having a charted surveyor out to do a report on a house we were hoping to purchase, we got a 50+ page report on works that needed to be done (all of which were small like screws missing from hinges on doors, possibility of asbestos in stippled ceilings, repairs done to the roof and small spots of wet rot in the attic etc).

Since receiving the keys 2 months ago we have found first of all a huge mains leak under the concrete floors and since having the floors pulled up and having this repaired 3 weeks ago we have just found more leaks under floors around the house. The floors, skirting boards and walls are rotten and damp and also the double glazing in most of the windows are broken down. There is also a small glass porch on the rear of the house that is at the wrong pitch and is causing rain water to back flow through a vent in one of the bedrooms.

Obviously had we known this we would not have been willing to pay the full amount that we did to the vendors but are these all things that should have been picked up by a chartered surveyor and do we have any fall back with regards to the cost of all of these repairs? I thought that having paid a surveyor to do this report before buying that all of these things would have been reported on

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

o1s1n

Have you checked to make sure they were a legitimate chartered surveyor?

Can do so here;

https://www.scsi.ie/registration/registration

Some people claim to be chartered surveyors when they aren't actually registered, it's a protected term so is not legal.

Gill...

o1s1n wrote: »

Have you checked to make sure they were a legitimate chartered surveyor?

Can do so here;

https://www.scsi.ie/registration/registration

Some people claim to be chartered surveyors when they aren't actually registered, it's a protected term so is not legal.

Hi O1s1n, Thank you for your advice, I have just checked on the website and he is infact a registered charted building surveyor. Do you know is this just something that I have to deal with or can I take an action against the surveyor? the repairs are going to cost a surplus of about 40k from what we can gather and I just think this all should have been picked up in his report. am I naive thinking a building surveyor should pick up on all of these defects?

Gumbo

Gill... wrote: »

Hi, I apologise if this is posted in the wrong forum.

After having a charted surveyor out to do a report on a house we were hoping to purchase, we got a 50+ page report on works that needed to be done (all of which were small like screws missing from hinges on doors, possibility of asbestos in stippled ceilings, repairs done to the roof and small spots of wet rot in the attic etc).

Since receiving the keys 2 months ago we have found first of all a huge mains leak under the concrete floors and since having the floors pulled up and having this repaired 3 weeks ago we have just found more leaks under floors around the house. The floors, skirting boards and walls are rotten and damp and also the double glazing in most of the windows are broken down. There is also a small glass porch on the rear of the house that is at the wrong pitch and is causing rain water to back flow through a vent in one of the bedrooms.

Obviously had we known this we would not have been willing to pay the full amount that we did to the vendors but are these all things that should have been picked up by a chartered surveyor and do we have any fall back with regards to the cost of all of these repairs? I thought that having paid a surveyor to do this report before buying that all of these things would have been reported on

Any advice would be greatly appreciated

How would pipes and mains water feeds have been spotted if they are under the concrete slab and within the floor structure?

A pre purchase survey is visual only and non invasive.

Pepp1989

Gill... wrote:

Hi O1s1n, Thank you for your advice, I have just checked on the website and he is infact a registered charted building surveyor. Do you know is this just something that I have to deal with or can I take an action against the surveyor? the repairs are going to cost a surplus of about 40k from what we can gather and I just think this all should have been picked up in his report. am I naive thinking a building surveyor should pick up on all of these defects?

Really sorry for your troubles OP. Horrible thing to happen.

The reports are usually visual inspections only. Was there any evidence of the leaks at the time of the report? Was a dampness reading taken?

Gill...

kceire wrote: »

How would pipes and mains water feeds have been spotted if they are under the concrete slab and within the floor structure?

A pre purchase survey is visual only and non invasive.

Hi kceire, I though as much myself with regards to the pipes being under the concrete but I did think maybe there would be a way of them measuring the damp in the house and advising us further on getting a plumber out to do a survey of the house (this is something I had not even herd of unfortunately until after the fact). when we got the keys, within about 10mins of drying the tiled floors the water was bubbling back up through the grout so I do believe the owners done a good job of making sure the place stayed dry when we came to view the property and also when he surveyor came out too. The plumber that came out to do the repairs advised us that it is most definitely something the surveyor should have picked up on

Gill...

Pepp1989 wrote: »

Really sorry for your troubles OP. Horrible thing to happen.

The reports are usually visual inspections only. Was there any evidence of the leaks at the time of the report? Was a dampness reading taken?

No there was no dampness readings taken, literally a 50+ page on screws missing on doors and visual defects such as decorating that needed to be done. Absolute waste of money in my opinion as it is all bits we picked up ourselves when viewing the property. Even the fact that there was no mention of the double glazing being broken down or the pitch on the porch roof not being correct

Gumbo

Gill... wrote: »

Hi kceire, I though as much myself with regards to the pipes being under the concrete but I did think maybe there would be a way of them measuring the damp in the house and advising us further on getting a plumber out to do a survey of the house (this is something I had not even herd of unfortunately until after the fact). when we got the keys, within about 10mins of drying the tiled floors the water was bubbling back up through the grout so I do believe the owners done a good job of making sure the place stayed dry when we came to view the property and also when he surveyor came out too. The plumber that came out to do the repairs advised us that it is most definitely something the surveyor should have picked up on

The Plumber will always pass the blame, well not pass it, as it wasn't their fault, but he said it should have been noticed, but the survey would not involve wetting the floor.

There would have been no way it would have been noticed unless the floor was wet. No plumber would have been able to remedy it or inspect for it during the purchase as you cannot carry out invasive works.

Maybe chat to your solicitor, does this sound something that the previous owners may have deliberately covered up and hid.

Tow

These reports are never worth much. There is probably a big disclaimer on the back page. I have spent ~10k fixing issues which should have been picked up in two separate reports, such as a 10 degree roof pitch with concrete tiles. Grand until the felt eventually rots and the water runs back up the tiles.