Engineers report I got...advice please!

newfy

Hi,

So I am sale agreed on a house, and waiting for solicitors to sort contracts ,

I paid 310 euro for an engineers report on the house a few weeks back, it is a semi detached in a nice estate. He gave me back a report 2 weeks later(very basic from the looks of it).

On the report for roof/attic condition he said everything was good,

I had another viewing with the auctioneer today, There is 2 broken tiles on the house that you can see easily from the ground which was never reported in the engineers report....no biggey, I went up for a look in the attic today, there is a gaping hole in the felt and outside light coming in where you can see where the broken roof tile is. This is literally right in front of you when you enter the attic space and can’t be missed!

The engineer said he looked in the attic...I’m really doubting he did now as this can’t be missed...I’m annoyed as I paid good money for a service which he obviously did half arsed! He signed off that the roof and attic space was in good condition!!

This has to be fixed now as rain water could easily come in. So he missed the broken roof tiles and the hole in the roof!!!!! How!!!!

Ring and ask for an explanation...? I doubt he went up for a look at all after saying he did!

BryanF

And the Tile breakage could not of occurred between then time of Eng assessment and your revisit?

newfy

He could say that but no...they were broke before the report as I had saw them...I thought he would of flagged them in the report!

BryanF wrote: »

And the Tile breakage could not of occurred between then time of Eng assessment and your revisit?

BryanF

newfy wrote: »

He could say that but no...they were broke before the report as I had saw them...I thought he would of flagged them in the report!

Ring the Eng.

Calahonda52

setting the issue aside, 310 is very cheap for any report

newfy

Calahonda52 wrote: »

setting the issue aside, 310 is very cheap for any report

Maybe it is, its not even the money, its the fact he did an incompetent job that is clearly visible upon entry to the attic that he said he didn't see. The fact is he probable didn't bother his arse to even go into the attic when i could see the defect from the landing.

I called him and he said he didn't see it and would go out gain for a look!:mad:

buzz11

newfy wrote: »

I called him and he said he didn't see it and would go out gain for a look!:mad:

You really need to get a refund and get a better engineer - how can you proceed with a house purchase when you have fundamental doubts about the report?

newfy

buzz11 wrote: »

You really need to get a refund and get a better engineer - how can you proceed with a house purchase when you have fundamental doubts about the report?

I asked for a refund...he gave me a smart arse comment back! I’ve sent 2 follow up emails now...no reply! He gave me a half arsed basic report with no photos and missed a major defect in the roof! I feel I’m entitled to a refund back!

kieran.

newfy wrote: »

I asked for a refund...he gave me a smart arse comment back! I’ve sent 2 follow up emails now...no reply! He gave me a half arsed basic report with no photos and missed a major defect in the roof! I feel I’m entitled to a refund back!

€250 + VAT is about 2 - 3 hrs work for a suitably qualified professional. Even for a reasonably modern house it's a 1 to 1.5 day's work to to survey properly and produce a decent report.

Did he research the planning history and certify identity??

Valresnick

Half arsed service thrives in Ireland as most people never question it. We place all these qualified people on some sort of pedestal when most of them are lazy greedy spoofers.

bobbyy gee

do everything in email so you have record not on phone you can complain to engetneering body ask for money back
what else did he miss

mickdw

You cannot do a report on a house for that money.

I do such reports and its 2 to 3 hours at the house and about 1.5 days write up plus planning searches.
They dont make me any proper money and i get near double what was paid in this case. If i did nothing else, i couldnt do them at that price but mixed in with other work, it works out ok and there is often some follow up work from them.
The Engineer here is a chancer and should be damn glad to get out this with a refund.
My insurers insist that i include a note re covered or inaccessable timber work was not inspected and therefore are not reporting on condition but to say you inspected an attic having not done so is asking for trouble. There is no shame in stating thst you couldnt access attic for whatever reason but to chance your arm that all is ok in attic is nuts.

un5byh7sqpd2x0

Was this an actual engineers report or a snag list? It sounds like the latter...

Where did you find this engineer? Are they a qualified Structural Engineer?

newfy

I received a report a 5 year old could of made..it probably took him 5 mins to do and most of the report is generic answers! Sure it’s a basic visual report but the fact of the matter is he said he went into the attic space to look when I full well know he didn’t and missed the gaping whole in the roof! And then signed off that everything was good!

It’s not the money...it’s the fact he didn’t do his job properly and is probably doing the same with everyone else knowing nobody will question him!

I’ve emailed him twice with no answer looking for a refund and not sure what else to do!

kieran. wrote: »

€250 + VAT is about 2 - 3 hrs work for a suitably qualified professional. Even for a reasonably modern house it's a 1 to 1.5 day's work to to survey properly and produce a decent report.

Did he research the planning history and certify identity??

newfy

He is an architect from a well known architect firm in my city, it’s a basic engineers report...

I was recommended from the solicitor

Jairo Victorious Wrench wrote: »

Was this an actual engineers report or a snag list? It sounds like the latter...

Where did you find this engineer? Are they a qualified Structural Engineer?

confusticated

newfy wrote: »

He is an architect from a well known architect firm in my city, it’s a basic engineers report...

I was recommended from the solicitor

It's not an engineer's report though, it's an architect's report. That's different.

newfy

confusticated wrote: »

It's not an engineer's report though, it's an architect's report. That's different.

Either way...I got rode

Calahonda52

Valresnick wrote: »

Half arsed service thrives in Ireland as most people never question it. We place all these qualified people on some sort of pedestal when most of them are lazy greedy spoofers.

Thats a big statement to make and impune a whole section of society with your keyboard warrior opinions.
What pedestal are you on?

Pkiernan

How did you pay?

If cash, then Small Claims for your refund.

Also complain to RIAI

newfy

Yes it was by cash and I got a receipt!

Pkiernan wrote: »

How did you pay?

If cash, then Small Claims for your refund.

Also complain to RIAI

Gumbo

newfy wrote: »

Either way...I got rode

Unfortunately you picked the wrong person for the job.
A surveyor or engineer is better suited but hindsight is a good thing.

Did he do it as a nixer or through the firm?

newfy

Through the firm

quote="Gumbo;114811165"]Unfortunately you picked the wrong person for the job.
A surveyor or engineer is better suited but hindsight is a good thing.

Did he do it as a nixer or through the firm?[/quote]

mickdw

newfy wrote: »

Through the firm

Well there is your answer. Send report to head of the firm stating your displeasure at the quality of the work considering the glaring errors made. You should have your money back within the hour.

newfy

The thing is he is partner of the firm! I rang him on the phone and asked for a full refund...No go...and sent 2 follow up emails with no reply.

mickdw wrote: »

Well there is your answer. Send report to head of the firm stating your displeasure at the quality of the work considering the glaring errors made. You should have your money back within the hour.

Kaybaykwah

Any report should have photos of the areas researched and identifiable problems underlined. A surveyor won't look at Heating systems for instance, but they will summarily state that a furnace is dated, but will not inspect it per se. An attic and roof should be checked and described if problematic. I once visited a house w a surveyor and noticed that there had been a fire that had left the rafters and roof planks totally carbonised. None of this had been revealed by the owner, or the agent prior to inspection. I was pretty pissed off at paying for a report after making an offer on this house.


You should get your money back for an incomplete report.

I work around houses and have come across engineers, surveyors, etc. in the past doing their thing. Most are in and out the door swiftly, and the person looking to buy the house is generally present and walking through with them.


What was the purpose of the report, I wonder? From small talk with some of the lads I've come across doing it, they seem to offer what they call a 'drive-by report' wherein they barely look at the house, but the report acknowledges the house exists and is not about to collapse - these reports are, i presume, a box-ticking exercise to get a mortgage over the line or demonstrate to a mortgage lender that the person isn't looking to mortgage a 3-bed semi D that doesn't actually exist.

Is this what he perhaps thought you wanted it for, and so gave you the cheap generic service rather than a 'proper' report?

newfy

Thanks for all the reply’s, if he dosnt reply to me by the end of Monday I will push this further!

I didn’t receive any photos...you would laugh if you saw the report! Awful!!

Kaybaykwah wrote: »

Any report should have photos of the areas researched and identifiable problems underlined. A surveyor won't look at Heating systems for instance, but they will summarily state that a furnace is dated, but will not inspect it per se. An attic and roof should be checked and described if problematic. I once visited a house w a surveyor and noticed that there had been a fire that had left the rafters and roof planks totally carbonised. None of this had been revealed by the owner, or the agent prior to inspection. I was pretty pissed off at paying for a report after making an offer on this house.


You should get your money back for an incomplete report.

newfy

No he received a key from auctioneer but he was on his own! Solicitor recommend to get a report for piece of mind as it’s a 20 year old house! So I did!

[Deleted User] wrote: »

I work around houses and have come across engineers, surveyors, etc. in the past doing their thing. Most are in and out the door swiftly, and the person looking to buy the house is generally present and walking through with them.


What was the purpose of the report, I wonder? From small talk with some of the lads I've come across doing it, they seem to offer what they call a 'drive-by report' wherein they barely look at the house, but the report acknowledges the house exists and is not about to collapse - these reports are, i presume, a box-ticking exercise to get a mortgage over the line or demonstrate to a mortgage lender that the person isn't looking to mortgage a 3-bed semi D that doesn't actually exist.

Is this what he perhaps thought you wanted it for, and so gave you the cheap generic service rather than a 'proper' report?

newfy

Just a quick update...a few emails later and I received my refund!

John Hutton

newfy wrote: »

Just a quick update...a few emails later and I received my refund!

Fair play OP

Gumbo

newfy wrote: »

Just a quick update...a few emails later and I received my refund!

Will you get another survey done?

PMBC

I used to do these outside my main job, but my last one was done more than thirty years ago. I had ladders and clip on lamps for attic inspections and checked everything including ball-cocks in roof tank, pipe insulation although including a caveat that the plumbing and electrics needed a specific inspection outside of my scope. I cant see how it would be possible not to see torn felt as it would be obvious in the darkness of the attic.
My reported were very detailed and would include for example lack of 1 1/2 pair of hinges on external doors, poor condition of door handles etc. I took a lot of care because of the importance for the purchasers as their single biggest investment and because I enjoyed it so much.
I recall doing one accompanied initially by the purchaser who was a friend of a friend. He reported back to her that I was equipped like a commando on a mission, a remark that I really enjoyed.
I do appreciate that for me it was a 'nixer' but I used do on Saturday ans spend a full day.

newfy

I guess he never saw it because he never went up into the attic!!
Do your research on a good engineer is lesson learned!!

PMBC wrote: »

I used to do these outside my main job, but my last one was done more than thirty years ago. I had ladders and clip on lamps for attic inspections and checked everything including ball-cocks in roof tank, pipe insulation although including a caveat that the plumbing and electrics needed a specific inspection outside of my scope. I cant see how it would be possible not to see torn felt as it would be obvious in the darkness of the attic.
My reported were very detailed and would include for example lack of 1 1/2 pair of hinges on external doors, poor condition of door handles etc. I took a lot of care because of the importance for the purchasers as their single biggest investment and because I enjoyed it so much.
I recall doing one accompanied initially by the purchaser who was a friend of a friend. He reported back to her that I was equipped like a commando on a mission, a remark that I really enjoyed.
I do appreciate that for me it was a 'nixer' but I used do on Saturday ans spend a full day.

Doop

Deleted User wrote: »

What was the purpose of the report, I wonder? From small talk with some of the lads I've come across doing it, they seem to offer what they call a 'drive-by report' wherein they barely look at the house, but the report acknowledges the house exists and is not about to collapse - these reports are, i presume, a box-ticking exercise to get a mortgage over the line or demonstrate to a mortgage lender that the person isn't looking to mortgage a 3-bed semi D that doesn't actually exist.

I think you are confusing the valuation with an actual house survey. Banks accept 'drive by' valuation (or use to at least), carried out by a valuer and yes confirming the hose is in existence.

An actual house survey will take a min of 2-3 hours anything shorter and you're wasting your time.

GetHouseSurvey

This is definatley not up to scratch. I would be taking photos of the broken tiles and visible hole in the roof and sending him an official complaint asking for a refund.

A pre purchase survey is a visual inspection of the entire condition of the property. This clearly was not done!

Also, the report sounds pretty light. Even if the property is in exceptional condition, a report should still note that everything is in said condition and that would be an absolute minimum of 5/6 pages... Most surveys are 10+ pages long.

Gumbo

GetHouseSurvey wrote: »

This is definatley not up to scratch. I would be taking photos of the broken tiles and visible hole in the roof and sending him an official complaint asking for a refund.

A pre purchase survey is a visual inspection of the entire condition of the property. This clearly was not done!

Also, the report sounds pretty light. Even if the property is in exceptional condition, a report should still note that everything is in said condition and that would be an absolute minimum of 5/6 pages... Most surveys are 10+ pages long.

You do realise the OP got a refunds some weeks back!

Calahonda52

newfy wrote: »

Just a quick update...a few emails later and I received my refund!

Great result, time to close the thread