Is a survey really necessary when buying a new build?

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pumpkin81

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Hi,

Just looking for opinions on whether it's really necessary to pay for a survey (approx. €400) to be done on a new build? Should the property be covered by Home Bond anyway? Would that be sufficient?

Thanks
 
pumpkin81 said:
Hi,

Just looking for opinions on whether it's really necessary to pay for a survey (approx. €400) to be done on a new build? Should the property be covered by Home Bond anyway? Would that be sufficient?

Thanks
Click to expand...
Yes. It really should. Do you want to buy a home that has serious defects even if it is covered by home bond? Get a survey done, best €400 you'll ever spend. You're probably 95% sure all is fine, it's not a lot to pay to be 100% sure. I used a guy called Declan Doyle, 01 660 7536. He was really thorough, we nearly didn't buy a perfectly good place having read all his little observations, but he took his time going through one by one and put our minds at ease!!

He's no relation to us by the way, in fact he surveyed our last house for the couple who bought it, that's how we got his number.
 
Given that most surveys are limited to visual inspections and heavily qualified, presumably very low probability of detecting structural issues in a new build.
 
100% YES !! Its worth every penny. We're just in the process of trying to get the deposit back from a house we "bought". The survey/snaglist showed up loads of problems. On top of all the usual snag list type problems, there were several issues with building regulations that need to be addressed.
The thing is, if our builder had played ball with us and done the really obvious things he needed to do, we probably would not have gone to the bother. I wont be making that mistake again.
 
YES YES YES YES YES get it surveyed. I would not trust any of the 'insurance' companies like Homebond or what a builder would say about it being a good build (as they would in a property climate like this). They will only try to ensure that the builder fixes any defects - we have a problem with our place and I feel that the Homebond guarantee is worth even less than the paper it is written on, as we have not even received any communication from them in relation to our major problem, even though it was confirmed - to them, by the builder - 14 months ago. They seem happy enough to communicate with the buiders though....so, I do wonder who they are out to protect in the long run. In my experience it is certainly not the homeowner.
 
geld said:
YES YES YES YES YES get it surveyed. I would not trust any of the 'insurance' companies like Homebond or what a builder would say about it being a good build (as they would in a property climate like this). They will only try to ensure that the builder fixes any defects - we have a problem with our place and I feel that the Homebond guarantee is worth even less than the paper it is written on, as we have not even received any communication from them in relation to our major problem, even though it was confirmed - to them, by the builder - 14 months ago. They seem happy enough to communicate with the buiders though....so, I do wonder who they are out to protect in the long run. In my experience it is certainly not the homeowner.
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It's the builders who pay Homebond so of course they protect the builder. While not quite a con it's heavily weighted in favour of the construction industry.
 
Without doubt get a survey done. Listen to what everyone is saying. I got an excellent structural engineer. He cost €270. He showed up most of the usual problems but also major problems, some structural. We are hoping that we can get out of our contracts but its all up in the air at the moment. But DEFINATELY get a survey done
 
pumpkin81 said:
Hi,

Just looking for opinions on whether it's really necessary to pay for a survey (approx. €400) to be done on a new build? Should the property be covered by Home Bond anyway? Would that be sufficient?

Thanks
Click to expand...

One word for you:

Pyrite.
 
In my earlier post I recommended Declan Doyle, 01 660 7536. Ours was not a new build purchase but he was extremely thorough so might be worth a go.
 
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