We are in the process of buying a house and for peace of mind, would like quite an extensive survey done it. We will need a survey done anyway for the mortgage, but we aren't sure how comprehensive that would be, and whether it would be worth paying extra for a more in depth survey.
The house we are buying is only about 20 years old but is built on a hill, which is why we think a more detailed survey may be necessary.
Can anyone advise?
Thanks in advance,
Tina

IIRC we were offered three survey options when we bought our house:

Valuation survey - very basic check carried out by your mortgage lender for their own benefit.

Homebuyer's report - fairly detailed report covering the condition of the property and including information on its energy efficiency.

Full Structural survey - very detailed examination of the property.

We went for the Homebuyer's report and got a fairly comprehensive report of about 40 pages. We knew the house was a basket case but the survey pointed out a few things we'd missed. It also included estimates for the installation of cavity wall insulation, double glazing etc. I think it cost about £350 which, considering the sums of money involved when buying a house, doesn't seem too bad.

On the downside, it was clear that the surveyors were keen to cover their backs by pointing out everything that could be wrong with the house, whether they'd seen any evidence of it or not. Basically, they ensured that they couldn't be held responsible for any problems that may subsequently arise.

Hammer Time outlined the options well

In the past I've paid almost £1000 for a Full Structural Survey (FTS) on a 150 year old and IMHO I have to say it wasn't money well spent.

They simply stated the obvious and covered themselves with endless provisos just to make sure there couldn't be any comeback on them if there were any future problems. I think the potential insurance aspect is really the only possible argument for spending this much on a survey. But I'm sure like Critical Illness Insurance if there was a serious problem in the future they would find a way out of paying any compensation.

Try to look for any obvious problems yourself and ask the vendor specific questions if you have worries abouts any cracks etc. On a fairly modern house its much more likely to be normal settlement then anything else.

If you have a friend or relative that is in the building trade take them along too. They may spot something you wouldn't have noticed.

Hope this is of some help