Pre-purchase survey not picking things up

[guyspartacus]

Morning all

 

I've recently purchased an old pub for renovation/conversion.

 

We had a survey done pre-purchase to highlight any possible issues. They mention in this survey that they couldn't lift all manholes/access covers so suggest a full drainage survey to find any issues.

 

We've since found 2 very large wells/tanks to the rear of the property - one of which is enormous and partly under the property itself. I've highlighted this to the surveyor that carried out the survey and they're quoting their report where they suggest that a drainage survey would have picked these up.

 

The thing is - nothing drains into them, they are redundant. I've had a drainage survey and had to show the drain man the holes otherwise he wouldn't have seen them.

 

The smaller of the two is under a very poorly fitted lightweight cover that was clearly visible but no attempt was made to lift by the surveyor. The larger one is below a brick plinth with a large slab on top so it's understandable that this wasn't lifted (though there is clearly something there which wasn't investigated).

 

Am I on a fools errand chasing the surveyor for compensation/partial refund?

[joe90]

2 hours ago, guyspartacus said:

Am I on a fools errand chasing the surveyor for compensation/partial refund?

they have so many “get out clauses” I would not bother. I mentioned on another thread that my mate bought a bungalow and the full survey did not pick up any major problems then after purchase found the entire ground floor was riddled with woodworm and he has had to replace all joists, wall plates and flooring, surveyor pointed out he was not allowed to lift carpets. Go figure!!!

[scottishjohn]

a blind man and his dog will pick up on most things your normal survey will find ,probably more 

waste of money in most cases ,if have normal reasonable knowledge of buildings 

and yes you got no chance of any sort of claim -forget it ,move on .

 

[Temp]

We purchased a house from a surveyor. After having our own done by another surveyor we went back for another look. Chatting to the wife she explains our surveyor had been there ages, lifting manholes and getting her to run taps, going up in the loft etc. Turning to her husband she says "He spent far longer here than you do on a house". We made a mental note never to use his company.