What can I do with my survey report if the property I’m buying later falls through?     

Dear Right Survey,  The sellers of the house we were in the process of buying have just pulled out saying they no longer want to sell it!  Can we get some money back for the survey we had done, or sell it to someone else,  as it’s no longer needed – is it wasted?

Asked by:  Mick

     ANSWER

Dear Mick,

That’s a fair enough question.  When you’re buying a house you generally have to fork out for non-refundable things like conveyancers’ legal charges and fees for arranging a mortgage. Surveys tend to come a little later in the process. The chance of a property transaction falling through tends to be greater in the earlier stages, so there should be less likelihood of that happening by the time you get your survey.

If you decide to pull out of the purchase then another buyer of the same property in future might be keen to see your report. The estate agents acting for the vendor may not be so keen however as they won’t want to highlight any negatives about the property that may have come up in the survey. The main sticking point is a legal one. Your surveyor’s terms of engagement will have stipulated that their legal liability is strictly limited to you, the client. So no 3rd party can rely on the report legally without their permission.  A new buyer of the property might still be willing to pay you something for a copy of the survey report but they wouldn’t have any legal comeback. It’s conceivable that the vendor may also be interested in seeing a copy so they can rectify any defects prior to a future sale.