Survey on townhouse in community

[AnonymousParticipant]

We would not consider buying a property here in the UK without having a survey done but we have been advised that there is no need to have one done on a townhouse we are buying as it is in a community and if there was a problem with it structurally it would be covered by the community’s insurance. This is not advice from a lawyer but an estate agent.

I would like to know other people’s views/opinions on this please.

Thanks

[angieSpectator]

Loppy, I don’t know about the issue regarding community insurance so someone else should answer that, however, I would be wary of what the agent is saying re you not needing a survey.

At the very least you should stand in the town-house and listen out for any noise coming from either side of the house as some of these town-houses have little or no insulation from adjoining noise transference. We’ve seen how some are built on communities, and many have thin hollow bricks between walls even between houses, no insulation at all. We stayed in one a Winter, it was a nightmare as next door could have been in the same room such was the noise even from their normal talking, music etc.

Check for barking dogs next door and in the community too.

Friends of ours in a town-house had unsociably loud renting neighbours, and the house was very cold in Winter with high electricity costs for heating.

[AnonymousParticipant]

Hmmm. That’s the first time I’ve heard that the community fee covers structural insurance for individual properties, rather than just the communal areas. I’ll look into it.

How old is the property? If it is less than 10 years old it should be covered by the 10-year building guarantee, or seguro decenal in Spanish.

[AnonymousParticipant]

I can confirm that community insurance does not cover structural problems of individual properties. It may, in some cases, cover superficial damage, but that clause would be explicit and owners would be paying higher community premiums as a consequence, so very uncommon.

[katySpectator]

We had a townhouse in the 90’s and it was covered for all events as I looked into it and read the policy. We only needed insurance for contents. One of our neighbours also claimed when water was rising up the floor after heavy rain. Even the tiles were replaced after repairs were covered by community insurance

[AnonymousParticipant]

I bet you it didn’t cover structural defects on the build. Earthquake maybe but not shoddy construction.

[AnonymousParticipant]

I know of a few owners of flats where the walls were black and mouldy half way up the walls due to a fault with the pipes. The community insurance wouldn’t pay out so each of the five downstairs owners had to use their own insurance to sort out the problem.

I wouldn’t trust community insurance an inch. Do you know if the community is in debt, maybe they haven’t even paid the insurance etc. ?

I’ve been in a few townhouses where you can hear the television next door….paper thin walls. Ditto no insulation, the front steps moving away from the house etc. etc. Sorry to put a downer on it but really go through the place with a magnifying glass. Tap the walls, look at the tiles, the joins, the roof everything. Don’t just walk through saying ‘oh how lovely and bright and sunny the living room looks’….. EXPECT to find faults.

Get a survey done by someone you trust, it’s worth the money paid to stop you buying something you may regret and then not be able to sell because your buyers may actually use a surveyer to pick up the faults.

Can you go out and rent a house on the same community first, a try before you buy….. stay for a while and get a real feel for the place. Find out everything before you part with your money.

[Fuengi (Andrew)Participant]

@Loppy42 wrote:

We would not consider buying a property here in the UK without having a survey done but we have been advised that there is no need to have one done on a townhouse we are buying as it is in a community and if there was a problem with it structurally it would be covered by the community’s insurance. This is not advice from a lawyer but an estate agent.

I would like to know other people’s views/opinions on this please.

Thanks

Well that is good that it is covered under the community’s insurance.
But you still have the right as a buyer to have a survey done if you choose. Your money at the end of the day.

[Author]

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