Home Surveys

Six out of 10 Britons have been left out of pocket to the tune of almost £2,000 after surveys failed to spot problems in their new home, research shows.

A study by home emergency service Homeserve found that about 60 per cent of homeowners claimed they had been let down by a survey during the past five years, shelling out an average of £1,961 each to fix problems that had not been picked up.

The area which caused the most problems was electrics, with 21 per cent of people uncovering problems such as faulty wiring after they moved in, while dampness was an issue for a further 20 per cent.

One in five people had to pay to have their boiler or heating fixed, the same number uncovered problems with plumbing and 16 per cent had to have work carried out on their home's roof.

About 8 per cent of people had to call in experts to get rid of pests, such as rats or mice, and 4 per cent discovered dry rot or woodworm.

Electrical problems were the most expensive to fix, setting homeowners back by about £1,466. Rectifying a problem with damp cost about £1,334 and fixing the boiler or heating set people back by just over £1,000.

The research also suggests that people failed to understand what was covered by a survey, with nearly two thirds saying they had expected the survey to highlight the problems they later discovered.

Homeserve Membership, chief executive, Jon Florsheim said: "Hidden horrors can come as a nasty shock when buyers finally get the key to their new home but people should be aware of the limitations of surveys."

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