Hi Folks,
We are in the middle of buying a ~60 year old detached house. The building seems to be in very good condition although needs modernisation.

As you know in the UK you wouldn't dream of buying somewhere unless a structural survey has been done, the bank probably pay for it.

The property we are in the middle of buying has had a valuation done recently (by an architect) but not a full structural survey.

Everbody (i.e. the bank, the estate agent, and the people who may be doing the renovation) have told us that structural surveys are not common in Switzerland.

The estate agent is concerned that in asking for a "Schätzer" to do a structural survey it indicates we may pull out of the sale.

Can anybody shed some light on why everybody is so shocked that we want this basic piece of mind? Is there really no point in paying for a survey?

I can only shed nore darkness by saying it is true that structual surveys are not common here. Maybe a bit of light is that turnover of properties is much lower and build quality is much higher than almost anywhere.

To add more darkness, there does not seem to be the equivalent of the English and Welsh 'searches', whereby a lawyer discovers your neighbour as grazing rights on your lawn etc.

That said I'd, want a survey before buying a 60-year old house....

"How dare you doubting Swiss quality?!" That was more or less one of the replies I got when asking the exact same question. The building materials used and the way they are building here seems to be (according to the people we spoke too) qualitative brilliant that a survey does not seem to be necessary.

So you see, we have wondered about the same question.

"survey's" grrrrrrr...

You should insisit on having a structural inspection done - by an architect/builder who is willing to stand by his inspection.

We insisted on this, and the sellers nearly cancelled because of it... but if they had refused an inspection I would have walked away. Better safe than hundreds of thousands you hadn't planned on spending doing necessary work (for which you probably can't get a permit anyway... )

We found, through the inspection, that the sellers and estate agent had been lying through their teeth on several points. Which we were expecting to hear, as the condition of the house was pretty obvious. But having a written report attesting to the things needing done to make the house habitable put us in a better barganing position.

(Not to mention, there are funky rules surrounding what renovation costs can or cannot be deducted from your taxes, so having some supporting documentation always helps.)

FYI, a 60 year old house would have been built during or just post war... when building materials were at a premium, and the famous Swiss quality might have suffered just a tad.

Talk to your mortgage lender about your suspicions re: the condition of the house - the bank will want to protect it's investment if nothing else, and will help you organize an inspection.

Do not fall for the myths of Swiss quality and honesty... It's caveat emptor here, just as it is everwhere else. You've got too much to lose when purchasing a house.

On buying houses:
I heard a good 'un last week. Friends have jsut bought a house on the Zurich airport north approach. When they queried flight noise with the selling agent before signing up, they were told it was now "kien thema" (ie. not a topic.)

They are now woken at 6am every time the north approach is used and some flight are coming in after midnight. Now, after only a few weeks, they want to sell.

There are a lot of questions you might ask about this sorry tale and the answers are usually 'no'. But the point is the the salesman's answer was true if nobody talked about it much any more, but it is definitely still there...

only in the title; post content was correct

Very good advice in this thread so far. Im on my third house in Switzerland and never bothered with surveys on any of them. I know I should have but...

Having made that confession I have never had a problem and always sold on at a good profit after some minor improvements.

The Swiss build stuff to last and last it generaly does but a 60 year old house is probably up for a major overhaul, especialy electrics, heating and plumbing.

As you sound a cautious person I would get that survey done. For peace of mind if nothing else.

Good luck in your new home.

Thanks for the comments guys, we are definately going to get a survey, I just wondered if there was any reason everyone should be so shocked at the idea.

meloncollie: interesting you had a similar experience with the seller threatening to pull out.

AbFab: I think your friends experience is statement to the fact that whenever and wherever you buy a property you must check everything yourself.

I'll be sure to let ya'll know if the survey uncovers any problems.

Very good points in here, you will probably recoup your costs on the post-survey negotiations in any case. Get it done. For the amounts of money at stake, you be daft not to.
dave

Hi,

Have you got the extract (Auszug) out of the property register (Grundbuch). It may contain useful information.
As was said previously, it is going to be electrics/heating/roof that are
the major question marks - when you say "structural" survey I assume you mean to include these things. The valuation by the architect (which I assume you already have in your possession) should include discussion of all the above - which makes me think you are more concerned about the mechanical state of the building.
I should be interested to hear what guarantees are given by whoever does the survey - I am not completely convinced that you have much comeback if something untoward is discovered - unlike in UK, because these surveys are so rare, I am doubtful there is an indemnity policy to cover a mistake on the surveyor's part - it is likely to be "best efforts".
You can also obtain plans concerning previous alterations from the Building department, if it is a Zurich house they have them at the Amtshaus in the centre of town.

Good luck.

Before we went ahead and put in a bid for our house, we had a "survey" done. Out of the four interested parties we were the only ones to do so.

If you're a member of the HEV (Hauseigentümerverband) they will provide contact details for experts in this area.

If anyone has need of a structural survey in the Winterthur region, let me know.

Hello,

We are in the process of buying a house and want to get a survey done before signing the contract. We are now trying to find a house inspector to do the survey. I was looking through the posts here and found your message. I was hoping you might be able to refer an inspector in the Zurich area. Thanks in advance for any recommendations/advice.

Our survey was in German, if you don't speak the lingo I'd strongly recommend you find somebody that will write it up in English, some of the terminology is quite advance.

Best advice in this thread is to join the HEV.

If you still need the contact details of the bloke that did our survey let me know.

Peachy, I guess you did get a survey, right? What did it say? (in general)
Did they bring up any issues that the owner didn't mention or that you thought was being covered up?

Hi. Thanks for your response. I have contacted the HEV but have not heard back from them. As time is getting tight to have this done, would it be possible to get the name and contact details of the inspector you used? I'd really appreciate it. Thanks in advance.

I can recommend the Emch+Berger Gruppe
http://www.emchberger.ch/.

I have used them twice so far.

They have offices all around Switzerland.

Good luck with your house purchase!

I think that structural surveys are a complete waste of money. They state the obvious and disclaim their way out of everything, stating things like "we couldn't see the condition of the original floor because laminate flooring was on installed over it" and "no evidence of woodworm was found, however the restricted height in the roof and basement made inspection limited" ...arhhh...

If the house is still standing after 60 years then it structurally sound :-) Seriously, on inspection open and close all windows and internal doors to check for subsidence. Look for cracks, repairs to cracks and other evidence of movement.

interesting to see you going completely against the whole trend of the thread Marie ...

Again ...

The original poster wanted to know if she should get a survey done or not. Having derived no benefit from a full survey from my first two places, I certainly didn't bother for the other three.