Just had a question on if we should get a homebuyers report, what are peoples opinions on these?
How old is the property?
Get a proper builder to look at it if you have concerns.
Agreed, home buyer surveys are not great, mostly very vague and non committal these days.
Have a look on the RICS website, find an experienced chartered independent local surveyor and go direct to them. The good ones will do a full detailed survey spending 1/2 day at the property.
You can normally get the semi-retired career experienced surveyors for £400-£550. They should pick up on roof, brick/structural, damp, heating/plumbing, drainage and subsidence issues. They are also happy to spend time chatting everything through with you.
If you have concerns though you are better off taking a builder with you and/or structural engineer depending on severity.
It's worth having an electrician undertake a current EICR for the house and appliances / consumer RCD unit. Electricians are pretty busy at the moment but they like these as easy money and can normally fit them in.
The vendor should pay for a current boiler service/gas safe certificate but this doesn't guarantee there won't be issues.
The vendor should provide EICs for any hard wirded electrical appliances installed or circuits altered in the last few years.