Homebuyers have been warned that they are taking a big risk by not having a property survey in order to save money.

James Wattrus, head of surveys at Illkey-based estate agency Dacre, Son & Hartley said not having a proper survey was a false economy, and could lead to major problems.

Mr Wattrus urged people not to confuse a valuation report with a property survey.

James Wattrus, said:“Not having a survey done is false economy, especially when you consider that a property is nearly always the biggest purchase that anyone will ever make. Most good surveys will give you lots of information about the property and if there are problems, it’s a great tool to use to renegotiate the price.”

His warning follows a new survey of 1,000 Yorkshire homebuyers by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors revealed that after scraping together a deposit, large numbers of buyers are unable to pay for a survey to make sure their new home is structurally sound.