Survey Services
Is a survey necessary if the property has been inspected by my mortgage lender?
Yes. The sole purpose of a mortgage lender's inspection is to satisfy the lender that they will be able to recover their money from the sale of your property if you fail to keep up repayments and are repossessed. The lender's valuer is under no obligation to carry out anything more than a superficial inspection.
What types of professional survey
are there?
RICS surveyors offer two forms of survey that are
specifically designed to help home buyers - the RICS Homebuyer Report and the more comprehensive Building Survey.
The RICS Homebuyer Report
is a survey done to a standard format set out by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – it is most suitable
for conventional
properties built within the last 150 years, which are in reasonable
condition. It does not detail every aspect of the property and only
focuses on urgent matters needing attention.
Although suitable for many dwellings built after 1920, its
simple format is not usually satisfactory for large houses, nor those which are
unusual by virtue of design or construction, nor those which have been
converted, extended or altered significantly.
A Building Survey is a more comprehensive inspection of a
property. It is suitable for all properties
but especially:
- Listed
Buildings
- Older
properties
- Buildings
constructed in an unusual way
- Properties
you plan to renovate or alter
- Properties
that have had extensive alterations in the past
It examines all accessible parts of the property – and you
can ask that it covers any particular concerns you may have about the building.