Thinking about whether you should get a survey on your new home?
Statistics show that only 20% of home buyers in the UK undertake an Independent Survey prior to buying a new home. This is quite extraordinary given that buying a home is one of the largest investments people will make, and its ongoing maintenance will be one of their largest items of annual expenditure.
So, here are just some of the reasons why you SHOULD get a survey
One of the reasons that many people don't get a survey is they mistakenly believe that the “Mortgage Val” required by their mortgage lender is sufficient and will flag up any defects.
Wrong! – A Mortgage Valuation is simply for the mortgage lender to check that if you get into financial difficulties, and default on repaying the loan, there will be enough residual value in the house for them to reposess it, sell it and recover the outstanding amount of the loan.
A mortgage valuer appointed by your lender is not working for you, they are working for the lender. The inspection will be cursory at best, as the lender simply wants to verify the loan to value rate is sufficient to protect themselves. They are not bothered if the roof leaks, or if it has structural cracking that will cost you, the new owner, money, as long as they can sell it for more than the amount of the loan if you default.
The question posed to the mortgage valuer is: “is there adequate security for the loan?”, not“ will this house require a myriad of repairs costing thousands over the next few years?"
This is why you should always have an independent survey done on your new home. A health check on your new property by a qualified RICS professional will flag up any major issues and enable you to make an informed decision about whether to proceed, and at what price. RICS Level 2 HomeBuyer and Level 3 Building Surveys will highlight any defects that may affect the value of the property, or require prompt fixing after you complete. They will guide you as to the possible costs of rectification and give you peace of mind, and enable you to budget for the future costs of ownership.
Surveys for the average house typically cost only £400 – £1000, probably less than about 0.2% of its value, not much to pay for a lot of peace of mind, and it is likely that the surveyor will save you his fee several times over by flagging up issues before you sign on the dotted line. This will enable you to budget for any necessary repairs, or even to revisit the agreed price if this is felt to be the most appropriate course of action.
Getting a survey isn't just applicable to older properties - there are plenty of well documented and publicised instances of new build properties with very significant defects. Although many of these will be covered by a warranty, some will not, and others may only come to light much later, leading to protracted disputes and possibly affecting subsequent resale. A survey by a qualified surveyor can identify latent defects and help ensure these are dealt with during the builders 'snagging' process and during any warranty period.
Our website has been designed to help you find an appropriate local Chartered Surveyor, and will enable you to obtain up to five Instant, Free, No obligation estimates for standard survey types. The most popular of these are the RICS Level 2 HomeBuyer Report, a standardised survey most suited to conventional properties built in the last 150 years, and the full RICS Level 3 Building Survey (frequently referred to as a Structural Survey). The Building Survey is a more in depth survey; although suitable for any property, it's particularly appropriate for older, or unconventional buildings, or those that have been significantly altered, or where you are planning significant renovation, as these often have less obvious defects. For new builds or newer conventional properties with no glaring defects, there is the RICS Level 1 Condition Report, which is an entry level condition check for any obvious issues.
Finally, if you are only looking for a valuation, you can search for a Valuation Survey - this will return quotes by surveyors who are RICS Registered Valuers who will perform the survey in accordance with the RICS 'Red Book' valuation standards. For information on the RICS Registered Valuer programme click here
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How Our Site Works
How it Works
Our RICS Surveyors cover the whole of the UK. All of the surveyors or firms listed on our site are RICS Registered and Regulated - either AssocRICS, MRICS, FRICS, or RICS Regulated Firms, so you can be sure that your survey will be carried out to the highest professional standards.
Getting an estimate for a standard home survey is as simple as 1, 2, 3...
1. Enter your property details
2. Enter your contact details, and
3. Press Search - what could be simpler?
You will receive estimates for your survey from up to five RICS Surveyors operating in your postcode. These estimates and the surveyor details will be displayed on screen, and also emailed to you for you to follow up. Your details will also be sent to the listed surveyors so they can contact you to discuss your requirements in more detail.
If you need something other than a standard survey for a home purchase, then simply click on one of the 'Survey Types' options from the main menu to find a relevant surveyor.
FAQs
FAQs
I didn't get 5 results/estimates, why is that?
The maximum number of estimates you will receive is 5, and in most urban areas, for the common survey types, you will receive a full complement. But in some areas, particularly rural areas, the actual number may be fewer, depending upon the number of surveyors offering the specific service you require, as:
a) not all surveyors will offer all survey types in their chosen territories, and
b) some areas, particularly more rural areas, simply have fewer surveyors covering them!
Do quoted fees include VAT?
Yes, fees include VAT where applicable. But note not all surveyors are VAT registered, particularly independent surveyors or smaller practices who's prices will be shown without VAT.
Why are you not showing the option of a RICS Level 1 Condition Report?
The scope and work involved in the preparation of the RICS Condition Report is very similar to that of a RICS Level 2 HomeBuyer Report. It involves the same amount of travel to the property, the same visual inspection, and only a slightly less comprehensive report. Because of this, the price differential between the two report levels is insignificant, generally less than 10%. Added to this, many surveyors consider the scope of a Level 1 report to be insufficient for buyers to make a truly informed buying decision. As a result very few suveyors actively offer the Level 1 survey, preferring to only offer the Level 2 HomeBuyer report as a more appropriate alternative. Conseqently we no longer include the RICS Level 1 Condition Report as a search option on our site.
Are your surveyors all local to my postcode?
Results will list surveying firms of a mixture of sizes and locations. Some are independent practitioners, and others may be larger firms covering wider areas. Smaller firms and independent surveyors tend to be highly localised - they don't like to waste hours 'on the road' travelling between surveys!
Larger regional or semi-national firms with main offices that are located out of your immediate locality usually employ surveyors local to the postcodes they appear in for the same reason, so you can expect that the surveyor carrying out your survey for any firm appearing in your search results will have a good knowledge of your local area. Just because the main office of a surveying firm is distant from your location does not mean the actual surveyor carrying out your survey is not local!
If you are in any doubt as to the local knowledge of the surveyors returned, we'd recommend you simply ask about their experience of your locality before you choose.
Why do you ask for the postcode and address of the property?
We need your postcode to find local surveyors actively operating in the area. The full address helps surveyors answer any questions you may have based on the specific property, and its location, for which you require the survey.
Why do you ask for my contact details?
We need these to email your estimates to you, and so the surveyors can contact you to discuss your exact requirements. If you choose to withold your contact information (by entering dummy information for example) you will still be able to view your search results on screen, but they will not be emailed to you. If you prefer to be emailed but not called, simply enter 'please don't call me' or a series of zeros in the telephone number field.
Can I withhold my contact details?
You can if you wish, but if you choose to withold your contact information (by entering dummy information for example) we will not be able to email your estimates to you, although you will still be able to view your search results on screen. If you want to receive confirmation of your estimates by email but prefer not to be called, simply enter 'please don't call me' or a series of zeros in the telephone number field.
What do you do with my details?
Details of your survey estimate and the contact details you provide are are stored in our database, and sent to the surveyors shown in results so they can respond to you. They are prohibited from using your data for any other purpose.
If you tick the 'Please send me details of other services...' box we may send you additional information on our other services and products. If you do not tick the box you will not receive any further offers from us. Under no circumstances will we sell or pass your personal data to any other party - please see our privacy policy for full details.
Is your site secure?
Our website uses a Secure Socket Layer (commonly called an SSL certificate) to encrypt all data being transmitted between your browser and our webserver using the https protocol to ensure that no personal information can be intercepted. Click on the padlock in your browser address bar for details of our SSL certificate.
Are all your surveyors RICS surveyors?
Yes. All the surveyors or firms listed on our site are RICS accredited - either AssocRICS, MRICS, FRICS, or RICS Regulated Firms. Results may also return estimates for companies such as Your Survey, that provide a centralised 'outsourced' marketing, booking and administration service for individual RICS regulated surveyors.
Why is there a difference between quotes from different surveyors for the same 'standard' type of RICS survey?
Most surveyors base their fees on the amount of time taken to carry out the property inspection and prepare their final report.
They will generally include an allowance for covering their travel time and mileage to and from the property, and time to answer any follow up questions.
Although Level 1 and Level 2 surveys (RICS Condition Report and RICS HomeBuyer Report) have to meet the RICS standard minimum scope, there can be variations to that. For example, some surveyors may include more detailed photos and additional information. Although the minimum RICS specification should be met, the survey may include 'extras' that add to the cost. This variation can be more marked for Level 3 surveys (Building Surveys), where reports may be more in-depth and more customised.
Many surveyors will provide sample reports, and it is worth requesting a copy of these to compare before giving your instruction to proceed to check you are comparing 'like-with-like'.
Another factor to consider is VAT. The fees quoted on our site include VAT where applicable. However, not all surveyors are VAT registered, particularly independent surveyors with smaller practices, and that will be reflected in their quoted fee.
Are the quotes on your site binding?
No. The fees quoted on our site are estimates based on a conventional property of standard construction, so should be correct for 'normal' urban properties.
However, if properties are older, or have been modified, for example through the addition of extensions, garages, conservatories, or loft rooms etc, then there might be extra costs involved. This would particularly apply to properties that have additional outbuildings or annexes. You should always check that the surveyor is aware of these, or any specific concerns you want addressed, in order to obtain a confirmed quotation.
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