When Buying a Home – Are Surveys Necessary?

The process of buying a home can be a very exciting but also a very stressful time. Especially when you are thinking ahead to getting hold of those keys for your dream home! That said, property purchases for most people are for them to provide a home and for that reason alone is important to know that the intended property doesn’t have any expensive secrets up its sleeve, so that a lovely new house doesn’t become a very expensive mistake.

Mortgage Valuation v Surveys

When purchasing a house most of us will need a mortgage. Before a bank or building society will lend money 'against' a property, they will want to carry out a mortgage valuation. This involves sending a representative from the bank to look at the property.

The purpose of this visit is to ensure the state and condition of the property are considered suitable to secure the loan against the property and to ensure the mortgage lenders would be able to recoup the funds they have provided in the event the property was to be repossessed.

If the bank is willing to lend against the property, great news, however reliance on this valuation is precarious. These checks are in the interests of the bank and are not in the interests of you, the buyer of the property.

It’s important that when you’re purchasing a property you are well informed and advised. Your instructed legal representative will not visit your property and they are not surveyors. Without a survey your legal representative’s advice can only go so far and it is important that you are clear on that. Surveys are professional services carried out by qualified surveyors who are members of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). A surveyor will inspect the property to the degree in which you instruct. Their inspection will include an assessment of any structural problems, major repairs and alterations and will helpfully provide an expert opinion on the property. However, there are different levels of survey available:

Conditions report – The basic and most commonly used report. This survey is the cheapest survey available on the market.

Homebuyers report – This is a more detailed report than the condition report and will provide greater detail of the property state. The cost of the survey will be more than the conditions report.

Building survey – The most in-depth survey that should cover the whole of the property and is undertaken in a very detailed way. It should give clear indicators on repairs needed and highlight the probable expense and repercussions if they are not addressed. The very nature of the report means it is usually much more expensive than the conditions and homebuyers reports.

Once your survey is complete, your legal representative can consider the report and will note any issues raised and make further enquiries. This inevitably will give you peace of mind and place you in a position to make a more informed decision on the purchase of the property. With the new information to hand, you may be able to renegotiate the purchase price or even decide not to proceed.

Whilst the cost of a survey may appear expensive it will be worth every penny if it saves greater expense later down the line.

Top tips

• If you are purchasing an older or more unique property a survey will likely be in your best interests.
• If you have specific concerns or are unsure about the state of repair of the property, instruct a surveyor.
• If you are unsure on what survey is best for you, speak to professionals in the field they should advise the best course of action for your specific circumstances.
• Instruct a local surveyor who has knowledge of your area.
• Gather and seek as much information as possible, the more information you are aware of the more informed a decision you will make.

If you would like to discuss the purchase or sale of a property, please do not hesitate to contact PEACE LEGAL.