Homeowners forced to get creative in order to sell

With no immediate foreseeable upswing in the state of the housing market, homeowners are being forced to get creative in order to sell their properties. From installing 'green' fixtures designed to lure buyers with the promise of offsetting outlay with future gains, to paying stamp duty on the property themselves instead of leaving it to buyers, tricky times are prompting shrewd selling solutions.

Even so, sellers may find they've undertaken a fool's errand if they don't have the value of their revamped property verified. No matter how many improvements have been made to a property, if they go unchecked by a surveyor, who is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, sellers can't be sure that all necessary work has been done or that the price is set accordingly.

But things can go wrong with surveyors too, and this presents a whole other problem for already overstretched homeowners.

Since June 2007, the Surveyors Ombudsman Service has operated across the UK, providing an independent overview in situations where surveyors are judged to have behaved unfairly, rudely, incompetently or have simply provided a poor service.

Although it is operated in association with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, the Surveyors Ombudsman Scheme acts entirely independently of it, negating the possibility of conflict of interest. When complaints have gone unheeded or no agreement can be reached, the Ombudsman will step in to examine the facts and bring the grievance to a satisfactory conclusion.

Steven Gould, Director of Professional Regulation at RICS said "It is important for RICS regulated firms and their clients to know that, if a complaint cannot be resolved through the firm's internal complaints handling procedure, there is an independent third party there that can make a fair decision. In the current economic climate everyone wants value-for-money, professional services. For consumers dealing with property related issues, instructing a surveying firm that is regulated by RICS and which is signed up to the Surveyors Ombudsman Service, offers that peace of mind."

Berkshire couple Tom Parry and Angela Harris called on SOS after the surveyor from whom they had sought advice about the cottage they were planning to buy failed to tell them that it was at risk of flooding. "We eventually bought the house for £74, 000," Parry says, "but a year later put it back on the market following a change in our circumstances. The same firm valued the property, but this time told the prospective buyers of the possible problems - including the flooding."

The couple only found out about these issues when an offer they had had was withdrawn. They were concerned that it looked like they had been trying to mislead their prospective buyers when in fact it was they themselves who had been misled. They approached SOS and were ultimately refunded their mortgage fee and £1300 to cover expenses, stress and inconvenience. "We were delighted with the response," Parry says, "and we accepted the award."

For more information visit sos-advice.org.uk.