The importance of a building survey

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) research has shown that one in four homes bought without a building survey being taken has needed unplanned work after completion. These are repairs that would have come to light with a building survey.

Given that research estimates up to 80% of sales go through without any surveys taken, that’s a lot of unexpected expense to a lot of buyers. In the best circumstances this could mean a small outlay but the worst case scenario is a structurally unsafe house that cannot be lived in, and is impossible to sell.

Types of Surveys

Building surveys are more thorough and more detailed than a HomeBuyers Report. A HomeBuyers report highlights severe problems that could have an impact on the properties long term value. The work report is created working to a format and criteria outlined by the RICS. It also includes a property valuation. Building surveys go into a little more depth and allow more freedom for surveyors to investigate areas likely to cause concern in a specific type of building.

A Mortgage or Lenders Valuation may be more in depth than the free house valuation provided by most estate agents, but shouldn’t be seen as a replacement for a survey. The scope of a lenders valuation varies depending upon the house’s age and the surveyor used by the lender Tthese reports are not obliged to find any structural problems and are purely for the use of the mortgage company to make sure the price the mortgage on the house is in line with what the building is worth.

A free house valuation provides nothing more than an estate agent’s estimate of what the property is worth, and is very unlikely to be performed by a qualified surveyor. A HomeBuyers Report, a Building Survey, or a Lenders Valuation will be performed by a qualified and registered building surveyor, who knows what to look for and where.

Why get a building survey done

Any building that may have underlying issues, has had extensions or modification or is more than 100 years old would benefit from a having a building survey performed. There may well be issues that wouldn’t be noticed by a less thorough survey that could cause serious issues and problems later on down the road. Even newly built homes can have serious underlying problems.

Given the cost of a house, the money spent on a survey is negligible, and it provides a degree of security to buyers that just can’t be attained otherwise.

Surveys are also being used as a selling tool by people who are aware of the competitive nature of the market. By having the worth and condition of the house stated in a report, and not just relying on the figures provided by an estate agent during their free house valuation, sellers have an edge over other properties on the market. Not only can they prove that their house is worth what they say it is, and in good order, but they’ve saved potential buyers the hassle and expense of having their own surveys done. And the sellers save themselves any nasty surprises that might come from a buyer’s survey report.