Why First Time Buyers Should Always Get a Building Survey
A building survey is a type of inspection done by a highly trained construction professional on a property. Then, they provide a detailed written report, giving the buyer all the essential information before signing a formal purchase agreement.
There are 2 types of main types of reports for houses.
A level 2 report: Provides commentary on the condition of the property, highlighting any urgent defects, repair methods and ongoing maintenance advice. Surveyors usually perform this type of survey on houses built within the last 100 years, using conventional construction methods and appearing to be in reasonable condition.
A level 3 report: Includes everything above, but is much more tailored to suit your property. This type of survey is best for larger, older properties, those in poor condition, or if you’re planning extensive works or alterations. This report also includes the surveyor’s cost estimates for remedial work, and specific instructions in writing. While we can’t guarantee that you’ll be able to complete all of the work for the exact amount stated. However, we provide educated estimates drawn from real world cost data, ensuring the costs remain fairly accurate even if one estimate varies.
Clients sometimes request a Level 1 report. While these do exist, they really aren’t worth doing for most buyers, so we don’t offer them.
Who Should You Trust to Carry Out Your Survey?
Usually, a professional building surveyor or an associate member of RICS carries out the survey. But this isn’t a regulated activity, so some non-regulated surveyors do offer this service, as well as some structural engineers, which muddies the waters a bit. RICS surveyors have to meet the Home Survey Standard, which at least creates some consistency across the board. However, that doesn’t guarantee that all surveys will be good surveys – as with any discipline, there will be good surveyors and bad ones.
What Happens During a Property Inspection?
When a surveyor inspects a property, it’s a non-intrusive process. So they won’t be dismantling the building or taking things apart. This is both a positive and negative, since any areas of the building inaccessible to you will be inaccessible to the surveyor too. But when available, the surveyor will inspect all areas they can, including roof voids and underfloor voids. But they won’t be taking up fitted carpets or taking up floorboards, unless some are loose and easily removable.
Your surveyor will likely be very experiences in diagnosing building defects, so while the survey is non-intrusive, they will have the expertise in building pathology to identify the cause of almost all defects without further investigation, should they find any. Of course, there are some exceptions, like when defects happen undergrounds in the drainage. But in this case the surveyor will be able to explain what the signs of the defect are, what next steps are needed, and what any risks are if you don’t deal with them.
How Surveyors Spot Defects Without Taking Things Apart
After completing the survey, the surveyor will send you a written report with their findings. This usually discusses the building element by element, so you look at the roof, walls, floors, services etc separately. We do this because it makes the report easier to read – some reports can be very long (over 10,000 for the complex ones!), so splitting it up is much easier to manage.
Most reports, especially those using the RICS’ template will ‘score’ the building on a traffic light system. We flag the most problematic items in red. The ones that are less problematic defects or issues marked in amber. Then the building elements with no problems given green. This helps you quickly understand where problems lie and how many there are.
Some surveyors will be able to issue their reports on the same day as the inspection, and even be proud of that. While it might sound impressive and convenient, it usually means that the surveyor has been selecting a series of standard phrases on their iPad. In our experience, this leads to clunky, confusing reports that don’t make it clear which issues are present and which could theoretically arise in a similar property. It also means the report can be alarming to read and difficult to understand, even if there’s not a lot wrong!
A truly bespoke report should suit the property you’re buying and consider your areas of concern, which means no two surveys are the same. That’s the level of service you’ll get from a professional surveyor like Harrison Clarke. Yes, our reports usually take a few days to prepare. But at least three people are involved in creating each one, and it’s being done by a competent surveyor who can confirm the report is up to standard and covers everything needed.
Why Building Survey Prices Vary So Much
No, and for good reason!
You’ll probably find that if you look for a few quotes, the cost will range quite a bit. Typically, the poor-quality iPad surveys will sit at the cheap end, since those surveyors can do multiple surveys a day. The more expensive surveys are the ones that allow your surveyor a proper amount of time to inspect, reflect and really communicate with you in an intelligible format. It’s likely that the more expensive surveys will give you access to the best surveyors available, along with the best post-survey feedback and support.
Don’t Skip This: Read Your Survey Report Fully
Once you’ve got your survey report, the first thing you should do is read it fully. Not only is it important to understand what you’re buying, but it also helps to identify the things that are important to you. As much as we would like to know each and every client really well, we can’t fully appreciate everything that’s important to you. What we will do is provide a comprehensive report. So you might find in reading it that something we’ve reported as a minor issue is something that’s really important to you – like a binding door or missing pieces of woodwork. That’s why you need to read it front to back, back to front.
After you’ve read your survey, you will probably have some questions. It’s only natural. That’s why at Harrison Clarke whenever you commission a survey, you’ll have as much access to your surveyor post-survey as you need to make a confident and informed purchase decision. That means you can arrange phone calls, Teams meetings, or even meet with your surveyor. A lot of clients don’t take advantage of this, but we’ve continued to work with some clients for months after we provided their report so that we can ensure the best outcome for them. We really like working with our clients, and it really isn’t a burden to answer questions.
How to Use Your Survey Report to Negotiate Price
So, now what? The most common next use for surveys is as a negotiation tool. You could use it to renegotiate the asking price, or to ask the seller to address some issues with the property before you buy it. Our surveyors are always happy to help with a negotiation strategy! In fact, it’s something we’re often asked about, and while we can cover a few eventualities, the reality is that every vendor is different. That said, the worst they can do is say no. And we’ve never seen a sale fall through because the buyer relied on their survey to get a better deal.
What to Do After the Survey: Ask Questions
One final thing. Whether you’re a first-time buyer or a fourth-time mover, the buying process can still be really confusing and murky. We’ve spent a long time being involved with and learning about the process, so we’re pretty knowledgeable about these things! Even if you’re confused by something in the process to do with the estate agent, your solicitor or your mortgage broker. We’ll probably be able to give you a bit of advice. And if you’re still a bit confused, or need some more guidance on the process, we’re here to help. All of our details can be found on our website, and our friendly team are always happy to help.
For more expert advice on surveying and property matters, check out our range of informative videos on our website or YouTube channel. Harrison Clarke Chartered Surveyors is here to guide you every step of the way!
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