We are highly skilled in undertaking Surveys and Valuations of all kinds of residential property, from the smallest studio apartment to large individual properties, including Grade I and II Listed Buildings.  Every purchaser needs to know the true condition of the property they are intending to buy in order that they can make an informed decision prior to commitment to purchase.

If you are having a mortgage the Lender will sometimes send a valuer to inspect the property internally and provide a Valuation, but you must be aware that this is not a Condition Survey, and you cannot rely on this quick inspection when purchasing the property.  This Inspection is simply for the Lender’s purpose to ensure they are not lending more than the property is worth.

In many cases these days, the Lender will not even visit the property, but will simply conduct a desk top exercise or Drive-By Inspection.  Not all major structural issues can be seen from the kerbside, or indeed Google Earth.

We recommend that a Survey is always undertaken and the results considered before entering into any kind of contractual agreement.  This way, if the Survey highlights defects or problems with the property, you are then in a position to possibly renegotiate the purchase price or, if the property gets a clean bill of health, it will provide reassurance that your proposed investment is safe.

When you are considering a purchase of a property, the following levels of Survey should be considered:

• Level One – RICS Condition Report
• Level Two – RICS Homebuyer Report, with or without Valuation.
• Level Three – Full Domestic Building Survey (commonly referred to as a “Structural Survey”).

We also conduct RICS Red Book Valuations for professional purposes.