The Jigsaw team are highly skilled in undertaking surveys and valuations of all kinds of residential property from the smallest studio apartment to large individual properties including Listed Buildings. Every purchaser needs to know the true condition of any house that they intend to buy in order that they can make an informed decision prior to commitment to purchase.

If you require a mortgage the Lender will instruct a surveyor to inspect the property to provide a valuation, but you must be aware that this is not a survey or report on the condition. Their inspection is simply to enable the Lender to assess the suitability and value of the property for lending purposes. In some cases, the Lender’s surveyor may not even visit the property but conduct what is known as either a ‘drive by’ inspection or desktop exercise. This should not be relied upon when considering such a financial investment. Not all major structural issues can be seen from the kerbside or indeed Google Earth.

We recommend that a more detailed survey is undertaken so that the results can then be considered before entering into a contractual agreement. If the survey highlights significant defects or issues with the property, you are then be in a position to possibly renegotiate the purchase price or alternatively, 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 there are three levels of inspection to be considered: