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Home Buyers Reports & Surveys
What is a home buyers survey?
A home buyer’s survey is essentially a neat way to dodge additional cost, stress and hassle further down the line when buying a property, helping you avoid annoying and costly additional surprise repairs. Plenty of property buyers rely entirely on the mortgage valuation report, which means it’s no real surprise so many people are having to deal with additional repair costs once they move into the property.
There’s multiple different types of home buyer surveys out there, so choosing the right survey for the condition of house you’re purchasing is essential when it comes to avoiding additional repair costs in the future. Mortgage valuation surveys really just check the value of the property for the benefit of the lender, nothing to do with future repairs and issues with the property. If your survey throws up issues, you’ve got a bunch of options, including getting building work quotes, renegotiating the price, and simply backing out of the sale. It allows you to get to know the property in a way you wouldn’t otherwise, and acts as a form of insurance.
What types of surveys are there?
First of all, there are multiple types of home buyer surveys out there, each matching different condition properties and situations. Finding the right, high quality home buyer survey is essential when it comes to making sure the property you’re buying is exactly what you need it to be, and won’t be entailing further repair costs.
The cheapest survey, the RICS Condition Report is the most basic, generally costing around £250, and is ideal for new-build properties, as they’re unlikely to have any real issues, so a quick check is all that’s really needed. However, they don’t offer some of the useful information of other survey types, such as advice, or a valuation on the property.
Next up is the RICS Home Buyer Report. This is a step up from the previous report, costing around £400 plus, and is best suited for normal buildings in decent condition. The RICS Home Buyer Report examines and checks for things like subsidence and damp, and structural issues as well as other potential issues lurking on the inside or out of the property, however, this report doesn’t go beyond the walls or floorboards. Frequently offering a valuation, and helpful price negotiating information, this can help you get the property for less the cost of the repairs.
Beyond the two most basic options, there’s the Home Condition Survey, which provides the same as the previous, but is presented in a clearer, official report, as well as some advice sheets, again costing £400 and up. The most extensive and comprehensive report is the Building Full Structural Survey. This is perfect for older properties, or buildings that are going to be requiring a whole host of repairs. Generally costing £600 plus, this survey provides extremely detailed advice on repairs, however, it doesn’t include a valuation.
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Who needs a home buyers survey?
Essentially, if you’re buying any property, you should have a quality home buyer’s report on your side. It allows you to get to know the property you’re buying, and avoid paying over the odds for a surprise doer-upper. With 20% of buyers still relying heavily on mortgage valuation reports, and risking unpleasant discoveries later on, a quality home buyer’s report is just a logical investment.
The benefits of a home buyer’s survey are obvious. They allow you to find out whether or not the property you’re buying is in decent shape, and if not, they allow you to get a valuation on the repair costs, and negotiate that cost from the asking price. They help you dodge nasty surprises, so get a quote from Home Report For You now!