In This Guide
Apply for a mortgage
Buying at auction
Buying in Scotland
Conveyancing
Find and view
Negotiate
Plan your purchase
Success and failure
Surveys and valuations
1. Surveys
2. Basic mortgage valuation
3. Basic valuation example
4. Homebuyer's report
5. Homebuyer's report example
6. The surveyor's inspection
7. Full structural survey
8. Choosing surveyors
9. Complaints
To buy or not to buy
Surveys and valuations
The surveyor's inspection
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You will have to arrange to provide the surveyor with access to your property. It is extremely difficult for them to provide you with a professional opinion on a property that they cannot see the inside of. The length of time the surveyor will spend at the property varies depending on the level of survey you are having and the size of the house. A mortgage valuation will not take long at all, perhaps half an hour; A homebuyer survey typically takes between one and two hours and a full structural survey can take considerably longer.
For a homebuyer's report or full structural survey, the contract will detail exactly what will be inspected. A homebuyer report usually involves a general surface examination of everything that is reasonably accessible or visible.
- Examine the appearance of drainage, lifts and security systems
- Advise further investigation if a problem is suspected with
one of the items that they are not expected to examine closely
- Carry out parts of the inspection from adjoining property
where necessary
- Check the exterior surfaces of the building and access areas
- Examine the roof cavity, manhole chambers, all the rooms.
- Test things such as electrical systems, heating, gas supply,
wiring, plumbing or other features such as drains
- Risk injury or damage to the property in order to gain access
to part of the building
- Remove floor coverings to examine floorboards
- Examine the internal condition of chimneys, boilers etc.
- Give close scrutiny to outbuildings or leisure facilities such as swimming pools
Remember that the survey can't tell you everything. The surveyor can only find those faults that are reasonably obvious from visual inspection. You cannot expect a basic valuation to highlight problems beneath the floorboards, in the foundations of the property or hidden away in an inaccessible loft and even a full survey will not necessarily help predict seasonal problems such as burst pipes, damp or condensation and leaking drains.
A good company should have completed the survey within five working days of being instructed, though some will do it even more quickly than that. A valuation or homebuyer report will then take a further three to five working days to be dispatched to you. A full structural survey is likely to take quite a bit longer, expect to wait anything up to a fortnight after the completion of the inspection.
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