Let’s begin with the top five reasons that prospective homeowners don’t properly survey their new homes.
- “The survey was done by the mortgage company.” They prepared a valuation report that confirms the property’s worth, not its condition.
- “We can’t pay for a survey.” You can’t afford to make the necessary repairs or do any unforeseen work.
- “My mate is a builder, and he looked at the thing and said it was OK.” Are you a qualified surveyor or an architect?
- “The purchase price has been agreed upon and we are keen to buy the house.”
- “The house is modern, so it’s in good condition.”
As our responses to each of these questions show, all of the above views are wrong about the necessity for building surveys. Here are five top reasons to have your potential purchase surveyed by a Chartered Surveyor.
1. We inspect a house, not a home.
It is a significant difference. You are busy deciding who gets which bedroom, where the table will go and what color to paint your kitchen. The surveyor, on the other side, has no emotional attachment to the property they inspect and is busy looking for cracks or damp, woodworm, poor insulation, alterations, windows, etc.
2. We will see things that you don’t
Research has shown that you will spend around 38 minutes at the property, and visit it twice, before you decide to purchase it. It is unlikely that you will return to it until you have it. A surveyor, on the other hand, will spend many hours looking at a property objectively. He will take you places that you wouldn’t have thought of! Many home buyers don’t go into the attic and others don’t walk to the end. We recommend that you meet with your surveyor to view the property. This will allow you to see the property a third-time and show you what he has found.
3. We are experts in what we do
Surveyors are able to identify what they are looking for and where it is located. Most home buyers don’t. Although your mate may be a good builder and know a lot about buildings, he’s not a surveyor and hasn’t been trained in building investigations, dry rot, and the cause of subsidence. He doesn’t have professional indemnity insurance, and he didn’t train for five years to become a Chartered Surveyor. Also, he won’t be as objective because he is your mate.
4. Long-term savings are possible
A good building survey can save you money. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors found that 20% of buyers didn’t have a survey. These faults cost an average of PS5,750 to fix. 17% of new homeowners ended up spending more than PS12,000 in order to make their homes habitable. A building survey can identify defects and costs, and allow you to make informed decisions and negotiate the cost. One of our surveys allowed a buyer to lower the asking price by PS20,000. The most serious fault (a defective roof), was also fixed by the vendor before the purchase was completed. These are some examples: survey one and survey two
5. You will make an informed decision
Tell the building surveyor your plans before he leaves. This will allow him to tell you how practical they are. You would be surprised at the number times that we have had to turn down a buyer who was planning on converting their loft because it is too small! A local surveyor can help you find out about the area, noise levels, and best places to live.
