Rics home buyer survey

Home and building survey tips and tricks : Check the Roof First! It might seem an odd pastime, but next time it rains, don’t stay indoors, put your waterproof coat on, take the kids to help you if you can, and play ‘spot the hole in the roof!’ Check for things like missing tiles, cracks near chimneys etc. Check the Guttering! While you are out and about checking the roof, also check the guttering for leaks which will either be from the joints or because there is a blockage, in which case get the joints sealed and/or the blockage cleared. Once you’ve done all the checks – check again in six months time! Homes move, they leak, they get broken, every day of the week. It might be after a storm, after you have had some work done, or just because they are buildings that, just like us, need maintaining in good health. Your home is probably your most expensive asset – you wouldn’t not change the tyres on your car or let it go for years without a service, your home is the same, just a lot more valuable, so TAKE CARE OF IT!

Plants and any other large object present on windowsills should be removed, as these will also be assessed by the surveyor. This saves the surveyor from having to move things around themselves. Mould is one of the most obvious signs of damp in a home and must always be dealt with as it can thrive if left alone. Make sure you scrub away any mould that is present in your kitchen or bathroom, fix dripping taps by replacing the washers.

It may be that you have been living in the house for a while and the property has become subject to general wear and tear. Instead of fixing up the property, you have decided to move on. This may decrease the value of your home as many buyers will look at the property as how ‘liveable’ it will be upon buying. If changes need to be made before a potential buyer can properly live in a property, this will make them less likely to buy it.

The full Building/ Structural Survey cost will vary from 500 to 1,300; the survey cost will depend on the property type, size and location. To save you money on your survey, compare fees by filling in our simple and quick form and receive up to four instant quotes from our RICS regulated Chartered Surveyors. As one of the most comprehensive surveys available, more often than not a building survey will be requested by potential buyers of your property. It is a wide range inspection of the entirety of a property done in more specific depth than a Homebuyers Report or a Mortgage Valuation. A Building Survey’s purpose is to give a detailed report of the condition of the property in question.

The RICS Building Survey is well suited to unusual properties, older or non-standard construction properties were buildings which are away from the status quo. They are most typically commissioned for older properties whether listed or not and are valuable for understanding the common issued associated with their original methods of construction, as well as giving new owners advice on the best methods to preserve or maintain their condition and rectify problems before they become devastating to the property. Where our traditional building stock has been modernised, altered or extended a RICS Building Survey will be able to investigate if these modern methods of construction are affecting the traditionally built building such as PVC or Cement, which in modern houses designed to be kept dry function surprisingly well but in older traditional stock designed to have breathability there inclusion can lead to all sorts of moisture retention and this can lead to rot or beetle infestation. Read extra details at Building Surveyor.

These types of work all require notices to be served as required by the act, once notice has been served, if there is dissent then it is deemed there is a dispute and the Act allows for this, this would be the dispute or resolution stage. Most disputes arrive when the Adjoining Owner has worries or concerns with the proposed work or simply fails to respond in the statutory time to the building owner, for which there could be many reasons. Where a dispute arises either due to non-consent or no response then the Act lays down the steps required to resolve the dispute this is where the Building Owner and the Adjoining Owner will each appoint there Surveyor this could be one each or even the same surveyor with an agreement for all parties working as the Agreed Surveyor.