The whole process of buying a house is tiring even for the best of us. Putting too much money at once on something has its own anxiety attached, and when there is no any certainty about the house condition, the headaches can be even fiercer. That is why, if you are buying a house, opting for homebuyer’s survey is very crucial, as it determines whether or not the house is in right condition and actually costs what is asked for by the owner of the property.
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Homebuyer’s survey as well as homebuyer’s report
Homebuyer’s survey is the best route you can take for determining the liveability of a house. The survey not only estimates the real cost of the house based on its true condition, but also prevents you from making a wrong decision by purchasing a house having major faults. Homebuyer’s report is an important part too, and in this article, we are going to take a deeper look at the survey as well as the report.
Benefits of homebuyer’s survey
A number of popular organizations and agencies extensively recommend homebuyer’s survey along with the standard mortgage valuation when buying a house, including ‘Which’ and Mortgage Lenders Council. Accompanying a RICS report having a very standard format, the survey often consumes much less time than popular belief. In fact, in most cases, the whole survey takes less than 2 hours, and there are no major complexities involved.
The homebuyer’s survey can be beneficial due to a number of factors:
It determines if there is any major underlying fault regarding the house you are intending to buy, and in case there seems to be one or more, you can delay your purchase decision in order to investigate the problems in depth, or you may simply move on to take a look at another house. This aspect of the survey is worth all the money you pay for it.
There will be a solid valuation of property reinstatement expense and market price of the house or property, which you are required to submit to the insurance agency or company.
In case any repairing is needed to be made, you will be informed of the associated costs. That way, you will have a good grip when it comes to negotiating the asking price of the house.
Should you go for homebuyer’s valuation survey?
Determining whether to choose house buyer valuation survey or not is not any rocket science to be precise. You can have it performed along with all other major surveys as the cost requirement is pretty low. Homebuyer’s survey, also known as house buyer’s survey or valuation survey, can be a good option if the house in question is not very old and is in pretty good condition overall. As the cost of building survey is likely to be higher when compared to homebuyer’s survey, and the time taken is more as well, the latter often proves to be an excellent route to choose. The survey is often better value than building survey. Note that if the house is really old, or the condition is not so attractive, it is best to carry out a detailed building survey in order to evaluate everything very minutely. Normally, homebuyer’s survey report contains much more information than mortgage valuation report. The purpose of mortgage valuation is only the determination of the right cost of the property, but homebuyer’s survey is associated on a much deeper level than that. In case you are going for a house built during the 60s or 70s, go for the building survey. If it was built recently instead, then homebuyer’s survey seems to be the most viable choice.
What do you get in exchange of the survey expense?
The homebuyer’s survey report issued by RICS covers an extensive range of aspects from all different areas:
Indoor aspects such as the roofs, the floors, the walls and the ceilings are evaluated thoroughly. Further, bathroom condition and wood work is inspected too.
The exterior parts including the windows, gutters, walls, doors, roofing conditions etc. are checked with care. Moreover, any outside establishment is evaluated rigorously.
Depending on the condition of a factor, a house aspect is rated from 1 to 3. Rating of 3 means that there are things that need urgent attention or repair; whereas, a score of 1 means that everything is in good condition.
Electric, water, oil or gas services are checked as well. Additionally, all the visible aspects of the house drainage and heating system are evaluated.
If there seem to be parts or regions that require attention of a legal advisor for the purpose of investigation, you are being informed.
Finally, a proper valuation of the house based on the overall property condition is reported.
The expense demanded by homebuyer valuation or survey
The best part regarding homebuyer’s valuation is definitely its super low cost. According to RICS, you just need to pay £250 or more depending on the house. For instance, if the house costs more than £99,000, the expense will be close to £300. However, if the size is bigger, and the value or cost of the particular property is estimated to be higher, the cost will go up.
For reference, a house having a market price of £100,000 to £250,000 will demand about £350 as the survey charge. Whatever way you look at it, the cost of the survey proves to be very negligible if compared to its benefits and total house market price hand in hand. Therefore, if it is not inconvenient for you, have the survey performed immediately. Be sure to choose a certified and reputed professional survey agency.