When you are thinking of selling your home or buying one, it is a good idea to get a house survey completed. This reveals a structure’s secrets and can tell you a lot about a home as its owner or as its potential buyer. Building surveys completed by a chartered surveyor are more than just a property valuation; they provide peace of mind.
What Is a House Survey?
Surveys are like health checks on homes. They are assessments of the structure, including key elements like the roof and walls. A home buyer’s survey is highly recommended before buying a property, as it will give you an independent insight into its structural safety and quality and may make you aware of underlying and unseen issues in a home before you commit to buying it. Property surveyors can make a complete assessment of the house, and their findings could prevent you from investing in a house that needs extensive repairs or structural work.
What Happens in a Building Survey?
Buildings surveyors inspect every accessible and visible part of the structure looking for potential issues or structural defects. This can be incredibly valuable to house buyers and provides more in-depth information than a simple house valuation. A property surveyor will measure more than just the square feet of bedrooms; they will look for signs of bowing brickwork, subsidence, and many other common structural issues as well as check boundary fencing or walls.
Who Are the Surveyors?
When looking for a surveyor, always look for RICS surveying accreditation. RICS stands for The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. They regulate chartered surveying and ensure that your homebuyer survey is completed by a qualified and licensed surveyor with the knowledge and experience required to give you an honest and accurate assessment of a property. This house surveyor in Norwich is a surveyor with full RICS accreditation and carries the RICS Lion Logo on its website. Look for this logo when looking for a chartered surveyor.
What Is a Property Valuation?
As part of the house selling and buying process, the value of the house is calculated by an estate agent, and a mortgage lender may also complete a valuation. Property valuers will typically assess a home’s value based on its location, size, standard of interior and exterior finish, and other mostly cosmetic factors but will not take a deep look at the structure or build quality. Building surveyors inspect more of the structure and discover signs of long-term issues. Their findings could affect property value, and their reports could save you money or save you from losing money on a poorly built or maintained house.
If you are thinking of buying, selling, or even remortgaging a home, you should consider getting a building survey completed by a chartered surveyor. This can prevent you from buying a property with serious underlying structural issues or could provide you with an honest assessment of your home and any structural work that should be completed to increase or protect its value. For peace of mind when dealing with property, get a building survey so you know exactly what you are dealing with.
