Buying a new home can be a worrying time for anyone, with all the expense and upheaval involved. Having a survey carried out on your prospective new house or flat is one way of reducing the stress – but which type should you opt for?
Anderson Associates are highly experienced in carrying out full building surveys in properties in south east and east London, Kent, Essex and Suffolk. Here we look at five of the key advantages offered by these types of reports.
They Will Identify Any Issues
A full survey will look at every accessible part of the property, and its condition. If there are any flaws or defects, which is particularly important in older properties, then these will be identified. Although surveyors may not be experts in areas such as plumbing, central heating, boilers and wiring, they will alert you to potential problems and can recommend a specialist survey from an expert.
Anderson Associates’ surveys will also include a cost summary, so you know how much the faults will cost to put right and a maintenance plan of all the work which needs to be carried out.
They are Useful for Flats Too
If you are buying a flat, a full building survey is also a good idea. Your prospective new home may look modern, but it may form part of a conversion in an older building so there may be structural issues linked to the property’s age.
Equally, if it is part of a larger block, the survey may also identify problems outside your own purchase area – for example, leaking gutters which could create problems with damp. If it is on an upper floor, then access may be via a lift, so various enquiries should be made, including how regularly it is serviced and whose responsibility it is if it breaks down.
They Are Comprehensive
There are various types of survey to choose from, but the best way of making a well-informed decision about whether you should buy a property you are interested in is to opt for the full building survey, which is the most detailed out of all the survey report options and should provide you with all the information you need.
Mortgage Valuation Surveys are carried out on behalf of the lender, if you need a loan to fund the purchase. However, they are not a full survey, as all they do is advise on the basic condition of the property, its current market value and if it’s mortgageable.
Home Buyer Surveys will only tell you about any major defects with the property and won’t give you a full picture of its condition. With flats and maisonettes, a HBS won’t necessarily tell you about the condition of the whole block.
As the name suggests, a structural survey just looks the main structure of the property, and it is usually only carried out if there are known major defects, or if a previous survey or inspection has shown up a serious defect. These types of property are often not mortgageable.
They Give You Peace of Mind
Buying a home is a stressful enough experience anyway, without factoring in any costly repair work further down the line. With full surveys, if there are any areas of your prospective new home which you are concerned about, then you can ask your surveyor to have a look at it.
Whether it is nothing to worry about, or is a genuine problem, you will get an honest answer from an independent chartered surveyor like Anderson Associates because they are working for you and not the lender.
They Can Save You Money
If the survey has identified problems, then you may be able to go back to the seller and try to renegotiate a lower purchase price. Spotting issues early on also means you can have them repaired before the condition of the property deteriorates any further.
If you go ahead with the purchase, dealing with any issues identified in the survey could also benefit you financially in the longer term. If you ever decide to sell the property, prospective buyers will be able to see that you have kept it well maintained, which should make it easier to attract higher offers.
Anderson Associates
At Anderson Associates we offer full building surveys on properties in east London, south east London, Kent, Essex and Suffolk. We recommend these to our clients – and we charge around the same price for a full survey as for a home buyers survey.
We also offer leasehold and shared freehold surveys, structural surveys and commercial property surveys. If you would like to contact us for a quote, follow this link and fill in the online form.
