What are the pros and cons of Home Surveys?

Buying or selling your home is one of the most important decisions you can make. This life-changing decision requires extensive information about the condition and value of the property before its purchase or sale. For this reason, home surveys have become an essential part of property transactions because they provide the requisite information that can help investors make informed decisions.

According to RICS, there are three types of recognised Home Surveys available:

1.    Level 1 Home Survey (previously RICS Condition report) 

2.    Level 2 Home Survey (previously RICS Homebuyers report) 

3.    Level 3 Home Survey (previously RICS Building report)

As with any other aspect of property investment, Homey Surveys can have their pros and cons.

What are the Pros of Home Surveys?

Home Surveys can be very helpful in risk mitigation because they can help identify any potential issues with the property in question. These issues can include structural defects, safety concerns, or underlying problems. Getting this information allows purchasers or investors to assess the risks associated with the purchase or investment.

The information garnered through Home Surveys can be useful in knowing the true condition of the property and can help during negotiations. In the cases where significant issues are found, purchasers or investors can negotiate a lower purchase price to reflect the market value, or request necessary repairs be made.

Obviously one of the biggest pros of Home Surveys is the peace of mind it provides because purchasers or investors can have confidence in the property’s condition, reducing the likelihood of unexpected and costly surprises after completion.

Because survey reports give a condition rating of each element, the purchaser can plan for the replacement of larger components of the property such as the roof, windows, doors, services, heating, and plumbing systems at the end of their expected useable life, allowing them to budget for future maintenance or replacement costs more effectively.

The Home Survey also includes recommended documents for your legal advisor to obtain to ensure you’re fully prepared in the event of future problems.

What are the Cons of Home Surveys?

One of the most common reasons for not having a Home Survey are the costs.

Whilst Home Surveys can be expensive, especially for comprehensive inspections of complex properties, at Frobishers all of our surveys are specific to the property in question and offer value for money.

Purchasers can also be concerned about possible delays around arranging an inspection and the time it takes to get the report thereafter.

At Frobishers, our team arranges the inspection with the seller/agent at the next available opportunity, the surveyor can contact you after the appointment with initial concerns and the report is returned to you within 7 working days. The surveyor is also available afterwards to talk through the report. If you need a report turning around quicker than this, our team can agree quicker timescales as required.

Purchasers sometimes believe that only minor issues can be revealed, which may not have a significant impact on the property/investment.

This is a good outcome! Assuming that there aren’t larger concerns, you now know that the surveyor has inspected the property and you’ve gained peace of mind that it only has minor issues to address. Even so, the surveyor will always include advice even relating to minor problems and the pitfalls associated with them if left unchecked. Isn’t peace of mind and professional advice worth the small cost of a survey?

There is always the concern that a Home Survey, even a thorough one, may not catch every potential problem, especially if issues are hidden behind walls or not immediately apparent.

The surveyor makes a non-intrusive inspection and whilst a Home Survey is not a guarantee or warranty, the surveyor will follow “the trail” as part of their inspection. This means that even hidden issues will receive the attention they deserve, and advice will be provided as to ‘next steps’.

Whilst surveyors are humans and each surveyor may have different interpretations of what constitutes a significant issue, at Frobishers each issue is explained, and the benchmark established by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) in the Home Survey Standard is applied. A condition rating is awarded which gives an indication as to how severe an issue is, and detailed advice will follow.

It's remains essential for investors to conduct due diligence in other areas, such as market research and financial analysis, although Frobishers do provide valuation services should this be required.

Overall

It is clear that home surveys are invaluable tools for property purchasers and investors, which can go a long way in helping them identify and assess potential risks and issues with a property. While they come at a cost, they are still an important part of any property transaction and choosing the right surveyor who charges appropriately and acts expediently will help.

Budgeting effectively can prevent future unexpected larger expenses associated with the property in the future. Property investors and purchasers can use survey results in conjunction with other research and analysis to make well-informed investment and buying decisions.