I will warn you at the outset - this is a long page with a great deal of information. Printing to read later might be a good idea!

A lot of people phone in to the office daily and we can't always devote as much time as we'd like to individual survey enquiries.

Here is a full explaination of this survey format.

By asking for a survey the Client is going to receive much more advice than would be given by the inspection carried out by whoever is producing the mortgage.

Maybe theClient doesn't require a mortgage and money from the sale of their own house is going to be put into the new one.

We know that we are dealing with the 20% element of the home buying public that have private surveys.

That's right - only 1 in 5 people pay for a survey.

Many still incorrectly describe a Mortgage Valuation Inspection as a survey. This is an entirely incorrect assumption.

To go over old ground, which you must have read or heard before and which we have talked about on other pages on this site, the inspection carried out by the Bank or Building Society's Valuer is only to establish if the property is in reasonable condition and that its value is sufficient to secure the money that is to be loaned on that security.

A survey, on the other hand, deals with condition.

First of all, have you noticed that we use the term Clients? We've come across many firms who refer to the people that they deal with as "customers". A customer is someone who buys something physical, like a loaf of bread! A Client is someone who asks for and receives professional advice.

We have Clients. They are paying for my professional expertise and experience, the same way that they pay for their Solicitors advice. 

There are two survey options, the RICS Homebuyers Survey & Valuation or a Building Survey.

A Building Survey is what used to be known as a Structural Survey.

We'll deal first with the RICS Homebuyers Report & Valuation.

This scheme was set up by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 1982 and was then and has since been described as an "economy survey". That term 'economy' means that it's a survey of the house that you hope to buy that is not as expensive as a Building Survey.

The intention of the Homebuyers Report is to provide you with a document that provides advice on condition and state of repair of all of the main elements of the building.

Let's run through what the Report actually gives you.

In the opening sections there is a general description, what type of house it is, when it was built, where it is and what we think of the area.

We then deal with what are considered to be the three most important and potentially expensive defects to put right, which are: Structural Movement, Timber Defects and Dampness.

This is the way the Report is initially set out. Moving on, here's what Report headings we deal with, in a slightly different order than the report, but I'll include all of the relevant points.

What we do is look at each element of the building and assessing its current condition, establishing what repair and maintenance work has been carried out in the past and letting you know what we think of the quality of that work.

We advise on what maintenance or repair work is needed to either deal with matters of disrepair, unsatisfactory quality or standard of work that has been carried out in the past or provide you with advice on what you need to do to maintain that element of the building in the future.

The aim is to provide you with advice on what you need to do now, soon and later. This is intended to help you monitor condition of the house in the future, maintain its condition and, hopefully, prevent problems from occurring that could either be expensive to undertake or which could affect the property value.

The Report headings that we deal with are split into separate sections.

To the external elements of the building we deal with: chimney stacks, roof surfaces, roof structure, roof space, insulation, rainwater gutters and downpipes, drainage systems, main walls, damp proof course (type and checks with a damp meter to establish if it is operating satisfactorily and also looking for penetrating dampness and condensation problems), sub-floor ventilation, external joinery and external decorations.

We then move onto the site and deal with the Garage and any outbuildings.

Internally, the Report headings cover: ceilings, walls, floors, fireplaces and flues, internal joinery, decorations and sanitary fittings.

We then move on to services and the Report headings are: gas, electricity, water and heating.

In each section of the Report, the text deals with the building materials, their condition, work that has been carried out in previous years, modifications carried out to the building, extensions, etc.

Any point that is raised in the text of individual sections that is more important than just needing a "mention in passing" is highlighted at the end of each individual section under an ACTION heading.

These ACTION headings deal with defects that need remedial attention and are printed in bold, the idea being that they stand out from the page and it is made clear to the Client that something needs to be done about this particular point.

The ACTION headings are categorised to the closing stages of the Report into Urgent Repairs, Further Investigations and Maintenance matters.

Urgent Repairs are obviously serious points that must be investigated as a matter of priority.

Points highlighted under the Further Investigations heading deal with matters of disrepair that will need remedial attention either before or very soon after you've purchased the house. It is important for contractors to provide estimates for that remedial work to place you in the position of knowing how much it's going to cost to rectify.

Urgent Repairs and Further Investigations are the points on which estimates will be secured and which we would expect to be used to re-negotiate the purchase price. These costs must be known before you buy.

Maintenance matters will need to be dealt with in due course, but don't ignore those points.

The way we consider these points is that if there is something wrong with the building, we don't see that the Client, the prospective purchaser, should bear the financial burden of rectifying defects to the property that are present as a direct consequence of the property owners failure to maintain, either knowingly or by virtue of the fact that a fault is present that they didn't know about.

It is our role to value the property on the basis of the condition in which we find it to be in.

Let's look at this another way.

When you ask an Estate Agent to value your home, what you want to hear is that his opinion of value is as high as your expectations.

If an Estate Agent called around and said "Well I think your house is worth X thousand pounds but there are a few problems and I think that I should market it at X minus 7½ thousand pounds", you are not going to look at him or her in a favourable light.

Let's face it, it's human nature to expect the most from the sale of your home and everyone appears to have two or three valuations before choosing which Estate Agent is appointed.

The Estate Agent is often chosen on the basis of highest opinion of market value and presentation of himself or herself in the best light to inspire your confidence.

We are not Estate Agents and haven't sold a house for around 20 years.

All we do is carry out private survey and valuation work for Clients, Solicitors and a couple of Banks and Building Societies.

I have been carrying out private surveys for the whole of my career, was one of the first to adopt the RICS Homebuyers Report & Valuation scheme when it started in 1982 and have been specialising in this work ever since.

I have no desire to buy the home that you wish to buy and take a detached view on its condition - which is what you need. We produce a Report that sets out the condition of the house in black and white terms, with good advice detailing the condition that it's in now and warnings on what you need to keep an eye on in the future.

The Report that you will receive is a substantial document. At first reading, it may sound quite depressing, but that's what it's all about.

We are not here to inspect and survey property wearing rose coloured glasses, we are here to report factually and accurately on matters of condition and state of repair.

On second reading, the report will probably sound to be a little better as you begin to understand how it has been prepared and the type of advice it is designed to give you. Anything that you are unsure about in the Report, ring the office and we can talk things through, explaining further, as necessary.

At the end of the Report, we value on the basis of the condition in which we find the property.

If we down value, we do so on the basis of a reduction that represents a reasonable proportion of the cost of repair that we anticipate you will incur, but must have regard to the fact that when repair works have been carried out the property will be in better condition and, as a direct result, could have an enhanced value.

This is another reason why it is very important that contractors costs are established before you commit to the purchase by signing the contract. You need to know how much remedial work is going to cost because you will have to do that work.

If you don't act on the recommendations made you have a warning in the Report as to what might happen. (i.e. it will cost you more in the future).

In our experience, the Homebuyers Report and Valuation provides good extent and well considered advice to Clients purchasing standard build properties constructed from around 1900 onwards.

For pre-1900 properties, although not all, properties of unusual construction form or known to be in disrepair, a Building Survey will probably be required as the Homebuyers Report & Valuation scheme is not designed to deal with such cases.

The Building Survey deals with the same inspection parameters, but there is more detail to the Report which, for a standard property type, is generally not necessary.

In the majority of cases, a Homebuyers Report provides the Client with advice of sufficient extent to enable a reasoned decision to be made as to whether the purchase should proceed and at what purchase price.

So there we are, that's the way we normally describe the RICS Homebuyers Report & Valuation service to potential Clients.

When we take instructions, there is also the opportunity to discuss any modifications or changes proposed to the house, such as removing walls, installing additional WC's, etc, and advice can normally be included in the Report to deal with these proposals.

It is best that we know if the Client wants additional information, as long as it's of reasonable extent and not excessive, before the property inspection is carried out.

If you are taking a mortgage from a Building Survey, they can arrange for a Homebuyers Report & Valuation, or its equivalent, to be carried out at the same time as the inspection for mortgage purposes and you will make a saving on fees. But, what is the capability of that Surveyor? Is he bored and jaded as an employee of a national organisation or as 'keen as mustard' and cares about his professional name and reputation?

The decision is yours. Our fees aren't the cheapest, and we've known that for 20 years.

As with everything that we pay for in this life, there is always someone who can do the job cheaper.

We work on the basis that whenever we buy anything, whether it is goods or services, we get what we pay for.

We may charge a little more than the cheapest, because we feel that we provide a very good service.

We have a number of 'cheaper' cost surveys in the office. They are the same format but the information contained in those reports is very brief and of substantially lesser extent than our own reports.

Why do we have them? Because there are some problems with those houses that weren't raised and we have been asked to give further advice.

We know that we provide the information that the Client needs.

In 1986, when we opened th Surveying Office and became Independent Surveyors, with no ties to anyone, there were around a dozen people in the same position operating in the Newcastle and coastal regions. We am one of the few who are left and believe that this is because we provide my Clients with good service.

We receive a lot of repeat business and many recommendations from Solicitors and others who know how we work and the manner in which our advice is presented to the Client, its content and the backup service.

For us to continue in business means that we have to consistently give good advice to Clients at acceptable professional fee levels. We have to rely on our reputation for providing a good service continuing.

Earlier, we raised the distinction between customers and Clients.

You buy a loaf of bread, leave the shop and the transaction is ended.

We carry out surveys for Clients, they generally settle the account fairly promptly and sometimes we don't hear from them again or they ring us after a few years ask us to carry out a survey on their next purchase.

Our view is that we are the experts and there could be something in our report that the Client may not understand. If we am still talking to my Clients on two or three or maybe more occasions after they've received the survey, that is what our role is.

We've inspected the house that they are going to buy and, if there is anything in the report that they are unsure about, it is our responsibility to explain matters to them in terms that they can understand and, if necessary, talk them through what type of contractors should be providing quotes for certain types of defect, etc.

Our distinction between a customer and a Client is that Clients receive ongoing advice when they require it. This is part of the survey service.

Unlike Solicitors, who are known to charge by the telephone call and letter (!), when you deal with the Surveyor and settle the survey fee, there are no other costs unless, of course, something exceptional crops up and you need advice that didn't fall within the scope of the usual survey parameters, but these occasions are rare.

If you would like us to survey your next home, just ring the office and we'll take all of the relevant details that we need to get the job done for you.

 

P.S. The phone rings. It's answered. A voice says "I want a Structural Survey".

In the offices of Surveyors X they say "how much are you paying…. really….the fee will be £800 + VAT….can you give me the details….."

At Bowes Gardner's office, the answer is "right, what is it that you are buying?….. how much are you paying?…. well, you may not need a Structural Survey and a Homebuyers Report should provide you with all of the information that you need….."

Do you see the difference? A Building Survey will cost at least £300 + VAT more than a Homebuyers Report and if we think that the Homebuyers Report will do the job for you, that's what we will recommend.

We won't take on the job for the sake of a larger fee - we provide the Client with what we believe they need, after discussing everything with them.

We often recommend Structural Engineers and other Specialists when we could quite easily take instructions, collect a fee and make that same recommendation. This is how we work and is only one of the points on which we've built our reputation.