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For most people a house is the most expensive purchase they will ever make in their lives, and whilst there is no requirement to have a survey when purchasing a property, we would always recommend that a survey is undertaken. Houses are complex structures with many hidden elements, and it is only through a great deal of experience and knowledge that one of our RICS accredited chartered surveyors can provide a comprehensive report on its construction and condition.

A survey will serve a variety of purposes when purchasing a property, from making a purchaser aware of any defects and issues within the building, to helping negotiate a reduction in purchase price due to unforeseen issues, to walking away from the purchase altogether when the property has some serious issues.

In essence a HBR and building survey will cover the same elements of a building, however a building survey offers a more comprehensive and detailed level of analysis. Our building surveys are bespoke reports tailored to each property, so they do not follow a set pro-forma report structure like our HBRs, which are based on the RICS HBR report template. Given the varied nature of materials and construction techniques found in pre-1945 properties, we will only offer a building survey on such properties as this is the only way to ensure we have adequate scope to fully cover the building in the report.

All of our property valuations are formed using expert local knowledge of the housing market in combination with comparable evidence of other properties which have recently been sold in the area. Each valuation will also take into account the specific features of the property, with better amenities and setting often resulting in a higher valuation. Every valuation will be completed by a surveyor who is certified as a RICS registered valuer.

A market valuation will provide a value which the surveyor believes the property is worth at that specific time if it were to be sold. An insurance reinstatement valuation calculates how much it would cost to rebuild the property based on current labour rates and material costs.