Valuation and Surveys

When you have had your offer on a house accepted, then your mortgage lender will want to survey the property in order to make sure that it's worth the amount you want to borrow from them. In addition to this basic valuation, it is strongly advised that you also have an independent, more detailed survey carried out, which may point out any problems with the property. There are two different types of survey: a homebuyer's report (or homebuyer's survey), which provides a report on the general state of repair of the property, and a buildings survey (also known as the full structural survey), where the property is examined in more detail. The level of survey you need usually depends on the individual property you are buying.

Although these additional surveys may seem like yet another expense in this costly process, a home is a massive investment and it is definitely worth paying a few hundred pounds at this stage, to prevent you from having to spend much larger sums (not to mention the hassle) later on. If any major defects are found, you could be in a position to renegotiate the price, or it might even make you think twice about your purchase.

In this section, we take a look at each type of survey, along with a guide on how you can choose the right survey for you.