Why Do I Need My Own Survey?
A survey will help you to make a reasoned and informed decision on whether to go ahead with buying a property.
Before you decide to commit yourself legally, you can limit the risks by asking a Chartered Surveyor to answer the following questions for you.
- What is a reasonable price to pay for the property?
- Are there any serious or urgent defects or specific risks with the property?
- Arranging your own survey is the simple, cost-effective way to avoid unpleasant - and perhaps expensive - surprises after moving in. In some cases, the surveyor's report may allow you to renegotiate the price of the property.
Do I Still Need My Own Survey If I Already Have A Mortgage Valuation Report?
Even if you are looking for a mortgage and as a result, may be paying for a mortgage valuation report, we still recommend that you arrange a survey by your own surveyor. Both the Consumers' Association 'Which?' magazine and the Council of Mortgage Lenders give this advice.
The reason for this is that the mortgage valuation report is prepared for your lender - not for you, the borrower. It answers only the lender's questions about whether the property offers suitable security for your loan. You cannot rely on it to answer the questions that concern your personal interests or to give you details of the condition of the property. Also, some lenders do not provide a copy of their mortgage valuation report.
- Selling a property but the sale has fallen through because of an adverse survey.
- Are you able to undertake an independent survey on the property in order to to tell me of the defects that are relevant ? If the answer is YES then your own survey would highlight relevant defects and help you decide whether to have remedial work carried out or to reduce the property price to achieve a sale call me for advice.