Blog
When should a building survey be undertaken and what type of survey should you choose?
Thursday 14th October 2021
Emmanuel Blessing BSc Hons
We at Tayross Charted building surveyors receive many enquiries regarding building surveys and whether or not they are necessary. A building survey is an inspection of the condition of a property by a building surveyor, a survey is usually undertaken once you've made an offer on a property and it has been accepted. Tayross Charted surveyors located in Pinner have conducted surveys in Mayfair, Soho and Kensington to name a few.
Whilst it's possible and not unknown of to arrange a survey prior to making an offer (if the property owner is in agreement), it's rarely necessary since any offer to buy or sell a property is not legally binding until signed contracts have been exchanged and the buyer's deposit is paid (usually around 10% of the purchase price).
The purpose of a survey is to highlight any structural issues or defects at Tayross charted surveyors we aim to achieve understanding from both parties - that any offer made prior to the results of the survey may be subject to change in light of any costly issues that need rectifying. Depending on the time constraints involved in the house sale, the seller may agree to rectify any such issues prior to the sale rather than reduce the sale price. Therefore, it is always important to undertake your survey prior to any exchange being made.
The type of survey you choose will largely be dictated by the type of property you are looking to purchase, as the following table shows. If you're unsure about which survey to choose, we at Tayross are happy to help. Tayross charted building surveyors like to personalise all of our structural survey reports to each client and we like to ask clients to send in a list of questions regarding their property such as future extension works to internal alterations. We offer this service free of charge and address all of your questions embedding them within our report accordingly. We also deliver a Photographic PowerPoint schedule which goes hand in hand with our reports, guiding our clients through their report, allowing them to have a clear and concise visual representation and understanding of the property they are looking to invest into and any defects that await them. The property you are looking to purchase will influence the type of survey required.
