Should you send your survey to your solicitor? What your surveyor flags

It's very easy to look at the cost of a survey and think that skipping one is a good way of saving money on what is already an expensive process. That's especially tempting since a survey is not a legal requirement for exchanging contracts.

From there, it's a simple step to assuming that the valuation required by your mortgage lender is all you need because an expert has completed it. It isn't, though. A mortgage valuation is only an assessment of the property's value, carried out to satisfy the lender that the property is adequate security for the loan. It tells you very little about the condition of the home you're buying.

A RICS Level 2 or Level 3 survey is a detailed assessment of the property's condition, with guidance on the repairs needed. You may still hear the Level 2 called a homebuyer survey and the Level 3 a building survey or structural survey. The survey report either gives you the reassurance to proceed or the information you need to renegotiate the price or walk away.

That covers the condition of the property. But the survey provides considerably more than that, especially when it comes to legal matters.

You should send it, and as early as possible. Your solicitor or conveyancer does not receive a copy of the survey automatically, because the surveyor reports to you as their client. Sending the full survey report as soon as you receive it means your solicitor can raise any points it contains with the seller's solicitor before you exchange contracts, while there is still time to act on them.

RICS Level 2 and Level 3 reports include a section headed issues for your legal advisers. This is written specifically for your solicitor and lists the matters the surveyor thinks need checking against the legal paperwork. Your solicitor is acting for you, so the report will not be passed to the seller unless you decide to share parts of it, for example to support a renegotiation.

No. Solicitors and licensed conveyancers handle the legal side of the purchase, such as searches, title checks and contracts. The survey is separate and is arranged by you with an independent surveyor. Ideally you book it soon after your offer is accepted, so the findings reach your solicitor in good time. Many solicitors will ask whether you have had a survey and request a copy if you have.

When you appoint a chartered surveyor through Surveyor Local, you are drawing on more than their expertise in identifying structural and condition issues. You also get their broad knowledge of problems that carry legal implications.

These legal questions will be flagged in the completed report as items for the attention of your solicitor. They are often things a buyer would overlook, and they give your conveyancer an additional checklist to work through before you agree to exchange contracts.

Here are the specific areas your surveyor will look at when identifying points for your solicitor to investigate:

• Potentially unapproved alterations: extensions, loft or cellar conversions and other significant renovations. These might fall foul of planning restrictions or building regulations, or there may be no evidence of the required certification or permissions.
• Flying freeholds: rooms or parts of the property that overhang or sit beneath land or a building owned by someone else, such as a bedroom above a shared passageway. The rights and obligations in the deeds need to be checked.
• Conservation areas and listed buildings: work carried out on the building that may not comply with the restrictions for its conservation area or listed status.
• Guarantees and warranties: checking that documentation exists and remains valid for repairs, window or door replacements, damp treatments, electrical or gas work, building work and so on. Your solicitor will ask the seller to provide copies.
• Boundary discrepancies: fences and walls that do not match what is registered for the property at HM Land Registry. These can lead to boundary disputes with neighbours.
• Rights of way and easements: unrecorded or undisclosed paths, shared drives or other access rights that might affect the use of the land.
• Flood risk: evidence of previous flooding, proximity to a flood plain or a high risk location may mean a more detailed flood risk assessment is needed. This is charged as a disbursement on top of your conveyancing fees.
• Mining activity: properties in former coalfield areas of England and Wales, or with a history of tin mining, particularly in Cornwall, may need a further specialist search or assessment. This is also charged as a disbursement.
• Invasive plants: the most common are Japanese knotweed, bamboo and buddleia. They grow quickly and can damage drains, paving and in some cases brickwork. A specialist report may be needed to confirm their presence and quote for removal and management.
• Buying a flat: there may be evidence that communal areas are not being managed properly, or that shared liabilities exist for the condition, structure or grounds of the building as a whole. Your solicitor can check these points against the seller's leasehold management pack.

Your conveyancing solicitor will work through the points flagged for their attention. They will request any missing documents and raise additional enquiries with the seller's solicitor about the issues identified.

Where a problem would be expensive to put right, you can use the findings to renegotiate the price, usually through the estate agent. Your solicitor can then reflect any agreed changes in the contract. In some cases, the findings may give you the grounds to walk away from the property before you are committed at exchange of contracts.

Getting a survey, then, not only gives you a clear picture of the property's condition but also gives your solicitor the information they need to protect your purchase.

When you are buying a property, an independent assessment from a qualified chartered surveyor gives you the confidence to make the right call, whether that's proceeding, renegotiating or walking away.

Surveyor Local connects you with surveyors across England and Wales through our nationwide panel, all of whom are members of RICS. Your surveyor will identify property condition problems and the legal points your solicitor needs to check, so nothing is missed before you commit.

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