Assessing your current home

There's so much to think about when you're planning on moving, just as there is when you already own a home.

When you're looking to buy your next home, you'll have a long list of things that need to be considered, covering loans and mortgages, conveyancing solicitor fees, special reports, removals, and so on.

When you're a homeowner, keeping up with the maintenance can be a bit of a chore, while you might also find that there are areas of concern, too, with any defects you've recently noticed or other problems that have surfaced with the condition of the house.

When it comes to buying a home, no doubt, one of the things you'll be looking at is getting a professional assessment of the structural integrity of the home that you intend to buy with a Chartered Surveyor looking over all aspects of the building and the grounds to establish what defects and problems might exist. 

This will help you understand the likely cost of repair and maintenance should you take it on - even allowing you to re-enter negotiations with the seller to help pay for some of the more expensive and remedial work.

But can the survey be used in other ways, especially if you have no current plans for moving?

You might be thinking of moving at some point in the near future but you aren't sure that you can necessarily trust the various house price estimates that have been given to you.

That's where it's useful to have a Property Valuation Report performed by a knowledgeable and experienced chartered surveyor. Their expert opinion, based on their knowledge of the local housing market for the type of property, is an independent valuation of the property.

The result of the survey will give you an understanding of how much your property could be marketed at, since the independence of the valuation ensures a better assessment of the home for your needs.

The next two levels of survey - the Level 2 Homebuyers Survey and the RICS Level 3 Survey - go into greater detail looking at the structure, condition, and any specific defects of the property, with the Level 3 Survey dropping into much greater detail.

The report that is created for you by the surveyor is easy to read and to understand, presented as it is in a ‘traffic light' format, where:

• Green means that all is well, and no action needs to be taken;
• Amber means that a problem has been identified but is not immediately serious; however, action will need to be taken soon before it becomes more critical;
• Red means a serious flaw has been identified and remedial action needs to be taken now.

The chartered surveyor will also provide their appraisal of what remedies might be available for the identified issues along with an idea of their cost.

The beauty of these surveys is that you can order them for your property at any time and they give you a clear picture of the condition of your property. Perhaps you are looking at a project such as an extension or a conservatory and need to know the state of your property and what additional costs might be incurred before you can embark on the planned build, or you simply want to no what problems currently exist so that you can budget for the work to be carried out in the future.

Whether you are looking at finding out how much your home is worth in detail, simply want to get a professional opinion of the condition of your property, or are looking at a new purchase, it's worth taking out a survey so that you know exactly what you can expect in taking your plans forward.

At Surveyor Local, we only work with chartered surveyors who are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, ensuring the survey you get is always professionally delivered.

They will work hard to identify all kinds of problems, including the impact of prior flooding on the structure of the property.

Call  to get your no-obligation survey quote started, or to discuss your concerns with the acquisition of your planned property.

Or you can get a quick quote, using Surveyor Local's easy-to-use quote generator. Simply input your name, postcode, email address, phone number and an approximate value of the property (usually the agreed price), and we'll give you an instant quote for the work (with an email copy). 

We'll do the rest once you confirm your acceptance of the quote.