Housing desk / Buying and selling
Surveys and condition reports
A survey is the only stage of a purchase that exists purely to tell the buyer bad news. That is its value. A report with nothing in it is not a good report, it is usually a shallow one.
A valuation is not a survey
When a lender values a property it is answering one question: if this loan is not repaid, is the security worth enough. The inspection can be brief and in some cases is not a visit at all. The buyer often pays for it, which is why so many people believe they have had a survey when they have not.
A survey commissioned by the buyer is a different instruction with a different purpose: to describe the condition of the building to the person who will have to live in it and pay for its repairs.
Levels of inspection
| Level | Typical scope | Usually suits |
|---|---|---|
| Lender valuation | Value for lending purposes, minimal condition comment | Nobody, as a substitute for a survey |
| Condition report | Visual, rated summary of elements, no advice on repair cost | Recent, conventional, evidently well-kept homes |
| Homebuyer level | Visible defects, services in outline, comment on what needs attention | Most standard houses and flats in reasonable order |
| Building survey | Detailed inspection of construction, materials, defects and likely causes | Older, altered, unusual or visibly troubled buildings |
What a surveyor cannot do
Inspections are non-intrusive. Floors are not lifted, walls are not opened and finishes are not removed, so anything hidden behind them is reported as a risk rather than a fact. Where a report says further investigation is recommended, that is not padding, it is the surveyor saying they have reached the limit of what looking can establish.
The defects that come up most often
Damp, which is several unrelated problems sharing one word: water coming down from a failed roof or gutter, water coming in through a wall, water rising from the ground, and condensation caused by living in a sealed building. The remedies differ completely and the wrong one is expensive.
Movement, which is normal in old buildings and alarming in new ones. What matters is whether cracking is historic and stable or current and progressing, which is why surveyors look at crack shape, width and whether previous repairs have reopened.
Roofs and rainwater goods, where small failures cause large secondary damage. Timber decay, usually a symptom of water rather than a problem in itself. Services, meaning wiring, heating and drainage, which are typically noted for testing by a specialist rather than assessed in detail.
Reading the report and deciding what to do
Sort findings into three piles: urgent safety or weathertightness work, work that will be needed within a few years, and observations that simply describe an older building. Only the first two should influence the price.
A report that changes your understanding of what the home will cost to keep is grounds to renegotiate or to withdraw. Both are legitimate before exchange, and neither is available after it.