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Also referred to as a market valuation or property valuation report, these documents provide an estimate of a property’s true market value. A registered valuer—trained to the rigorous standards of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS)—will conduct a complete inspection of a property in accordance with strict protocols and will return an estimated figure that reflects the property’s market value.
Property valuation reports are brief. They describe the overall condition of a home, its size, and its location. The report will state the value of the property, which can be determined by:
Property valuation survey reports from a Chartered Surveyor let you:
Note: a market valuation report does not investigate defects or provide estimates for repair costs and does not make a call on whether the needed repairs should be done.
Getting a property valuation report from a Chartered Surveyor enables you to know a number of crucial things about the house you want to purchase that can save and make you money and help you avoid a serious financial complication. They help you understand whether the price the vendor has agreed to is realistic. If it is not, the report enables you to negotiate a better price.
If you have a property valuation report in hand, you can be much more confident that you are not purchasing an overvalued home.
If you are buying a house in Notting Hill, London, Bristol, Birmingham, Manchester, or Cardiff, make sure you realize you are entering a long-term financial commitment. So before you submit an offer, know the property’s true value. We can help with that. Don’t waste your time turning to online tools of dubious reliability or basing your opinion on the sale prices of similar-sized properties on your road. Have an RICS registered valuer provide you with an accurate market valuation.
The Non-Domicile Valuation applies to individuals who are living in the UK but are not domiciled here. It is an important form of assessment for individuals who own property in the UK, especially if they could be held liable for inheritance tax on their worldwide assets.
A Divorce Settlement Valuation provides a means of ascertaining the true value of your property so that it can be divided accurately in your divorce settlement. This guarantees that you will not be short-changed and that any joint property will be fairly valued for division among the parties.
The Full Building Survey report includes the following:
When it comes to the detail that the surveyor will go into concerning defects, repairs, and maintenance, the Homebuyer Survey is fairly standard. Full Building Surveys, however, are more refined and go into more detail about possible and likely defects. Repairs and maintenance are covered in more detail. The Survey cost depends on the age, size, and value of the property.
The analysis they undertake is a visual inspection. This means that, for the most part, the building components that can be seen will be looked at and assessed in accordance with the surveyor’s remit. The Home Survey Report will show you the visible defects and then go on to discuss the kinds of partially hidden or totally hidden defects that the surveyor thinks you should be aware of. It will also try to clarify what kinds of repair work need to be done and the nature of the repairs. The survey is effectively a way to consider “defects” and their potential impact on the building.
A Building Survey Report contains the most important information for understanding the condition of a property. The surveyors that undertake the work follow a set procedure. The first part of the report contains a general overview of the property and its surroundings. The second part details the major and minor problems with the property’s components, inside and out. These problems range from serious structural defects to issues with doors or windows that don’t close properly, and everything in between. The report is written in clear English, complemented by diagrams and photographs. If any of the problems found are what a surveyor might consider important, that’s what the report indicates—using clear and unambiguous language.
Surveyors usually use a tick box to indicate methods of repair when drafting a building survey report. They are also required to comment on the timescale of any repairs. A condition rating is typically included: what needs to be addressed immediately, what is in the process of deteriorating but is in reasonable condition, and what has not deteriorated at all.
A building surveyor is responsible for a variety of checks and tests during a building inspection. These could be checks or tests for damp and woodworm, or they could be visual inspections of the building’s structure. In building surveying, there are visual inspections of roofs – checking for tiles and slates (if applicable) and also checking for leadwork (if applicable) and looking at the junctions between roof and wall. If the wall structure has brick in it, the surveyor will visually check for any “spalling” (brick breaking apart visibly) and any bulging (brick failing to hold its place visibly), for example.
If defects need fixing immediately, then the options recommended for this survey specify what to repair and give some idea of how long the problem has existed. For the most part, this survey describes recommended repair approaches that are standard in the industry and that do not require excessive expenditure. Future maintenance is also discussed, including what to expect when the problem being surveyed is not repaired and what to expect with repairs that are made but with questionable methodology.
Your surveyor will explain some of the legal aspects of purchasing the building, covering—in as much or as little detail as you desire, and their implications, but this is subject to your solicitor verifying.
You might consider having a separate market valuation done to determine whether the property’s asking price is warranted. You’ll also need a reinstatement cost valuation for insurance reasons.
RICS’s industry guidelines suggest building surveys for properties that are large, very old, in some disrepair, or have unusual features. Building surveys are also recommended if you plan to do any significant renovations or extensions.
If you’re purchasing a relatively modern home that’s in decent shape and built to ordinary standards, then a Home Buyer Survey is an acceptable choice. If you want the assurance of an inspection and report that are pretty much guaranteed to turn up any issues that might be hidden or just hard to see, then you should go for a Full Building Survey instead.
The Full Building Survey is more detailed; it is more specifically tailored to the property your surveyor would be inspecting. It also comes with more advice on the visible defects found and on the potential hidden defects that they suspect may be present. Your surveyor will illustrate reports with photographs so that you can clearly see what has been discovered. Both the Home Buyer and Full Building Surveys describe the repairs needed, the order in which the repairs should be done, and the kind of “maintenance measures” that will be required to keep the property in good condition.
A HomeBuyer Report does include a market valuation as well as reinstatement costs. However, a Full Building Survey does not. The main reason for the differences in what is and isn’t included in the two types of reports is how focused the reports are on the condition of the property. The Full Building Survey is the most in-depth and comprehensive survey of a property that you can have done.
When the splitting of assets in a divorce becomes a matter of dispute, it is essential that property be valued impartially and accurately. The courts may appoint a certified valuer affiliated with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, Chartered Institute of Building or Residential Property Surveyors Association to provide expert guidance on the fair and reasonable division of property in a divorce. You might also obtain your own valuation of property to ensure you have received your just and equal share to minimize future reparative legal expenses.
Looking for a Chartered Surveyor? If you are buying a property, contact us for a building survey. Our panel of CIOB, RPSA and RICS surveyors will help you with the Level 2 or Level 3 property survey you need in Notting Hill. We can also assist you in Red Book Valuations, Party Wall Awards and other services. Reach out to us today for building surveyors, valuers and party wall surveyors in London!
