Failing to have a Survey could cost more than you bargained for!

Buying a House Guide - Structural Survey

Kate's always been pushing buyers to have a property Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) homebuyer or building survey before they buy.

And now the RICS have proved that buyers are facing bills for thousands of pounds by failing to have a sufficient survey of their property before purchase.

According to the RICS, "A quarter of all homebuyers who only had a mortgage valuation report had to make unplanned building works to their property after purchase" Despite a survey often costing between £500 to £1,000, not having a survey has proved to be a false economy as RICS research shows "On average, the bill for these works, such as damp proofing or repairing a roof, came to £1,818".

Home surveys help buyers make informed decisions on whether to go ahead with buying a property, before legally committing themselves as well as negotiate any works required off the cost of a property. 

Sadly, people naively think a mortgage valuation report is a building survey and that the mortgage lender wouldn't lend the money if there was a problem with the house. 

New figures from the RICS suggest that 58 per cent of respondents to their research "Wrongly believed a valuation report included the building’s condition and would let them know if there was any damp and structural problems".

A further 31 per cent were mistakenly under the impression it included advice on any legal issues a solicitor should investigate!

This to be honest just shows how poorly buyers and sellers understand key steps in the buying and selling process and it's why Kate Faulkner has launched brand new 'first time buyer' and 'sellers' services which show the 75 steps buyers and sellers need to take to sell or buy a home smoothly.