In this week’s property surveying blogpost topic we are going to be looking at pre purchase surveys.
Here at Stokemont we regularly undertake pre purchase surveys throughout England and Wales on behalf of our clients.
In our opinion, pre purchase surveys are one of the most important parts of the purchasing process, with the ultimate aim of the survey being to fully inform the buyer of all the defects that lurk within.
In order for a purchaser to be fully advised of this, they will need to instruct an RICS Chartered Surveyor, who is a member of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors to visit the property, undertake a full assessment, advise and finally report on those issues directly to their client.
A pre purchase survey will not only fully inform the purchaser of the issues that exist within the property, however, in many cases it will also give them a full understanding of what those costs mean from a financial perspective.
They will then be able to fully proceed with the property purchase in an informed position and taking account of all of the necessary repairs that are required.
If you have received your pre purchase survey, which is commonly an RICS HomeBuyer Report, or a Full Building Survey and that report has indeed noted damage, don’t panic.
The first thing is to remember this is a very common position to be in.
Defects being noted on reports is nothing than the surveyors doing their job and ultimately ensuring that you are fully advised pre purchase.
Here at Stokemont, for every pre purchase survey that we do, it is likely that we find circa 10 to 50 issues and defects of the property itself.
The most important point to bear in mind and consider is what these mean for you. The majority of purchasers can be put off by these defects, however, providing they are towards the lower end of the risks spectrum and relatively easy to make good, this should not be the case.
Instead, here at Stokemont we would advise that you look at these as an opportunity to reduce the agreed purchase price, to take into account the necessary money that is needed to make good the property.
We would also advise that you discuss and present the pre purchase survey to the seller, so that they are equally aware of the issues that the surveyor has located.
The way they should be looking at this, is that if they remain firm on the agreed sales price, without taking into account the necessary money that will need to be spent to making good, it is only likely that the next purchaser that they find, will have their own pre purchase survey undertaken, with that surveyor locating the issues yet again.
It could also be a significant delay before they find a purchaser, which could scupper the purchase of the property they are planning on moving to, not to mention leaving them in limbo in the in between.
Here at Stokemont, we have seen issues and damage ranging from the minor, to the very major. In all cases, our surveyors are not only experienced and equipped to handle the matter, however, in many cases have seen the issues multiple times before.
When purchasing a property we would advise that you carefully consider all aspects and carefully select an experienced and qualified RICS surveyor to complete and undertake that report. If you would like to discuss how our team of qualified and experienced RICS surveyors can be of assistance to you with your pre purchase survey requirements, give us a call today and we would be more than happy to discuss these with you.
