We have many topics to cover in this section as it's our specialist area - but firstly:-

Why have a survey?

Because it allows you to purchase the property with your eyes wide open knowing the main problems.  Having your own independent adviser from a chartered surveyor can make the world of difference.

For a survey quote click here.

Increasingly we are coming across people who have not received the service they have expected from a chartered surveyor. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) helps to protect consumers’ interests and requires all chartered surveyors to have a complaints procedure - if you are not happy we recommend that you use it.

The following articles explain a bit more about chartered surveying and why we feel we are different and offer one of the best services on the market.

All surveys are not the same: valuations and surveys

There are several types of survey available but the main confusion arises between a valuation and a survey. These are quite different.  A valuation considers the value of the property, factors affecting its value and not much else; the lending companies usually use them.  People sometimes wrongly think of these as a survey. The exact definition of a valuation and the detail of what is included is in the RICS practice statements manual and covers several pages - we are happy to explain this in full if you phone 0800 295 5454.

Surveys can take many forms.  In our opinion it is better to phone us to discuss the type of survey that is best for you.  We will also discuss your concerns, consider your technical knowledge and write the report specifically for you. We are happy to meet you at the property if you so wish.

A bit more about valuations

Some lenders don't show you a copy of the valuation report that they have carried out and others do.  ‘Which’, the consumers association, advises that you should always get your own survey, and indeed most of the lending institutes warn on the valuation that you should get your own survey - still people don't.

Mountains out of molehills

Surveyors are often criticised for making mountains out of molehills and it is true in some cases, possibly in many cases, but how has this situation come about?.........

In our opinion large corporates put considerable pressure on chartered surveyors to increase fee income.  This has led to an increase in the speed that surveys are carried out - even with the latest technology at its basic level, a survey involves a chartered surveyor walking round a building and inspecting it.  This all takes time but the corporates wanted more income so some surveyors use caveats in a survey that don't really say anything or feel forced to mention the most minor item in a broad-brush approach.

In our opinion the big corporates only pay lip service to quality of reports and information provided. They are not that interested in quality, although they say they are - they are interested in the quantity of surveys carried out, in the fees earned and in not being sued. This has led the once prudent surveyor to become the very cautious surveyor - so mountains can be made out of molehills by the surveyor under pressure or the surveyor that has carried out so many surveys he can't remember a property he visited last week.

Sky rockets

In recent years insurance premiums for surveys have sky-rocketed as the general public move into a suing culture, or is it that more mistakes are being made by surveyors? Either way, the insurance companies don't take risks, insurance premiums have increased and this increase has led to surveyors being more concerned about being sued and therefore being very cautious about giving advice. This has led in many instances to almost meaningless, wordy reports. Our solution to this is:

First, pick the right surveyor for the job and ensure they have suitable experience for the job in hand. Give the surveyors more time for the surveys and mix the survey work up with other types of work so the surveyor can think about what they have seen, in order that they can put the problems into perspective, not just list everything. Make sure they have a mixed bag of work so they don't go survey blind and miss things!

We have the benefit of being independent and don't have the same corporate pressures, therefore we can book the whole day to carry out the survey.

Stone throwing and greenhouses

Remember that often the people criticising the survey reports are the very people who have the most to gain from the sale - yes, the estate agents. The estate agents only make a commission if the sale happens, and don't forget they could also be getting a commission on the mortgage too. So is it a surprise that they criticise the survey? Usually one of the last things the estate agent wants to see is a good quality survey!

Surveyors, their own worst enemy

The surveyors have a lot to answer for too as they don't go out and sell their services in the same way as many other businesses.  At the other extreme of the market is the estate agent who many would say are all about marketing.

The RICS
Let us distinguish between the chartered institutions and those which are not.  The main function of the RICS is to protect the consumer interest, not to protect its members’ interest. It does this by setting standards that members have to adhere to, but it is by no means perfect.  It is run by humans!  However, their primary aim is to protect the consumer, not its members. This is very different to many other non-chartered institutes/associations/clubs/trade unions etc.  For example, the National Association of Estate Agents is not chartered, it is the members’ club working for its members.

RICS membership - a combination of qualifications and experience

Anyone can call themselves a surveyor.  You often see the term above the estate agent windows.  A chartered surveyor however has to go through many years of qualifications and experience, approximately seven years in total.  The length of time this takes tends to weed out any of those who are not serious about becoming a chartered surveyor.

ISA Independent Surveyors Association
We mentioned earlier that the chartered surveyor is the first person you meet on your side. This is not strictly true if they're not an independent surveyor and by independent we mean one that the surveyor is not owned by any lending institutions. Now let us be careful with our words here as we previously had a rather large lending institution try to sue us for saying this (a not-so-nice letter to receive) as they pointed out that lending institutions do not strictly own the surveying companies, but they are part of the same group of companies.

We would comment that the company lending the money has every right to insist it has its own surveyors to check that the value is correct, but it often presents information in a way that leads you to believe you have to use its surveyors for your own survey. This is simply not true. It often offers wonderful discounts as well, as it says it can do both at the same time.  To us this is a conflict of interests.  In our opinion you need independent advice not a discount.  It’s a free market - you can use who you want for your own survey.

But houses don't fall down

Yes we would agree, we very rarely come across a house that's about to fall over!  In fact at most it is only say one in 100 houses that has significant structural problems - but you don't want that to be the house you're purchasing.

Seven ages of man

We find different age groups have generally had different experiences with the property market and we often come across older clients who purchased for a few thousand pounds and the property is now worth many thousands of pounds. They advise us that property is the best investment they have ever made. We are pleased for them, but take a look at the property market since 1952 and you'll see that it goes up and down like any market. Ask someone who has had structural problems or negative equity or neighbours from hell and they'll have a completely different perspective on the housing market.  Download the house market trends below: (pdf or zipped excel file)

This extract from the excel file above shows the movement of the housing market in relation to the average earnings:

Panel Surveys and old rope

You may come across the term panel surveyors, where the Independent Financial Advisor (IFA) or estate agent says that you can only use surveyors on its panel.  This is correct for mortgage valuations but this is not correct for your own survey. The only way for a poor old surveyor to get on their panels is to be owned by them or give up to 60 percent of the fee to them, but mostly it is impossible as lenders have done deals with other lenders’ surveyors to ensure they get reciprocal work.  This really is, in our opinion, money for old rope.