Tel: 07870914895
Email: info@hbsurv.co.uk
Based between Reading and Oxford, we cover the whole of Berkshire and Oxfordshire.
Updated: Apr 26
There are lot of reasons why you might get a building survey before you commit to a purchase.
Common reasons are;
Now lets be clear - the perfect property, in a perfect condition, with the kitchen and bathroom suite you would have chosen, and the colour scheme to match – pretty much doesn’t exist.
You will always want to do something to a property when you move in. Be it cosmetic like a new colour scheme, or more intensive like a new kitchen or extension, there will be costs associated with this. These costs are not something likley to be given as part of any building survey (unless, I suppose, you ask and it is factored into the quote). But it is worth bearing in mind that even a basic kitchen will cost you between £4k and £10k, and a full internal re-paint of a three bed semi-detached property will cost you around £1k in materials alone (and about a week in your time to do it) or around £4k to get the professionals in.
So a Building Survey won’t save you these costs, realistically the price of the property should reflect if any of these desperately need doing, otherwise this is your choice and should not affect the value of the property.
A Building Survey, if done properly, should highlight works that you may or may not be aware of. These will commonly be; upgrading your mechanical extract ventilation, installing an RCD, upgrading boiler/radiators/hot water cylinders, crack repair, replastering, rainwater goods overhaul.
These are generally not noted as you initially view a property – because we are happy and positive people and we are imagining how our three piece suite will look next to the log burner, and where the Christmas tree will go.
When speaking with clients after they have read their Building Survey or Homebuyer Report, it is very common to hear ‘ah we didn’t see those cracks when we looked around’ or ‘I’m really glad that its only the gutters than need re-connecting, I thought there was a massive damp issue’.
And that’s why it is important to get a Building Survey or Homebuyer Report carried out before you commit to a purchase. You won’t see everything, even if you are looking – especially considering the average viewing is less than 30 minutes.
Even in the smallest properties, we will be on site for a couple of hours. Our average Homebuyer Report time on site is over 3 hours and over 5 hours for a Building Survey – What I mean to say is, we will see a lot more both with time on site, and knowing what to look at.
Now we get on to the nuts and bolts –
Research out from the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) found that the average cost of defect rectification from 20% of buyers that did not have a survey was just under £6,000! Considering our Homebuyer Reports start at £595 and our Building Surveys start at £895 – that’s a pretty good return on investment.
And even if you don’t negotiate money off your purchase – Knowledge is power.
Knowing that you will have to upgrade your fuse board to an RCD, and it will cost £800; or that a humidity controlled extractor is needed in the bathroom and will cost £600, means you can put the money aside and plan accordingly.
We had a survey last year that found a spray foam insulation in the roof space. We called the client on site to advise that this would have implications with their mortgage and they should speak immediately with their lender or broker. We received call back 30 minutes later to advise that their mortgage offer had been withdrawn on the spot! We later found out that the vendor had to replace the whole roof structure at an eye watering cost of £45,000!!!
So there you are. A building survey could save you £45k, and likley a whole lot more.
If you’d like to know exactly what you are getting into, and are looking for a
Building Survey in Berkshire or a
Building Survey in Oxfordshire and surrounding areas, then give us a call or get a quote by clicking bellow.
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