Is getting a property survey important?
It is generally advisable to consider obtaining a property survey before exchanging contracts. You are deemed to have accepted the property in the physical state it is in when contracts are exchanged for your property purchase. Therefore it is very important for you to satisfy yourself that things such as the central heating, electrical wiring, drainage and other practical and physical aspects of the property you are buying are up to safety levels and are working satisfactorily before contracts are exchanged. You will generally not have any form of redress against the seller in respect of any existing defects in the purchase property, or affecting anything included in the sale of the purchase property, once contracts have been exchanged.
The principle benefits of having a survey carried out on the purchase property before contracts are exchanged are twofold :-
(i) You will have more information about the state and condition of the property to help you to decide whether or not to proceed with your purchase at the agreed price and
(ii) If your surveyor fails to identify any serious defects in the property you may have a right of redress against them if you go ahead with your purchase and subsequently find that you have to spend money correcting a defect which the surveyor ought reasonably to have warned you about.
Broadly speaking, there are three options open to you in respect of property surveys:-
- To rely on the valuation made by your mortgage lender. You will not incur any additional expense, but the valuation will be much less detailed than a bespoke property survey and is prepared solely so the mortgage lender can consider whether the property is suitable security for them. As the valuation is prepared solely for the mortgage lender rather than you as the purchaser, it can also restrict your ability to rely on the contents should you subsequently wish to take legal action.
- To commission a ‘Home Buyer’s Report and Valuation’. This form of property survey will give you a much fuller account of the physical state of the purchase property and is prepared by a qualified Surveyor/Valuer for your benefit and protection in order to highlight the main matters of which you ought to be aware before exchange of contracts for your property purchase.
- To instruct an independent Surveyor to do a full structural survey on the purchase property. This will give you the most comprehensive report and will cover all aspects of the property’s structure and fabric but it will also be the most expensive.
In deciding whether to have a property survey done and what type of survey to commission you will consider any factors which appear relevant and in particular the value, cost, location, mode of construction, age and your intended usage of the purchase property.