What is a HomeBuyer Report?
What To Do If Your Surveyor Misses Something Important on a Homebuyers Survey
If you are going through the process of buying a property and have had your offer accepted on a house that you love, you have probably heard about the importance of arranging to have a survey carried out to ensure that you are fully aware of any issues with the home. There are several different surveys to consider depending on the type, age, condition, and size of the property that you want to purchase, along with any future renovation plans that you might have in mind for it.
What is a HomeBuyer Report?
A homebuyer’s report is one of the most common survey types and is suitable for the majority of homes in the UK. This survey is non-invasive, so it’s important to bear in mind that it might not pick up every detail. If you want a more thorough and comprehensive survey carried out, a building survey or full structural survey might be a better choice for you. However, the homebuyer’s survey will look out for all the major issues that you will want to be aware of before you buy a home including structural problems, the presence of issues like damp, mould, rot and insect infestations, and the presence of dangerous materials like asbestos. While the surveyor will not need access to check behind bulky furniture or under the floors, they will inspect every area on the interior and exterior of the property that they are able to access while carrying out the survey.
What is a Home Buyers Report Survey Good For?
Having a homebuyer’s report survey carried out on your potential new home is ideal for many reasons. There are many benefits of making this investment, not least that it can help you save thousands of pounds in the future by making you aware of any problems that are present at the property that you may not have noticed otherwise. Houses can sometimes be deceptive and there is no guarantee that defects are not present no matter how immaculate it may look during the viewing.
How Much Does a Home Buyer’s Report Cost?
On average, you can expect to pay a few hundred to a thousand pounds for this survey, depending on the size and condition of the home that you are having it carried out on. For a property costing £250,000, you will typically pay around £600 for the report. If you want to save money and get a cheaper survey, the condition report survey is an option to consider. However, since this is a basic survey that does not go into a huge amount of depth and only provides you with an overview of the property, it’s usually only recommended for newer homes that are less likely to have issues.
Are Home Buyers Report Worth It?
For the most part, getting a home buyer’s report carried out on a property that you are planning to purchase is worth every penny that you will pay. As long as you hire a reputable and experienced surveyor to carry out the survey, and get the right survey for the type, size and condition of the property that you want to purchase, there are not usually very many problems. A homebuyer’s report can have significant benefits for you as you purchase your new home, including the following:
Peace of Mind:
You don’t want to move into a home that has dangerous materials or areas that could be hazardous to the health and safety of your family. Serious defects with a home are not only expensive to repair but can also lead to injury or even death. If you are unaware of these issues when buying a new home, you will not be prepared to protect yourself by having the necessary repair work carried out. A homebuyer’s survey can also provide you with peace of mind by informing you of the safety of the home.
Pay Less:
You could end up paying more than you need to for your new property if you decide not to have a homebuyer’s survey carried out. If the survey brings up lots of issues and problems that you will need to cover the cost of as the new owner, this gives you a chance to negotiate with the seller and see if they will be able to reduce the asking price so that you can use the money that you save on purchasing the house to put towards the necessary repairs. The report that you will be provided with after the survey is carried out will include estimated costs of repairs, meaning that you have a solid figure to provide to the seller during the negotiations.
Save Significant Money:
Even if you don’t end up getting your new property for a reduced price, you can still save a huge amount of cash in the future by having a homebuyer’s survey carried out. Since you will now be made aware of any issues that might not have been immediately obvious, you will now be able to make the necessary repairs quickly, preventing them from becoming any worse and costing you more to deal with in the future. You’ll also avoid any unexpected shocks in your home and reduce the risk of paying more for emergency home repair services. An average of £5,000 is saved on future repair costs for each buyer who invests in a homebuyer’s survey.
Buy the Right Property:
Buying a property is a huge decision to make. And when you are borrowing such a significant amount of money to own your new home, the last thing that you want is to find things out that could have been deal-breakers for you, later down the line when you’re already the owner. No matter how much you love a property at the viewing, finding out that it has serious structural issues or that there’s a lot of damp and mould you’ll need to tackle might put you off it immediately. Getting the survey carried out means that you can make an informed decision based on the facts and gives you the chance to pull out of the sale and find a different property if this one turns out to not be for you.
What if Your Surveyor Misses Something?
A valid concern that you might have when getting a homebuyer’s survey carried out is the potential for surveyors to miss something. While RICS surveyors who are experienced and knowledgeable about the work that they do will always carry out a thorough survey that provides you with as much information as possible, there is always the risk that something could be missed. Most of the time, anything that is missed will either be something that is not included in the homebuyer’s report. If you are concerned about this, it might be worth paying more to have a building survey carried out since this goes into much more detail and is a more hands-on and invasive survey.
But what if your surveyor misses something that should have definitely been picked up on during the survey? If you find something later that you should have been made aware of something in the homebuyer’s report, it can be a very frustrating situation to deal with. The good news is that all chartered surveyors must adhere to strict professional codes of conduct in order to be members of RICS. One of the main requirements for membership is that the surveyor maintains a Professional Indemnity insurance policy from an insurer that is approved by RICS to protect their clients. In the event of the surveyor missing something important during the survey due to negligence, you will be covered by their insurance policy.
To ensure that you are protected, it’s important to ask the chartered surveyor what level of cover they maintain and ensure that they have a sufficient level of cover for the value of your property. You may also find it useful to enquire about any liability cap that might be in operation.
Making a Claim:
If your surveyor missed a major defect that becomes apparent in the future, the first thing that you should do is contact the surveyor to inform them of this. A reputable surveyor will have steps in place that they must take in this situation. However, it is worth bearing in mind that there are some instances where your claim may not be accepted. It is important to understand what’s involved in a homebuyer’s report as your claim may not be valid if the defect is something that would not have been inspected during the survey. For example, since the homebuyer’s report does not involve inspecting behind bulky furniture or pulling up the flooring to conduct an investigation into the deep structures of the property, these issues might not be covered. Only issues that you can prove should have been picked up by the homebuyer’s survey will be covered. You may want to get legal advice if you are in this situation.
For the most part, a homebuyer’s survey will inform you of everything you need to know about a property. However, surveyors might miss important details, and some defects might not be picked up due to the nature of this survey.