In essence a property survey is a report on the condition of the property, rather like an MOT for a car. There are various levels of survey, which are range from a cursory glance to a detailed inspection of the property. It is advised that you take out a homebuyer survey as your untrained eye could easily miss a problem which could cost thousands of pounds to repair at a later date. .
There are three main types:
Good question.
We found some interesting information from Which? the consumers association from July 2002. It basically proved that surveyor’s can miss details in a property survey. However RICS , (The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors) seem to have addressed these issues now. Please read on.
According to a Which? survey on 4 July 2002, surveyors are failing to spot defects such as damp, damage, rot and leaks. Which? asked people who’d had problems with a survey to tell us about them and found that, in 90 per cent of cases, a surveyor had missed a defect – sometimes costing thousands of pounds to remedy.
The research also revealed that homebuyers were confused about exactly what information a survey should provide. Three-quarters of those who’d had a homebuyers survey and valuation (HSV) thought it would identify all minor defects – it won’t. Almost as many thought that surveyors would examine parts of the property that are difficult to access, such as floors covered by fitted carpets and walls obscured by furniture – they won’t.
In response to Which? findings the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the industry’s professional body, has published a new consumer guide to house surveys. The leaflet aims to clarify exactly what will and won’t be included in each type of survey, and help homebuyers choose the most appropriate survey for the property they’re buying. In the Which? survey most people said they chose a particular survey based on gut instinct.
The importance of choosing the right survey became clear to one couple after an HSV report failed to identify that the roof was in need of repair and the cellar floor was rotten. It cost £19,000 to have the necessary repairs carried out, and the couple was put off claiming compensation by the numerous caveats in the survey and an impression that the success rate for challenging surveyors was low.
But even if people felt they had selected the right survey, the information was often written in too vague a manner or contained too many caveats, making it difficult to decipher. One described his HSV report as ‘12 pages of generalised waffle that was of no practical help’. Not surprisingly, 59 per cent of people felt that their survey was not good value for money and more than a third reported factual errors or carelessness. One described his HSV report as ‘slipshod and half-hearted’.
Around three-quarters of the people who contacted Which? had complained about their survey, most of them to the firm of surveyors involved. And although surveyors took some form of action in response to three quarters of the complaints they considered – varying from compensation, to an apology, to a refund of the cost of the survey – most of the complainants remained unhappy with the whole complaints process, finding it long and costly.
RICS requires surveyors to abide by its code of practice, which includes having a complaints procedure in place as well as including it in their standard terms and conditions. But in the Which? survey only four in ten of those who complained were sure that their surveyor had a complaints handling procedure and just three in ten had had the process explained to them.
RICS itself deals with complaints about breaches of its code of practice and can take disciplinary action against the surveyor in question. RICS does not deal with cases of negligence, such as failing to spot a defect, but refers people to The Surveyors Arbitration Scheme or the small claims court. However, the arbitration scheme is seriously under-used – in 2001 it received only 26 applications. RICS says it’s reviewing this complaints procedure and plans to improve the Surveyors Arbitration Scheme.
Which? recommends that homebuyers should always get a survey and not just rely on a valuation, and make sure that they understand exactly what information the survey will give.
