Buying a home is an exciting milestone. If you’re in the process of becoming a homeowner, scheduling a RICS Home Survey is highly recommended. It’s the gold standard of home surveys. Beyond its fundamental role in helping you make informed decisions, ECL Chartered Surveyor’s home surveys add a layer of protection to your investment.
What is a RICS Home Survey?
A RICS Home Survey is an in-depth inspection to assess a property’s condition and uncover potential issues. The survey reveals the building’s strengths and weaknesses, evaluating everything from structural integrity to the utilities. Home buyers generally book a survey when their offer has been accepted. The principal professional accrediting body for home surveys in the UK is the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).
While RICS Home Surveys might seem similar to other types of property inspections, they are unique. For instance, a mortgage valuation primarily serves the lender’s interests, confirming the property’s worth as collateral for your loan. On the other hand, a RICS Home Survey focusses on your interests as the buyer and highlights on issues that could affect your use and enjoyment of the property.
Benefits of Conducting a RICS Home Survey
Home buyers aren’t legally required to have a survey done, but they come highly recommended for many reasons, including:
- Identify potential structural issues: From structural cracking to walls to unstable roofs, structural issues can turn your dream home into a costly nightmare. A RICS home survey safeguards your investment by unveiling any hidden problems.
- Assess the condition of key components: Chimneys, roofs and walls are carefully inspected during a RICS home survey, ensuring any issues are brought to light.
- Highlight potential hidden defects and risks: Unseen issues like damp, timber decay or pest infestations often lurk beneath the surface. A RICS home survey looks for evidence of these and assesses the risk, allowing you to address them before they escalate into major problems.
- Recommends further specialist investigations where these are thought appropriate and necessary.
- Gives you information to assess the property value: By identifying potential defects and their potential consequences, a RICS home survey allows you to negotiate a fair purchase price, ensuring you pay an amount which takes into account any major defects or repair/ maintenance issues.
Types of RICS Home Surveys
ECL Chartered Surveyors provide the following RICS home surveys:
- RICS L2 Home Survey (formerly known as a Home Buyer Report): this survey includes an interior and exterior inspection, highlighting any serious issues that require attention.
- RICS L3 Home Survey (formerly known as a Building Survey or Full Structural Survey): A more detailed inspection and the most comprehensive survey, this analyses the property’s structure in detail: perfect for older homes, those that have been refurbished or extensively altered or modified; those of non-standard construction, e.g., timber or steel framed properties; or properties with evident defects.
Understanding the Process of RICS Home Surveys
Here’s what to expect when confirming a RICS home survey with ECL Chartered Surveyors:
- Your surveyor will already have discussed in detail with you on an initial phone call, the most appropriate level of survey for the property you are buying.
- You will receive our terms and conditions by Adobe E-Sign. We ask you to read them carefully and sign and return them to us to confirm your instruction.
- We will contact the estate agent or seller and book the survey inspection. At each step of the process, we will keep you informed.
- As part of our survey preparation, we conduct desktop research to inform our inspection.
- Site visit and inspection: The surveyor visits the property and carries out a detailed assessment.
- Within 24 hours of the survey, you will receive an email containing a link to the photographs taken during the survey.
- We offer an early verbal de-brief subject to conditions.
- Surveyor’s report: The surveyor produces a report detailing their findings and recommendations for repairs or further investigations, usually between 7 and 10 working days following the survey.
- You will receive the RICS home survey report by email link which allows you to download and easily share with your advisors.
- We offer 8 weeks (from the date of the survey) advice and support for any further survey advice you may need following receipt of the report.
- Post-survey decisions: armed with the surveyor’s report, you can decide on the next steps, be it negotiating the price, requesting repairs, or reconsidering the purchase altogether.
Key Elements Covered in RICS Home Surveys
Your surveyor will assess the following:
- Structural integrity assessment: This examines the building’s stability, inspecting for subsidence, uneven floors and cracks in the walls or ceilings that might hint at structural issues.
- Roof and chimney inspection: The condition of the roof and chimney(s) are assessed. We look for signs of ageing/ weathering which might lead to dampness issues and cost risks, i.e., the need to re-roof or re-build a chimney stack.
- We will check for a range of dampness issues, including penetrating dampness, rising dampness, condensation dampness and plumbing leaks.
- Services inspection. We will give an opinion on the age and compliance of the heating and electrical systems. However, we are not specialist engineers and often recommend further specialist inspection.
- We will inspect visible components of the foul and stormwater drainage system where access allows. However, we are drainage engineers and occasionally will recommend further specialist investigations.
- We will comment on the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating and other relevant sustainability matters.
Choosing a Qualified Surveyor
When choosing a surveyor, you need an MRICS qualified professional who combines a keen eye for detail with a wealth of experience and in-depth understanding of local properties. Factors to consider include:
- Qualifications: Is the surveyor a member of RICS?
- Local Knowledge: How well do they know the locality and what is their interest in it.
- Specialisation: Do they have expert knowledge in your type of property?
When interviewing potential surveyors, don’t hesitate to ask questions such as:
- What professional development have they done within the last 12 months?
- What does your survey include and not include?
- How long will you spend at the property?
- When can I expect to receive the report?
Cost Considerations and Insurance Coverage
The cost of a RICS home survey varies widely, influenced factors such as the type of survey you opt for, and the property’s size and complexity. Whilst you might be tempted to skip the survey to save a few hundred pounds, this decision could be costly in the long run. After all, a detailed RICS home survey uncovers problems that may require expensive repairs. Knowing about these issues upfront gives you leverage to negotiate with the seller.
As for insurance, some defects may be covered, but many won’t be. A comprehensive survey helps you identify these potential problems before they become costly insurance claims.
Common FAQs About RICS Home Surveys
What is the difference between a mortgage valuation and a RICS home survey?
A mortgage valuation assesses the property’s market value for your lender, whilst a RICS home survey provides a detailed assessment of the property’s condition for you, the buyer.
Can a RICS home survey affect the property’s sale price?
Yes, if the survey identifies defects or issues that require repair or replacement, it can provide evidence to negotiate a lower sale price.
How long does a RICS home survey typically take?
Depending on the size, complexity, and condition of the property, a RICS home survey may take 3 to 6 hours. For larger properties, 2 surveyors may inspect.
Are RICS home surveys necessary for new build properties?
Not necessary, but for peace of mind as even new builds can have issues. A RICS Level 2 Home Survey can identify problems that the developer needs to fix before you move in.
What should I do if the survey reveals significant issues?
If major problems are uncovered, you can request the seller to carry out repairs, renegotiate the sale price or, in some cases, you may decide to pull out of the purchase.
Booking a RICS Home Survey
ECL Chartered Surveyors specialize in a range of survey services, including Sellers Surveys (Pre-Purchase), Home Surveys for buyers, and surveys if you are staying at home and wish to understand your home and its maintenance condition better. Ideal if you are planning an extension or renovation.
ECL Chartered Surveyors cover Cirencester, the wider Cotswolds, Oxfordshire, Wiltshire, and Warwickshire.
Our extensive experience, particularly in historic and period buildings, diligent inspections, detailed reports, and overall outstanding client support, provide peace of mind on your home buying or selling (or staying put) journey.
Contact us on 01367 248 933 today to book a thorough and reliable RICS Home Survey.
