What survey do I need?
At-a-glance survey comparisons
This table will help you choose the most appropriate survey.
If you have any particular requirements, remember to discuss them with us before we inspect the property.
We may be able to provide you with extra services, under separate contracts.
Service features | Condition Report (level 1) | Building Survey (level 3) |
|---|---|---|
Describes the construction and condition of the property on the date of the inspection. | o | o |
Aims to identify any problems that need urgent attention or are srious. | o | o |
Aims to indentify things that need to be investigated further to prevent serious damage. | o | o |
Aims to tell you about problems that may be dangerous. | o | o |
Aims to show up potential issues and defects (before any transactions take place). | o | o |
Aims to help you decide whether you need extra advice before committing to purchase. | o | |
Aims to enable you to budget for any repairs or restauration. | o | |
Aims to advice you on the amount of ongoing maintenance requiered in the future. | o | |
Provides a reinstatement cost to help you avoid under or over-insurance. | ||
Provides a market valuation. | ||
Aims to establish how the property is built, what materials are used and how these will perform in the future. | o | |
Aims to discribe visible defects, plus exposing potential problems posed by hidden defects. | o | |
Aims to outline the repair options and give you a repair timeline, whiltst explaining the consequences of not acting. | o | |
Where practical and agreed, provides an estimate of costs for identified repairs. | o | |
Provides specific comments on energy efficiency. | o |
Condition report
This is our entry level survey (best comparable to RICS Level 1 survey) which is suitable for newer homes (1980 and later).
We will carry out a thorough, but limited inspection without causing any damage. Service installations will be visually inspected, but not tested.
Our report will include a description of the property’s condition in general, identifying main risks and will highlight urgent defects. We use a simple rating to identify the condition of key elements of the property.
No pictures, no valuation.
Building Survey
The Building Survey Report is a detailed survey suitable for properties of all ages and types, except larger period properties.
We undertake a thorough and detailed survey of all areas of the property whilst remaining sensitive to the occupants, and of course, without causing damage. Service installations will be visually inspected, but not tested.
Our written report follows the Dutch NEN6727-system which rates condition in 6 levels, from excellent to very poor, clearly indicating areas of concern and includes a limited number of photographs.
The Building Survey Report is best comparable to a RICS Level 3 survey, as described in the RICS Guidance Note: Surveys of Residential Property 3rd edition.
This type of survey does not include a market valuation or reinstatement cost assessment.
Specific defects surveys
The scope of this survey involves the forensic examination of particular structural defects.
Typical issues this will uncover include structural movement, settlement, cracking, damp penetration and roof failures.
My report will identify the cause of the problems, their importance, and what needs to be done to remedy the defects
Project Management and Site supervision
We are regularly appointed to provide full project management services for new built, extensions, conversions, refurbishments, planned maintenance and restoration works to existing buildings, through to new-build schemes.
Project management services range from the initial preparation of drawings, to preparing detailed Specification documents, managing the procurement process, to carrying out final defect inspections on site when work is completed by a contractor.
We are independant and will not provide you a list with contractors. But we will carry out a competitive tender exercise before awarding work and putting a contract in place.
Through the duration of the project, we will oversee construction standards on site through regular site visits, monitoring timescales and budgets and providing regular progress reports to the client throughout.
ppm surveys
In Dutch MJOP (=Meer Jaren Onderhouds Programma)
Essential for appartments.
Planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) surveys are an essential tool that enable building owners to proactively maintain, manage and improve their properties over a period of years.
PPM Reports involve a detailed survey inspection of a property, along with a schedule with recommendations for the coming years, to provide a planned maintenance strategy. Our reports will identify repair projects and provide recommended timescales for undertaking repair works over coming years, and we also provide budget costs so that our clients are able to budget accordingly.
As well as considering disrepair and long-term maintenance requirements, we can also consider health and safety issues, matters of statutory compliance, thermal performance issues and suitability/fitness for purpose, etc.
F.A.Q.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet.
If you have commissioned a Building Survey then you can request this. We can only offer this by prior arrangement as we have to make sure the vendor is content for this to happen — sometimes they say no — and we also ask for payment before the survey. Please ask when you book your survey. We will give you a time to meet us, which will usually be towards the end of our survey. Any earlier and we won’t be able to tell you anything substantive — please note that we cannot do our job properly if you stay for the whole inspection as it is distracting and prevents us from giving you the best service. We find that usually around 20 minutes is enough for us to explain our findings to you.
The length of time the inspection takes is dependent on the size of the property and the extent of any defects that may be identified. For guidance, an inspection of a typical three-bedroom house in reasonable order may take several hours. Larger properties and properties with multiple defects will take more time. For very big houses two surveyors may work together.
We try, wherever possible, to dispatch our report a day or so after the inspection. Building surveys in particular are often 40 or 50 pages long and are all individually written so this takes time. If required, a brief verbal report can be made available upon receipt of payment.
We are confident in our abilities.
However, our surveys do have ‘get out’ clauses, but we do not hide behind them. Our surveys are always definitive. Basically, we’ll report on what we can see and not on what we can’t. We can’t guess, but we can give a considered opinion.
Our small print will be written clearly, is easy to understand and we stick by our quoted fee.
Check our Survey Terms and Conditions.
Absolutely not! A mortgage valuation is just that, a valuation of the property commissioned by your mortgage or loan lender, and written purely for their benefit to assess the risk of their loan against the resale value of the property.
A survey is written for you as the prospective buyer (or home owner), to give you the best possible assessment of the property’s condition, required repairs and maintenance, etc.