A survey is designed to provide you with a comprehensive overview of the condition of the property that you are purchasing. It is there to provide you with confidence in the property and allows you to make an informed decision.
Where issues do exist, a survey will identify the issues and provide context regarding the urgency of the repairs, to ensure that any significant defects can be costed before committing to the purchase.
Once your offer has been accepted you are able to arrange a survey for the property, which we would encourage not to leave until the last minute, to allow time for further investigations to be carried out and to avoid losing money if the survey impacts your decision to proceed.
There is a common misconception that a mortgage lender will carry out a survey. A mortgage lender will often instruct a ‘mortgage valuation’ to be carried out, where a surveyor will attend the property to ensure that it is suitable for lending and worth the purchase amount agreed. This is carried out as protection for the bank and can even be from a desktop perspective, without a visit to the property required. Therefore, this will not provide a buyer with a detailed assessment of the property’s condition, and it is important to differentiate from a survey.
There are different levels of survey available to buyers and the type of survey that may be advised will often be determined by the age and condition of the property you are purchasing.
It is not a legal requirement to carry out a survey on a property you are purchasing, however it certainly provides you with a level of improved knowledge about your property.
Here at Newton Fallowell, we work in partnership with local surveying teams, who can provide quotes to our buyers for the property they are purchasing.
To gain a survey quote for your property purchase, or if you have any questions about the surveying process, then please give our team a call on 01733 808826 or email peterborough@newtonfallowell.co.uk