Having a homebuyer survey on your home can be nerve racking and here at South Lincs Surveyors, we understand that having someone carry out an in depth survey in your home can feel invasive. This guide has been developed to give you an insight of what to expect when having a survey completed on your home.
Before we arrive we will make an appointment with you and we request that dogs are in a secure location for the duration of the homebuyer survey. This is for the safety of our surveyors.
On the day of the survey, the RICS surveyor will come and introduce themselves to you. They will start outside, inspecting the external walls, chimney, garden etc. If you have a garage, shed or summerhouse that are remaining as part of the sale, these will also be inspected. Please ensure they are unlocked or have a key to hand ready for the surveyor to have a look inside. The surveyor will take multiple photos all around the property.
We are not like most surveyors as we fly a drone over the property. This creates a low buzzing sound. The drone enables us to thoroughly look at the roof, gutters and chimneys. Sometimes, if it is too windy, we may delay the drone inspection but this will be communicated to you at the time.
Once the outside elements have been inspected, the surveyor will ask to come inside. We wear shoe coverings as standard. Inside, they will have a thorough look at the walls, ceilings and floors etc. They will inspect one room at a time, working their way all around the property. If you have a loft space, this will usually be inspected last.
As they work their way around the property, you will probably hear some beeping from a moisture metre. Don't be alarmed by this as moisture metres can also detect metal and may make a sound when there is no moisture, our surveyors are trained to interpret the results accurately.
It is common that surveyors will need to pop in and out regularly, either for more equipment or further investigations. Most surveys take around 1.5 - 2 hours to complete but they can take up to 4 hours. The surveys are non-invasive so we won't be lifting carpet or drilling into walls but we will open doors to kitchen units, airing cupboards and fixed wardrobes.
If you have any documents such as boiler service records, FENSA records or planning permissions, it is helpful to have them to hand for the surveyor. Don't worry if you have already sent them to your legal advisors.
As the survey is thorough, it is appreciated if you leave the surveyor to carry out their inspections alone. It is of course your home and so you are welcome to enjoy it as you usually would. We welcome any questions you have about the survey at any time but we cannot give details of the findings. The results of the survey are confidential for our client only.
Once the survey is completed, your buyer will receive their survey within 4 working days of the survey (usually much faster though).
If you have any questions or would like a survey on your onward purchase, please feel free to get in touch and one of our RICS Surveyors will be happy to help.
A homebuyer survey is very different to a mortgage valuation. Mortgage valuations are for the lender, not you, and gives no indication of the condition of the property. If you would like to know the true condition of the property you are buying, the best way is having a homebuyer survey.