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26/11/18

Simpler, Jargon-Free Property Surveys to be Made Available to Homebuyers

In order to prevent confusion amongst UK homebuyers, steps are being taken to make the reports of property surveyors simpler and jargon-free. This should tighten up the homebuying process and protect buyers from purchasing properties that have unseen faults or issues that arise later down the line.

These complaints signal an opportunity for change, which the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) hopes to make.

There are too many options

The issue is that currently there are too many options in terms of property survey-reports:

  • The Condition Report, which flags up major issues within the home
  • The Homebuyer’s Report, which provides a property valuation that is, overall, limited in detail
  • The Structural Survey, which is the most comprehensive of all

With these three very different formats to choose from, there are currently too many things that can go wrong or are undetected.

As there is no industry standard between surveyors , there is no requirement for a standard format for the report and those produced for the same property would often differ depending entirely on which surveyor carried out the survey. This can make it difficult to locate a particular section in the various reports problematic. Further to this, many reports are jargon-heavy and have been known to cause confusion and misunderstanding.

The current system is too fragmented

Tom Littler from RICS told Telegraph Money that the current system is too fragmented:

“We perceive that there could be confusion among the homebuying public. The whole idea is to improve the product that a member of the public could receive from a house surveyor.”

“We want all surveyors, be they chartered surveyors or not, to follow the same standards so we don’t have things at different levels.”

Homebuyers need to know what they are signing up for

RICS hopes to scrap homebuyer surveys in their current formats, with a plan to replace them with one unified survey that has three different levels.

On the face of it, this sounds almost identical to the current three-tiered system that we already have in place, but each of the three new levels would come with a prior explanation of the minimum service being offered, so that the homebuyer knows exactly what they are signing up for.

With increased protection, you can land your dream property

A move to increase surveyance transparency and bolster property buying confidence can only be a good thing for everyone involved.

With increased protection comes greater confidence, so you can purchase property that is safe, secure, and free from hidden faults. If you would like to talk about the potential of bridging finance to help you secure a property, give us a call on 08000 44 84 84, or contact a member of our team separately.