Five key benefits of adding a drone inspection to your RICS home survey
Buying a new home? Don’t end up with buyer’s regret by not confirming it’s in fantastic condition before signing on the dotted line.
A RICS home survey is the best way to get this peace of mind.
In a home survey, a chartered surveyor (a member of the RICS governing body) checks everything from the foundations to the roof. But what if there was a way to get even more insights?
Drone technology is changing how we view the world. We’ve found using drones to be a useful addition to a home survey, especially when it comes to hard-to-reach areas like roofs, chimneys and gutters. Here are five key benefits of adding a drone inspection to RICS home survey, and why you should consider investing in one.
Improved roof access and visibility
In any traditional property inspection, roofs are the most difficult areas for chartered surveyors to access. Most of the time, the most cost-effective and safest approach involves finding a nearby vantage point (such as a local hill). Alternatively, surveyors might sometimes use ladders or scaffolding, but this is time-consuming, risky and expensive.
While RICS-registered surveyors are trained to make informed judgments based on their experience and knowledge, they still offer their opinions based only on what they see. Fundamentally, this means a highly-trained, experience-based educated guess. That’s all some people need, but if you want to be extra sure, that’s where drones come in and take things to the next level.
A surveyor with a drone licence and permission from the CAA can fly a high-resolution camera directly over the roof and take pictures from multiple angles. This allows them to clearly see and document any issues affecting the outside of the roof, including steep or unusual roof structures.
Comprehensive visual documentation
Drone images give you outstanding visual documentation of those hard-to-reach spots. The drones capture high-resolution photographs and build a detailed picture of the property from the sky.
Your chartered surveyor then includes these images in their report (at GB Home Surveys, we always include at least four, even if we don’t find any issues), giving you peace of mind and evidence of problems to show the seller.
And the benefits don’t end there. You get to keep these images for as long as you like. If, in the future, you come to do an extension or some repairs, you’ll have detailed photos from which to work. Rather than relying on written notes or structural plans, you’ll see what your property actually looks like from above. That makes it easier for you, or even your future buyers, to understand the building’s condition.
Cost-effective compared to traditional methods
If a chartered surveyor can’t access a roof, they’ll try to find a local vantage point to take some photos. However, if someone does require an up-close roof survey, they’ll have to pay for scaffolding, ladders, safety inspections and risk assessments, and the time it takes to complete the actual survey. It’s easy to see how those individual items quickly add up into a budget-busting fee.
While the initial cost of a drone inspection is an added expense, it’s far more cost-effective in terms of your overall RICS Home Survey. There’s no need for ladders, scaffolding or the surveyor to drive around and find a high point. They’re also far less labour-intensive than a traditional roof survey, which translates to lower buyer costs. Add this to the fact that they provide far more comprehensive detail than any other survey, and you’ll agree that drone inspections offer excellent value for money.
Faster completion times
A traditional roof inspection is time-consuming, especially if the surveyor requires scaffolding. If that is the case, the entire process could take days. Even with ladders, the surveyor can only inspect a limited area at a time. This means they have to walk around and put the ladder up and down multiple times. And there’s always the possibility that certain parts of the roof (such as the top of a gambrel or French design) could be missed.
Of course, drone inspections speed up the process significantly, and cover a bigger area, too. At GB Home Surveys, our drones stay in the air for around 35 minutes of useful flying time. That’s plenty of time to take multiple high-quality photos from every angle.
Increased safety
The safety of our chartered surveyors is a top priority when it comes to carrying out a RICS Home Survey. We’ll never ask them to do something dangerous. Climbing ladders, walking on slippery roofs and working with scaffolding all carry inherent risks. Unfortunately, surveyors occasionally have to take some risks (after a careful risk assessment) to get the job done.
Drone inspections, however, eliminate these risks almost entirely. Our surveyors can survey impossible-to-reach places without putting themselves in harm’s way. There’s no need for them to even leave the garden or the grounds around the house. This makes drone inspections a safer option for both the chartered surveyor and the homeowner.
Ready to take your RICS Home Survey to the next level?
At GB Home Surveys, we pride ourselves on providing thorough, reliable property inspections. Our RICS registered chartered surveyors are experts at spotting potential issues, and we’re always looking for ways to enhance our services and embrace the latest technologies to provide you with a better service.
So, don’t leave those hidden roof issues unchecked when buying a home. Add a drone inspection to your Home Survey Level 2 or Level 3 so we can offer you a more detailed, faster and cheaper experience. Get in touch today to gain a better understanding of your potential new home.
