What does a chartered surveyor actually do?
Chartered surveyors are crucial in the homebuying process. They check a building for faults and provide a comprehensive report on its condition.
This allows you to avoid buyer’s regret and ensure you’re buying a property in good condition.
But what does a chartered surveyor actually do? And what makes them different from a regular surveyor?
That’s what we’ll explore and explain in this article.
What is a chartered surveyor?
A chartered surveyor is a RICS-registered home surveyor. It’s their job to inspect a home and assess it for issues and faults. This is then compiled into an official, standardised report and submitted to the client.
Potential buyers can then use the home survey report to decide how they want to proceed. Depending on the findings, they might continue as they were, submit a lower offer, or pull out completely.
RICS – the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors – is the UK property sector’s governing body. It also has a significant worldwide presence, but its Royal charter means it’s most influential in this country.
To call themself a chartered surveyor, an individual must be a member of RICS. This involves stringent checks, requirements, and constant refresher courses. They must have completed a relevant degree and have at least two years of industry experience (APC).
Chartered surveyors carry out home surveys: what’s the process?
A chartered surveyor could work for themselves, for an independent local business (like ours), or for a multinational corporation. Either way, the process is generally the same.
Engaging a chartered surveyor’s services is known as ‘instructing’. This process usually takes place after you’ve submitted an initial offer on a house. You aren’t anywhere near contractually obliged to buy at this point.
You should message or call a local business to learn about their prices, availability, experience in the relevant area, and so on. Most surveyors will give you a quote upon request. Here at GB Home Surveys, we have a free online Quote Calculator with no need to leave your personal details. Feel free to check it out.
Once you’ve decided who to go with, agree to the contract and submit your payment. They’ll arrange a date and time to complete their home survey inspection with the current occupant. Typically, we get this done within a couple of weeks, and sometimes much earlier. Of course, it’s highly dependent on the availability of both parties.
During the inspection, the chartered surveyor will look for common problems and watch out for any tell-tale signs of faults. They’ll also bring tools and instruments to check areas most might forget (such as a torch and hygrometer to assess the loft space). They’ll note all their findings down in rough form.
Once they return to their place of work, they’ll transfer the information written down into a RICS home survey report. This standardised document clearly sets out what the inspection found (along with pictures).
The report will most often be sent to you in PDF format. You can then read it online or print it off at home.
The last thing a chartered surveyor will do is make themselves available to chat through their findings. Let them know if you have any questions or thoughts on the report! For example, they might explain why they’ve labelled something as a severe fault and the potential impacts.
What should you look for in a chartered surveyor?
There are several things you need to look for in a chartered surveyor. Here’s what we consider the most vital:
- They should be local – no matter how much training and experience a chartered surveyor has, only a local knows the market well enough to provide a 100% accurate report. Don’t engage their services if they have to travel across the country. It’s not that they won’t do a good job; it’s just that locals will have more knowledge of the area.
- They should have good communication skills – this is often easy to gauge in your first few interactions. You’ll depend on this person to provide you with as much information as possible about the home in question. There isn’t really any room for poor communication.
- Watch for transparent prices – some things come as optional extras with home surveys, such as report cost estimates. There’s nothing wrong with this, as long as you know it up front. Read through any contracts carefully.
- Double-check their RICS membership status – RICS takes offering out its membership very seriously. Before engaging a chartered surveyor, ensure they are officially registered with the governing body. You can do this on the Find a Member
If you’re moving home to or within the South-West, West Midlands or South Wales, a GB Home Surveys chartered surveyor can help. With years of experience and training, our team knows the local markets inside out. They’ll be with you every step of the way.
Please fill out and submit the form below to send us a message. We’ll be delighted to have an obligation-free chat about what you need and how we can help. We look forward to hearing from you.
