What to expect during a Coventry home survey
If you live in the Coventry area or you’re relocating to the city or a surrounding town, a home survey goes a long way.
It involves a surveyor inspecting the home in question (whether you own it or you’re buying it). They then produce a report and send it to you. This document tells you everything you need to know about your property. It offers professional advice on how to proceed cost-effectively.
That’s the general overview, but what about the specifics? What should you expect during a Coventry home survey?
That’s what this article discusses.
When to reach out to a Coventry home surveyor
As a homebuyer, you’d reach out to a home surveyor after your offer on the house is accepted. You aren’t under any legal obligation to purchase it at this point – you’ve simply got your foot in the door (no pun intended).
Now that the ball is rolling, you’ll decide on a chartered surveyor you trust (we always recommend a RICS-registered individual). After signing up for the survey and paying the fee, they’ll organise a date and time with the current occupant.
You don’t have to do anything else until the report comes back.
If you already own the property and want to instruct the survey as part of home maintenance, this time constraint doesn’t exist. You can reach out at any point, and the survey can be completed whenever it’s convenient for the current occupants.
How long does a home survey inspection take in Coventry?
Home surveys in Coventry usually don’t take more than a few hours. It isn’t easy to put an exact time on it, as the length depends on several factors. These include the following:
- The size of the home
- The condition (the more problems, the more time the surveyor needs to make notes)
- The location
- Ease of access (they might have to find a ladder for the loft, for example)
Overall, a home survey would almost certainly take less than a working day. The only exceptions might be country manor houses or mansions of a similar size. Basic home surveys and valuations only take a few hours.
Once the inspection is complete, the chartered surveyor returns to their office and writes up a report. They’ll send this to you, usually as a PDF attachment in an email.
The RICS standard is that this should take less than 14 days, but many will get it back to you within a week. Again, it depends – this time, on how busy the surveyor is.
What will the Coventry home survey report contain?
When your Coventry home survey report comes back, it’ll contain the following:
- A formal declaration from the surveyor stating they’re producing an unbiased, fair report
- An overall rating or assessment
- A list of the most severe risks
- Detailed information about individual features of the home (survey dependent)
- Advice on what to do next
- Repair cost estimates (if requested and/or applicable)
You should also be welcome to chat with your surveyor again, whether on the phone, via email or in person. They might clarify certain statements or explain how they’ve come to various conclusions.
If you instruct a RICS framework home survey (which we always recommend), you’ll typically have the choice of one of three options:
- Valuation
- Home Survey Level 2 (Homebuyer Survey)– appropriate for the average modern home
- Home Survey Level 3 (Structural Survey)– as the most detailed, this is best for historic and converted properties
What should I do after a home survey in Coventry?
A home survey report contains everything you need to know regarding your property. What you do next is up to you, although it’ll have specific, tailored advice for your situation.
As a buyer, you have a few potential pathways:
- Carry on as you were– do this if the survey comes back relatively clean.
- Renegotiate – if applicable, you could submit a lower offer based on the repair cost estimates.
- Ask the seller to fix specific issues – most sellers prefer this option to renegotiating. However, be sure to include an inspection of their work as a contractual part of the sale. This ensures it’s done to a high standard.
- Pull out of the purchase – sometimes, home surveys find too many problems or identify severe issues like a bad case of subsidence. In this case, you may want to pull out of the deal completely.
If you already own the property, it’s a different story. Take the advice in the report and, as soon as financially possible, make the necessary repairs, starting with those with the highest risk.
The earlier you catch and fix these issues, the less they’ll cost, and the quicker they’ll restore value, longevity and safety to your property.
GB Home Surveys conducts Coventry home surveys from its local West Midlands office. Our RICS-registered surveyors are here to help and will be delighted to answer any further questions you might have about the inspection and report process.
Use the contact form below to drop us a message, or give our head office a ring on 03333 600 685. We look forward to hearing from you.
