Finding a surveyor or engineer to conduct a pre-purchase survey has always been difficult. This is compounded by the fact it comes at a stage in your house buying journey when lots of activity is starting to happen. You're engaging solicitors, talking to your bank, looking fo mortgage protection and life insurance and researching the house and area.
While you are doing all this, you need to find someone qualified to conduct pre-purchase surveys, ensure they have a good reputation and get quotes. This can take numerous phone calls or emails and is very time-consuming. After all this, you are hoping that they have availability in the next week or two so that you are not holding up the purchase. Needless to say, it is - or was - a painful process!
When Eoin and I discovered this pain point for buyers, we thought we could use our background in building and growing products in the tech world to come up with a solution.
Eoin's dad, Paul, happened to be an expert in pre-purchase surveys and had been doing them for almost 30 years. So we were able to leverage his knowledge along with his project manager, Tara, to build a full picture of the process of property surveying. Everything from how customers reach out to them to the process of booking in and conducting a survey, writing up the report and returning it to the customer.
Once we had this full picture in place, we were able to start building a solution around it. We put the buyer at the centre of that solution and built the process around them. We wanted to ensure we were transparent, and timely, but most importantly simplified the process for the buyer.
We started with pricing!
Unlike other companies, our prices are published right on our home page. We don't make you jump through hoops or answer 20 questions for a quote. We also show our prices inclusive of vat so that you exactly what you are paying.
Then we simplified the booking
To book a survey with us takes just 2 minutes. If you want to talk to us you can (we love chatting with and helping our customers!) but if you want to just book, you just need to fill out one short form.
We Vet all Surveyors - So you don't have to!
This was a hugely important piece for us. As a First-Time Buyer, it can be quite daunting trying to ensure you find a surveyor who is qualified, insured and experienced. But we take care of all of that for you!
We work with a panel of surveyors covering the entire country. These come from backgrounds like engineering, surveying, architects and architectural technologists. During our vetting process, we ensure each surveyor meets the banks/local authority requirements to conduct pre-purchase surveys, that they are registered with a governing body (e.g. SCSI, IEI, CIOB etc.), carry appropriate professional indemnity insurance and have at least 10 years experience.
On top of this, we also review samples of their work to ensure it meets the highest standard.
By following this process, we've been able to grow a panel of the best surveyors throughout the country and we are very proud that when you book with us, you are getting the best!
Keeping you in the loop!
Another key part of our process is how we keep you updated through the process. You'll get an update from us at every single stage of the process. This way you will also know the exact status of your survey including which surveyor it is assigned to, when it is booked to take place and of course, once the written report is ready for you.
This means you don't have to go chasing us down, making extra phone calls or sending emails during your already busy schedule!
Standardized Reports
One of the biggest challenges we faced when starting was that every surveyor had their own report template. Although they all conducted their survey to the same standard, the style and layout varied greatly.
So, we started a partnership with Go Report to build the best survey template in Ireland. Our template ensures that all the important elements of a survey are covered while leaving enough flexibility for the unique elements of each property.
Why doing this, we were able to dramatically reduce the amount of time it takes for surveyors to write up the final report and in doing so, knocked another day of our turnaround time.
Consistently quick turnaround times
When you are buying a home, there are dozens of things which can delay the sale. When you book with us, your survey won't be one of those!
The platform we have built, lets us ensure your survey is always going to the surveyor in your area with the next availability. We don't need to manually assign surveys, it all just happens - kind of like Free Now or Uber, but for pre-purchase surveys!
Because of this, we've been able to have an average turnaround time of under a week. Even during the busiest times! This is something which no other company in Ireland has been able to maintain.
Sharing our knowledge and expertise!
While building and growing GetHouseSurvey.ie, we've gained a huge amount of knowledge on the entire house buying process. We share this knowledge for free through our blog, social media channels and our #1 Podcast, The Get House Podcast.
Being able to help thousands of first-time buyer through their house buying journey is something our entire team are incredibly proud of!
Our Mission and What's Next?
Our mission over the last few years has stayed the same. To take the stress and complexity out of buying a home.
We started this journey with GetHouseSurvey.ie and we are not finished there! In addition to continuing to grow our market share in pre-purchase surveys, we'll also be expanding to help buyers earlier in the house buying journey with HomeHunterReport.ie launching later this summer. This product will do 8-10 hours of research on a property in a matter of minutes and produce an easy-to-read 20+ page report packed full of everything you need to know about the property so you can decide if it will meet the needs of you and your family. It's Property Research Made Easy!