A written report is sent back at the end of a survey, in order for this to be completed the surveyor needs to visit the property.
The surveyor will report back on the overall condition of the structure of the property, the walls, any cracks that are cause for concern.
Any foundational issues starting to appear e.g subsidence.
Even the roof, is it going to collapse in the next few years or if it just needs some tiles placing.
They’ll also go through each room individually and comment on the condition of the rooms.
They may comment that a certain room needs “refurbishment” this can usually just be that the wallpaper and decor is a bit dated, these are the sort of comments you don’t mind seeing on a report.
Our surveyors will also check for damp, although its a visual inspection all surveyors carry damp meters with them to check the damp levels on each wall and this too will be included in the report.
On the exterior, boundary structures, walls, fences and gates around the outside of the property are examined to make sure they are safe and in good condition.
Any out buildings such as sheds or granny flats will all be included with comments regarding any planning issues that may arise.
The most common of these are extensions and attic conversions.
For example, an estate agent has listed a property a 3 bedroom house and one of the bedrooms happens to be the attic, if the attic doesn’t have a certain amount of roof space, that is a specific height, if it doesn’t have the correct windows to exit in case of an emergency it technically cannot be classed as a bedroom and the surveyor will flag this.
So in a nutshell, the written report is a full breakdown of the condition of the property without knocking down walls or digging up foundations.
Its there to give you peace of mind as well as the bank!