The Difference between the Home Buyer Report and Home Condition Report

What exactly is a home buyer report or survey and how much does it cost to get one? When buying a new home there is so much to get– from how to get the best mortgage to understanding the ‘conveyancing process’. This is getting a homebuyers survey. It is really a good report to have. It is an expense in an already expensive home-buying process.

Reassurance

It is the view by most that for the reassurance and information it gives you, getting a survey is an investment that is worth the price. Buying a house is the largest financial expense you will ever make. So why not spend a few hundred pounds to get a professional inspection to determine the condition of the home seems to be important.

Survey

A survey will let you about any major work or repairs that are needed to help you resolve if this is the right house for you and your family. It also will highlight any problems that you might want fixed prior to moving in. Or you can use the information highlighted in this survey to renegotiate the asking of the house that you are willing to pay for the property.

RICS Home condition report

An RICS Home Condition Report is basically a survey without a lot of costs or details costing anywhere from £300 and up. It is used as a sort of “traffic light” system for key places of the property with green denoting the state of repairs is acceptable, orange denoting some cause for concern, and red showing major and urgent repairs needed now. It gives you a complete summary of the defects of the property as well as possible risks affecting the home.

Popular report

RICS say that this is the most popular survey that is available. It is more detailed than the Home Condition Report and costs anything from £350 upwards. You can choose Home Buyers report with or even without mortgage valuation. This is a report that includes advice on any defect or repairs that are important. It includes insurance reinstatement value (the amount receives were the house to burn down.)

Home Condition Survey

This is a survey that is offered by the “Chartered Building Surveyor” rather than the RICS. It costs £400 to £900 and has features that cannot be found on any RICS surveys to help you understand better your new house. These can include broadband speed, damp assessment and issues of boundaries that your conveyancer might consider. It is well worth considering particularly if you were not impressed with a RICS survey in the past.