All you need to know about buying a house

without property problems

 

Having an Independent Building Survey when buying a house

When buying a house/home we would always recommend that you have a building survey, also known as a structural survey carried out by a qualified independent building surveyor prior to legally committing to purchase the property.

Highly Qualified Independent Building Surveyors

All our building surveyors are Chartered Surveyors and are Members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and also Members of the Independent Surveyors and Valuers Association (ISVA).

What does being Independent actually mean?

We are independent building surveyors, meaning, unlike many other surveyors, we are not owned by a mortgage company, building society, bank or estate agency. Our surveyors therefore work solely for you, offering you the best property advice that is in your interest and not the interest of others.

A Building Survey is expensive, can I do without one?

Buying a house is one of, if not the most, expensive purchases you will make and you need to make sure you are buying the right house for you and not one that will become a money pit. You woudn't test drive a car without test driving it first, so why would you buy a house, at far greater expense, without having an Independent Building Survey?

Specialist Photography and Survey Sketches

We take photographs of the house during the survey, both externally and internally. We also have 360 degree cameras to take aeriel photos of places we cannot easily access, i.e. tops of chimneys and roofs. We also use ovals and circles to emphasise particular points.

There is also the option to have thermal imaging of the property if you so wish. This will show up heat loss, which can be a problem particularly with older houses.

We also have a catelogue of unique survey sketches that we use in our survey reports to help explain a particular point or problem.

Aerial view - 360 photo Valley Gutter
Thermal image photo of a Tudor house - red shows the heat loss

Building Surveying Articles

We have literally thousands of surveying articles to help you that we as building surveyors have produced over the many years in the surveying sector. These articles explain problems that can occur from having the wrong type of survey and explain exactly what mortgage surveyors do as opposed to independent building surveyors or structural surveyors. Below are a selection but to see more go to www.1stAssociated.co.uk.

Building Surveys or Structural Surveys

Buying and Selling Victorian and Edwardian Houses

Cheap Building Surveys, or being wrongly advised by your Building Surveyor

Estimating Building Costs

Get a Survey Quote

House Survey, Building Survey or Historic Building Survey

How long does it take to do a good Building Survey?

Mortgage Surveyors won't do a building survey or should that be can't do a building survey

Pre Sales Survey

Residential Surveys

Should l have a Homebuyer's Report on a modern property?

Surveys Quick

What is a Building Survey?

What type of building survey or structural survey or building report do I need?

Why Have a Residential Survey?

Why Have One Of Our Surveys?

Why Use Us?

Do you have an example of one of your Survey Reports?

You can download one of our example survey reports from our website www.1stAssociated.co.uk/media.asp or we can email or send you a copy. Free phone us on 0800 298 5424.

Why are Building Survey Reports are different from other Surveyors Reports

We have over twenty years surveying experience and pride ourselves on our comprehensive and easy to read Survey Reports.

We explain any property problems we find in an Executive Summary, which is broken down into The Good, The Bad and The Ugly! We offer you solutions as to how to fix any issues with the house and anticipated costs for any works; we do recommend you get three separate quotes for any works to be sure you are getting the right service at the right price.

Trickle vent above window
This concrete is the top of underpinning of a property
Sketch of a trickle vent in a window

Concrete Underpinning

Free phone us on 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat

We are more than happy to chat with you about this. Please Free phone 0800 298 5424 to speak to a Building Surveyor or to get a Survey Quote.