When you’re
in the market for a new home, there are lots of things to consider. You’ve
probably got a calendar full of appointments with estate agents, meetings with
financial advisors and house viewings at various properties, not to mention
scheduling in trying to pack up and clear out your current home.
Once you’ve
found a property that you think could be ‘the one’, it’s essential that you
factor in time for a survey to be carried out by a chartered surveyor,
particularly if it’s a period property. They will check that the building is in
good condition and search for any defects that could affect your decision to go
ahead with the purchase- but how long will this process actually take?
Well, to
help you make time for this crucial element of buying a house, we detail a day
in the life of a chartered surveyor, explaining each element of a survey and
approximately how long it should take:
Travelling time
This, of
course, depends on how far your dream property is from your local surveyors’
office, and also depends on if they need to collect the keys from the agent
beforehand. Each chartered surveyor firm will have a different approach to
travel- some will be willing to travel long distances, whilst others may wish
to stay local. Generally, the maximum time set aside for travel is around two
hours in total.
Inspection
The
inspection itself generally takes between two and six hours. This all depends
on the size and age of your chosen property, as well as the type of survey
you’ve requested, for example, a RICS Homebuyer Report or a full Building
Survey. The former will take less time as a Homebuyer Report is less in depth,
whilst a Building Survey can be longer by at least a few hours but offers a far
more detailed final report.
Client meeting
After the survey
itself, the surveyors will hold a meeting with you to discuss what they’ve
found and make you aware of any major issues with the property. It’s at this
stage that you can begin to decide whether you wish to go ahead with the
purchase, or perhaps consider negotiating the asking price.
Report write up
So that
everything is in writing, an important aspect of a chartered surveyor’s job is
writing up their findings in a detailed report, which both buyers and estate
agents can refer to to negotiate the price of the property. This can take up to
a few hours, again depending on the type of survey, size and age of the
property. A surveyor may also wish to carry out further research, for example,
gathering information about the local area where the property is located. This
could add another couple of hours to report writing.
Admin and secretarial work
As with any
job, admin and secretarial work is an important element. Reports must be
thoroughly proofread and checked over, and everything must be filed and stored
securely for future reference. These tasks can extend the total time it takes
to complete a survey by up to six hours, so don’t expect to get your report
back the same day!
At Simon Levy, we pride ourselves on our prompt
yet quality property surveying service. We appreciate how important it is to
ensure the property you’re buying is right for you, but we also understand the
time pressures that are involved. With Simon Levy, you can guarantee that
you’ll receive a detailed Building Survey or Homebuyer Report swiftly and
efficiently. For more information,
get in
touch with us today
.
