Four Very Good Reasons to have a Building Survey Prior to Buying a House.

A person is writing on a piece of paper with an orange pencil


1.) Mortgage valuations aren't for your benefit.


It is a popular myth that simply because a mortgage provider is conducting a valuation of a property. The main purpose of such a valuation is to get a price for the property for their own lending criteria. As a result a mortgage valuation should not be confused with a survey which would assess the condition of the property concerned.


The mortgage valuation is not a detailed survey report, unlike a survey it won't highlight potential repairs and maintenance work that you may need to do on the property once you have purchased it. A building survey instead provides a detailed report of the building.

When conducting a survey on one of clients behalf we inspect all safely accessible parts of the property.

The report will provide comments regarding the condition and state of repair.


2.)  Buyers who don't have a survey conducted don't save in the long run.


Whilst there might be a short term temptation to save some money by not having a survey especially if the property you are buying looks visually sound and in good condition. There could be all sorts of hidden defects including issues such as wet or dry rot, structural damage, roof problems. Problems such as these often get worse as time progress, and as a result cost even more in the long run to rectify.


3.) A survey is a useful tool to help you renegotiate the price of the property


Once a survey has been completed if it does find that there are problems, this provides a basis on which to negotiate with the vendor on the price that you are prepared to pay for the property. By having a HomeBuyer Report or Building Survey it could help to save you on costly repairs in the future.


4.) Our RICS Surveys include:


  • Description of visible defects & potential problems.
  • Outline: of repairs needed & consequences of no action.
  • Advice on services, risks & dangerous conditions.
  • A schedule of photographs of problem areas.



If you would like to arrange a Building Survey please feel free to contact us.



A bridge over a river at sunset with the sun shining through the clouds.

New Housing Site in South Bristol

By Whisper Digital using BBC New website's article • June 15, 2023
A new housing site in South Bristol will create 1400 new homes.
A black paper clip is sitting on top of a piece of paper

Why have a Survey or Valuation?

By Whisper Digital on behalf of The Residential Consultancy • April 24, 2023
The basic mortgage valuation is only to establish if the property is acceptable for a lender within that lender's specific criteria. It does not necessarily comment regarding all the defects which may be present. Our survey will report upon the general and overall condition of the property. Repair costs/maintenance can be substantial and potentially costly. The cost of your Survey can often be recovered through renegotiation, using our report.
A row of houses on a hillside with telephone wires hanging from the roofs.

Typical process of undertaking a survey

By Whisper Digital on behalf of The Residential Consultancy • April 20, 2023
We normally find the majority of our clients are the intended purchaser of a property. This post outlines our typical experience when someone hires us to carry out a property survey for them.