Call us on 01484 507801 & book your survey today
We Cover Huddersfield & Halifax
Whether it’s the first time you’re buying a property, your downsizing, upsizing, or buying a property as an investment. As an RPSA residential surveyor we can help by providing a Home Condition Survey. This is a comprehensive and valuable survey report, that looks at the condition of the main elements of a property and rates them accordingly.
| Purchase Price | Postcode HD1-HD9 | Postcode HX1-HX7 |
| Up to £100,000 | £375 | £375 |
| £100,000 to £200,000 | £425 | £425 |
| £200,000 to £300,000 | £475 | £475 |
| £300,000 to £400,000 | £500 | £500 |
| £400,000 to £500,000 | £550 | £550 |
| £500,000 to £600,000 | £700 | £700 |
Read what Which? say about House Surveys.
What are the types of surveys? – Who can offer surveys? – How much should a survey cost? – Do you need a survey? – Which?
What is a Home Buyer/Condition Survey?
A survey report format designed to reflect the condition of a traditional property that is more modern, of standard construction and not too big or complicated. We will advise accordingly, but depending on the property, there may be times when a Building Survey is more suitable. With a Home Buyer / Condition survey, we are looking at the condition of all elements of the property, we do not include a valuation of the property. Generally, your mortgage lender will provide a valuation, as part of the checks. A mortgage valuation is not a property survey, as it will not generally comment on condition, sometimes the property isn’t even visited by a valuer and an automated valuation is carried out instead.
Includes many features not found in other, similarly priced surveys, such as:-
- Clear colour coded condition ratings for quick identification of the important issues
- Multiple photographs (including elevated photos) and diagrams, helping you understand your new home
- Using Drone Technology to inspect elements often not inspected with other surveys
- A jargon-free report that avoids many of the annoying caveats and exclusions often found in home buyer reports
- Drone technology used to closely examine Roof, Chimney Stacks & Guttering
- A full debrief from us. We will answer any questions you may have.
Why do we use Drones?
In the past, there were often areas that you couldn’t inspect and as a result had to state not inspected. This made some elements of surveys of no use at all. Using drones has changed this. We can now inspect and photograph lead flashings around chimney stacks, ridge tiles, condition of the roof, guttering and more. This means our surveys can provide so much more information to you and make sure you are fully informed.
Image of a roof taken from ground level, showing no obvious issues.
The exact same roof, taken at the same time, showing broken slates, tingles and temporary repairs.
Drone images make you look at a property differently. You see missing and cracked roof tiles, blocked gutters, chimney stack issues, hidden vegetation and much more….
Would you think differently about the house you are buying, based on which image you saw?
How Much Do We Charge for a Home Buyer / Condition Survey?
We have quite a simple charging structure, based on the purchase price of the property.
Please note that we will only consider a survey on a property that is in either Huddersfield (HD) or Halifax (HX) postcodes.
| Purchase Price | Postcode HD1-HD9 | Postcode HX1-HX7 |
| Up to £100,000 | £375 | £375 |
| £100,000 to £200,000 | £425 | £425 |
| £200,000 to £300,000 | £475 | £475 |
| £300,000 to £400,000 | £500 | £500 |
| £400,000 to £500,000 | £550 | £550 |
| £500,000 to £600,000 | £700 | £700 |
Let us help. Call us on 01484 507801
Using Drones for Home Condition Surveys
In the past, there were often areas that you couldn’t inspect and as a result had to state not inspected. This made some elements of surveys of no use at all. Using drones has changed this. we can now inspect and photograph lead flashings around chimney stacks, ridge tiles, condition of the roof, guttering and more. This means our surveys can provide so much more information to you.
Our drones offer high quality (48 mega pixel) photography and because they weigh less than 250 grams, we are able to fly over property and still adhere to civil aviation authority rules and regaulations. All our pilots are authorised with the Civil Aviation Authority and fully insured.
What Areas Do We Cover for Home Buyer / Condition Surveys?
We only cover a relatively small area when conducting Home Condition Surveys. This is purely to make sure that we are familiar with the housing stock in our area. Local knowledge is one of the most important factors when surveying property.
Because of this. we offer Home Condition Surveys in Halifax (HX) & Huddersfield (HD) postcodes only.
Don’t I Get a Home Condition Survey from the Mortgage Lender?
These days when you apply for a mortgage, most mortgage lenders will give you a free valuation. This is not a Home Condition Survey. It will not comment on the condition of elements of the property. Having said that, if there is something seriously wrong with the property, such as subsidence then this will get flagged up by the valuer.
However, more and more often, the free valuation might not actually include an actual visit to the property. It may be that they conduct a ‘Desktop Valuation’ which means assessing the value based on information available online, or they may do a ‘Drive By’ which is where the valuer will pass by the property, take a quick look and assess it’s value without going into the property.
This is why a Home Buyer / Condition Survey, is always recommended as the safest route when purchasing a property. One thing to check before you instruct us to conduct a Home Buyer / Condition Survey, is to check to see if the Free Valuation from the Lender can be upgraded to a Home Buyers Survey (Condition Survey including a valuation). Some lenders do offer this and the price can sometimes be fairly competitive. Having said that by instructing us, rather than the lender, does mean that potentially you get two opinions, albeit one is only a valuation.
For more information the Government department for Levelling up, Housing & Communities have produced a useful ‘How to Buy Guide‘ which offers useful information about the whole home buying process, including different survey types.
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