Preparing your property for a survey

From appointing an estate agent to dealing with conveyancing questions. There are several processes that you will go through when selling your property. Most home owners who sell a property will likely go through the surveying process. This is where the potential buyer commissions a building survey of the property they are buying. It can be quite unnerving and stressful knowing your property is being inspected. This article highlights some things you can do to help the process.

Prepare documents for the surveyor to view

You will need to prepare any documents you have for the property for the conveyancing process, however, making some of these documents available for the surveyor to see can help on the day, and speed up any queries following the inspection. The documents the surveyor will be most interested in will typically relate to any work you may have had completed, such as planning permission consent, building regulations completion certificate, and guarantees for work too. If you have had your boiler or electrics serviced, your chimney swept, a log burning stove installed or your windows or doors replaced, you should make the certificates available to the surveyor too. Providing these certificates should show the surveyor that you have looked after the property.

Prepare your property for the visit

If you have ever sold a car we can pretty much guarantee you would have cleaned the outside and inside, moved your belongings out of the boot, and you may have even touched up the bodywork or replaced the tyres; preparing your property for the surveyor’s visit is a must.

The surveyors job is to inspect the condition of all areas of the property. The surveyor isn’t there only to highlight issues. They will also include comments in their report when they notice parts in good condition too. By preparing your property for the surveyor’s visit, you enable them to assess the condition of the property accurately. Preparing your property should include:

• Making all areas of the property accessible (I.e. tidy cluttered rooms, move things into storage, unlock all doors)
• Ensure the property is well cleaned
• Ensure the curtains are open to increase natural light in the rooms
• Touch up any poor areas of decoration
• Finish any DIY jobs you may have started

So, if you’re due a visit from a property surveyor. Remember that a little effort will help ensure your property is portrayed in the best light possible.

Should I be present during the building survey?

Most surveyors will prefer to be left alone to carry out their inspection without the owner or occupiers being present. Surveyors have a methodical way to inspect a property and allowing them to do this without interruption should decrease the amount of time they spend at the property. However, it is not always possible to make yourself vacant for a couple of hours. So if you cannot leave, positioning yourself in one room is a good idea.

Typically, the surveyor will arrange to collect keys from the estate agent if you are not going to be present. However, if you are going to be present for the inspection, you will need to leave enough time for the surveyor to complete their inspection. The time it takes to conduct a building survey can vary significantly based the type of building survey chosen, the size and age of the property, and its condition.

Typically, for a mid-terraced 3-bedroom property, a Level 2 survey, or Homebuyers Report, should be completed within a 2 hours. However, if you have an older or larger property or one with several issues, a Level-3 building surveyor may take up to 3-4 hours or more. Allowing the surveyor to complete the survey is critical. If you rush or ask them to complete by a certain time, it is likely they will want to return; this could lead to weeks of delay.

Conclusion

Preparing your house and the documents for the property is a great idea and should help the surveying process go more smoothly. Allow the surveyor plenty of time to complete the inspection and make sure all areas of the property are accessible.