When you are buying your first house there are all sorts of things to deal with as well as the purchase of the house itself – one thing that many first time buyers don’t think about before buying a house is the survey. This is not something that is always required but it is a good idea to have a survey done as it can help you to find out about potential problems and costly repairs that may be needed in the future.
When it comes to getting a survey you need to find a professional company to do it for you such as Sam Conveyancing building surveys Birmingham. As well as finding a qualified surveyor, there are many different types of survey, so you need to choose the one that is most suitable for you – these are the surveys that will be available to you:
Level Three Building Survey – This is the most detailed survey available, so it is also the most expensive. The cost of this survey may depend on the size of the house, so it is worth getting quotes if you are interested in having a level three building survey.
The benefits of a level three survey are that you will get a very thorough and detailed report of all parts of the property, this includes the surveyor looking behind the walls, in the attic and underneath floorboards, as well around the external areas of the property to find any potential problems.
A level three survey is particularly advised if you are purchasing an older property, or a listed building as these tend to have more costly problems to repair.
Level Two Building Survey – This is also known as a homebuyers report and will provide you with information of obvious things that may be a problem such as subsidence or water damage. It is not as thorough as a level three survey so the surveyor will not move anything in the house such as walls or floorboards, but it will still give you a good idea of any potential problems. If you don’t feel that the property you are moving into is likely to have much wrong with it but you still want to know a bit more detail about any potential issues this is a good choice for you.
Level One Building Survey –This is also known as a condition report and it is the most basic survey, so it is also the cheapest. The report will not include a lot of detail and it is often used to work with the valuation of the property for the mortgage. It will not include any advice on repairs or costs of repairs but it will indicate if there are areas of concern. If you are buying a more modern home and you think it has no areas of concern this survey should be ok for you, as it is a brief overview of the property.
