The house survey to commission before you buy — a RICS Home Survey Standard Level 2 style report, carried out by qualified residential surveyors, that rates every visible element of the property with traffic-light condition ratings and tells you exactly what should shape your offer.
What it is
A homebuyers survey is the mid-depth Level 2 home survey suited to conventional houses and flats in apparently reasonable condition. The surveyor inspects everything visible and accessible — roof coverings and chimneys viewed from ground level, external and internal walls, windows, floors and ceilings, the roof space where the hatch allows safe entry, and the visible parts of the heating, electrical and drainage installations — and gives each element its own condition rating.
Alongside the ratings, the report pulls out what actually matters before exchange: urgent defects, items that need further investigation, and the legal points your conveyancer should raise — alterations that may need consents, shared drains and access arrangements, and similar questions the paperwork must answer.
A mortgage valuation is not a survey. It exists to protect the lender, is often brief or produced from records, and answers one question: is the property adequate security for the loan? The homebuyers survey is the only report in the transaction written for you, the buyer.
Scope
Older, extended or unusual property? A Level 2 report rates what is visible; it does not investigate causes in depth. For period homes, non-standard construction or anything visibly tired, step up to a building survey — the Level 3 style report built for exactly those buildings.
How it works
Send the address or listing link for a fixed quote. We arrange access directly with the estate agent, so you don't need to chase anyone.
A qualified residential surveyor inspects every visible and accessible element, inside and out, working to the RICS Home Survey Standard Level 2 scope.
You receive the traffic-light report with defects, urgent items and the legal points your conveyancer needs, written in plain English.
Once you've read it, we talk it through on the phone — what genuinely matters, what is routine maintenance, and what to do next.
The report often pays for itself at the negotiating table. Condition rating 3 items are evidence: take them to a contractor for quotes, then revisit your offer, ask the seller to complete the work before exchange, or walk away while you still can. Sellers rarely argue with a written survey finding the way they would argue with a hunch.
The homebuyers survey is part of our wider home and building surveys service — and if the report recommends further investigation, we'll tell you plainly what that should look like rather than leaving you with a list of caveats. Send the listing and we'll confirm the right survey level before you spend anything.
Common questions
It depends on the size, age and location of the property — a four-bedroom detached house takes longer to inspect than a one-bedroom flat. Send the address or the listing link via the quote form or WhatsApp and we'll reply with a fixed price.
No. The valuation is commissioned to protect the lender and answers one question — is the property adequate security for the loan? It is often brief and may not involve a full inspection. A homebuyers survey is written for you and reports on the condition of the property itself.
It is a visual inspection of what is accessible on the day. Nothing is opened up or dismantled, furniture and stored items are not moved, and the services are inspected but not tested. Where the surveyor cannot see enough to rule a defect out, the report says so and recommends further investigation before you exchange.
Yes — that is one of its main uses. Condition rating 3 items give you the evidence to obtain contractor quotes and revisit your offer, to ask the seller to put the work right before exchange, or, where the findings are serious enough, to withdraw before the defect becomes your problem.
When the property is older, extended, of unusual construction or in visibly poor condition, a Level 3 building survey is the better tool — it investigates causes and repair options rather than rating visible condition. If you are unsure, send us the listing link and we'll advise honestly; sometimes the Level 2 report is genuinely the right choice.
Tell us the property type and postcode — we'll come back with a fixed quote and the earliest available date.