Hunt Brewin

Your home is likely to be the biggest purchase you will ever make, therefore it is worthwhile having a Survey.  A Survey will provide you with an understanding of the nature of construction and condition of a property and could potentially save you thousands of pounds in future costly repair bills.

The minimum requirement of any Mortgage Lender will be that a Mortgage Valuation is undertaken of a prospective property by a Chartered Surveyor.  However, most Mortgage Lenders and Advocates would advise you not to rely solely on a Mortgage Valuation.  The reasons for this and the difference between the different types of inspection and report are discussed below:-

• Mortgage Valuation
  This type of report is normally completed for the Mortgage Lender directly.  In some, although not all instances a copy may be supplied to the Applicant.  With this type of report the Surveyor will provide the Mortgage Lender with an opinion as to the value of the property concerned.  However, it must be appreciated that the Valuer is only concerned with problems that might affect the security of the loan and not necessarily whether there are any items of repair or maintenance which may require attention and incur expenditure.
• Surveys
  A Survey is in effect a “health check” for a building.  Chartered Building Surveyors are trained in assessing the condition of buildings, diagnosing defects and reporting to their Client. Hunt Brewin offers three main types of services in this respect:
• Homebuyer Survey and Valuation (HSV)
  In Guernsey this is normally suitable for properties of conventional construction built within the last 100 years which are believed to be in reasonable condition. It provides a concise report focusing on and identifying matters requiring urgent attention and providing general advice on future repairs and maintenance.
  An HSV will provide information on the general condition of the property, any major faults in accessible parts of the building that may affect its value and should identify any areas of the property which require further investigation, possibly by a specialist. This type of report will also provide a Reinstatement Valuation for insurance purposes and provide an opinion on the value of the property.
• Building Survey
  A Building Survey is a comprehensive inspection of a property and is suitable for all properties, particularly listed buildings, older properties, buildings of non-traditional construction and properties that you may be planning to renovate or alter or have already undergone extensive alterations.
  This type of report will examine all accessible areas of the property and can highlight any specific areas of the building where you may have particular concerns.
  A Building Survey will include details of both major and minor defects and their potential consequences, will include details of damp testing on walls and an assessment of any damage to timbers including evidence of woodworm and timber decay.  This report will provide an assessment of the existence and condition of damp proofing, thermal and where relevant sound insulation and will provide technical information on the construction of the property and materials used.
• Preliminary Walk Round Inspection
  Very often a Client may have specific concerns about a property or is unable to choose between one or more properties that they are considering purchasing.  Before incurring the expense of a Mortgage Valuation or Survey Report a Client may feel that a more informal assessment by a Chartered Building Surveyor would be of assistance.
  Our services in this respect would normally consist of undertaking a preliminary “Walk Round” inspection of the property with the Client providing an informal comment on the buildings condition, location and likely value and answering any specific questions that a Client may have.  Any advice provided is purely verbal and a written report would not normally be produced as a consequence of this type of inspection.