I’ve paid for a mortgage valuation, isn’t that a survey?

Have you ever opened a kitchen cupboard and had the door come away in your hand?  I have.

Have you ever peered in to the gloom at the cupboard ceiling above the towels and sheets and wondered what caused the stain?  I have.

Have you ever opened a window and struggled to close it again?  I have.

Have you ever made an offer on a house and paid for a mortgage valuation thinking that you had paid for a survey and would get answers to some of the questions above?  I haven’t – but if you have, you are not alone.  

There is a great confusion surrounding mortgage valuations and surveys, so much so, that many people in the property industry erroneously call mortgage valuations, surveys. So, what’s the difference?

Well, it’s simple really. A mortgage valuation is when a surveyor looks at a property on behalf of a lender to confirm that the property complies with their published requirements and that there is no reason for them not to lend money on it. They also record enough information in order to provide a valuation to show what the property is worth in the open market. The confusion arises because the surveyor’s client is always the bank or building society, and whilst the valuation might have been paid for by the buyer, this person is not the surveyor’s client.  In this case the surveyor is not inspecting the property in great detail and is certainly not checking whether or not the bathroom door closes all of the way.

If there are no major defects identified, a mortgage valuation may include a basic comment that there are no particular issues which would adversely affect the mortgageability of the property, but increasingly, mortgage lenders don’t provide the space in their reports even for this.  

An RICS home survey however is a much longer and more detailed inspection of the property which is combined with a much more detailed final report. Crucially however, this time, the surveyor’s client is the buyer.

There are three different levels of survey that can be commissioned on second hand houses or flats and these levels are defined by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). The differences between the levels can be found here but if you are considering using Hill Home Survey to inspect a property for you, we will always look at the property online ahead of time and provide a recommendation of which level we consider to be most appropriate for the property’s age and type.

So please remember that a detailed survey will provide much more information about the property than a basic mortgage valuation. The survey will break down the house into a series of elements, such as the roofs, walls, floors, doors, services and many more besides.  We provide a condition rating for each of the elements together with a commentary, we endeavour to write the report in easily understood plain English without unnecessary jargon, and we will provide a comprehensive overview of the property you are considering buying.

If you are still unsure about whether or not to have a survey as well as a mortgage valuation, please call for a no obligation chat and we will be only too happy to discuss your options.

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© Hill Home Survey, 2024. All rights reserved.
The content within this blog is strictly for information only. It is not intended to be and must not be construed as advice. The information provided was correct at the time of writing.
For further information and to discuss the correct survey type for the property you are buying and/or your valuation options, please contact Hill Home Survey on 01733 855232