THE HOME PURCHASE REPORT
A number of years ago the only "survey" available to a prospective purchaser was the structural survey (now called a building survey.) This was deemed by the profession generally to be overkill for some properties, such as for example the modern estate house, the Flat or the 1950’s bungalow. Consequently a briefer, more concise, quicker and thus cheaper form of survey and report was developed. Hitherto this has been variously named the Homebuyer Report, the Homebuyers Report, the Report on Valuation & Condition (Abbey National plc) and various other permutations.
 below the damp proof couse and grille level.',450,360))
The primary difference between the Home Purchase type of report and the Building Survey is one of depth and detail. Like the Building Survey, the Home Purchase style of survey covers all the components of the building that are visible and accessible but does not report upon them in detail. It merely "flags up" defects and warns you that they are there, or that we suspect them of being there. There are no great screeds of verbiage analysing a particular defect, just the fact that it is present and an indication of whether we consider it requires attention now or in future, or perhaps further specialist attention. Relatively minor items that we do not consider affect value, saleability or your enjoyment of the building are not mentioned e.g. a stained bath, cracked window panes, ill-fitting internal doors, etc.
) Fire Damage |
![](javascript: treborimage('trebor_8.jpg','Nowadays, thatch is usually held in place by steel rods. Except when completely destroyed by fire, usually only the top coat of thatch is replaced. The bottom layers are usually the original. Worst enemy of a thatch apart from fire? Rats, travelling horizontally across the "grain" of the thatch - hideous amounts of damage',450,450)) Thatch Repair |
So, as a consequence, the Home Purchase style of report is better suited to the more modern, perhaps smaller type of property. We regularly do this type of survey on all modern buildings up to £150,000 or so, on most smallish buildings built between, say, 1930 and 1960 and also on the usual 1900/late-Victorian terraced house common in most towns and cities. There is no reason at all why a purchaser should not request this type of survey on, say, a large £200,000 period farmhouse but we very much doubt that such a survey would do the property justice or convey the required depth of information to the client. This type of survey was not designed for this large, old type of property.
The report extends to about 9 or 10 pages and the report style is clipped and concise. "Chimney stack worn and weathered requiring closer inspection and probable re-pointing and replacing of decayed brickwork. Redundant flues should be capped and ventilated. Mortar flashings at the stack/roof junction require replacement in lead" would be a typical comment on a chimney stack.
