Sell with Confidence.
Our chartered surveyors provide independent RICS vendor surveys to help you prepare to sell your property.
What is a vendor survey?
A vendor survey is a home survey that a building surveyor carries out on behalf of the seller. They are also referred to as upfront surveys and pre-sale surveys, and are used to assess the condition of the property, identify any structural issues and highlight factors that can affect the saleability of the home.
Vendors choose to have their own surveys to help make the selling process smoother. The survey will help you understanding the true state of your property, anticipate issues that a buyer’s survey may find, predict costs of upcoming repairs and maintenance and provide in-depth technical and structural detail. This means that you can be confident in the property you are selling, and gives you the option to carry out repair work in advance of selling to remedy any issues identified.
Allcott Associate’s vendor surveys can also be passed to the purchaser of the property on request*, speeding up the buying process significantly. This transfers our legal liability to the purchaser, which means that they can be confident that we undertook the survey independently and without bias, and we stand by the recommendations and findings of our report.
A vendor survey will also point out potential legal and paperwork requirements that are likely to come up during the conveyancing process. This might include recommendations to make sure that building regulations documents and relevant consents are in order for any alterations that have taken place.
*Small admin fee payable.
Advantages of a vendor survey
- You will get an accurate description of your property.
- Your report will contain information on the construction type and materials used in the build of your property, as well as a comprehensive overview of the condition of each element of your home.
- You can use this information to work with your estate agent to make sure the property description is accurate in the sales particulars, which in turn helps prospective buyers and avoid wasted appointments. You might also consider using the detail to skip the need for an estate agent altogether, saving a considerable fee!
- It will identify any major issues.
- If there are any serious defects or issues that affect property value, it is better to know about them pre-sale, so you can factor them into the asking price and get a realistic budget for your next home.
- Our reports include estimated costs for any significant repair and maintenance works. You can choose to use this information to adjust the asking price, carry out works yourself or prepare for negotiations should the buyer carry out their own survey.
- It will give you an awareness of minor issues and potential future problems.
- This gives sellers the opportunity to carry out minor repairs and prevent them developing into more severe defects by the time the property sells, thereby avoiding purchasers finding lots of small problems that add up and put them off their purchase.
- Surveyors can access areas you can’t.
- Surveyors’ equipment, such as camera poles and drones, means that they can access areas that are difficult or impossible to reach by ladder. This means that you can get a detailed insight into the condition of areas of your property like the roof and chimney stacks that otherwise you would struggle to reach.
- It demonstrates your due diligence to buyers.
- The fact that a vendor has had the survey, and is willing to transfer it to the buyer, builds trust and facilitates the sale process.
- It can highlight your property’s potential.
- You can use the survey to get the surveyor’s opinions on the feasibility of works such as loft conversions or other alternations, which can help make the property more attractive to buyers
- Flag potential legal and paperwork requirements.
- Anything that can speed up conveyancing will ensure a smoother and quicker sale process.
Allcott Associates' RICS Surveys
Our team includes both RICS Chartered Surveyors and Chartered Structural Engineers, so we can go beyond simply describing the property condition. Unlike other firms, we won’t refer you to a third party for non-invasive structural investigations.
Thorough inspection of property condition and structure
In-house Structural Engineers for in-depth technical insight
Industry-leading detailed reports
Tailored inspections based on your specific concerns and requirements
Local RICS building surveyors, supported by our nationwide team
One-to-one advice from your surveyor on our survey findings
Chartered Surveyors for vendor surveys
Choosing an RICS chartered surveyor for your vendor survey means that the survey must comply with the RICS professional standards. This means that the survey must be independent (i.e. not influences by interested parties such as estate agents or other stakeholders). It also means that the survey must meet the RICS Home Survey Standard – a mandatory, best-practice benchmark for chartered surveyors delivering home surveys.
Our vendor surveys follow the Level 3 RICS survey specifications – the highest possible standard of residential survey.
What to expect before and after your vendor survey
Before your survey
Your survey will be a snapshot of the condition of your property on the day of inspection. While it can be tempting to disguise defects and hide potential problems, in the long run it is much better that you are fully informed about the state of your home, so that you can plan your sale and budget accordingly.
The most important preparations to make for your home survey are to clear away clutter, so that your surveyor can carry out a thorough assessment, and make sure access is available to all areas of the property. Ensure that keys for windows, doors and garages are available, and that entrances to lofts, basements and outbuildings are safe and accessible.
If you have any particular concerns about the property, now is the time to mention them, so that the surveyor can bear them in mind during the inspection. Perhaps you are curious about the potential for extensions and conversions, or you want reassurance on some cracking you have noticed in one of the walls.
After your survey
After your survey, you will receive a thorough and detailed report covering each aspect and element of your home. Each finding will be illustrate with photographs, and explained in straightforward language. If you do have any questions, however, your surveyor will be on hand to talk through their findings and explain anything that is unclear.
You can use the report to discuss the property particulars with your estate agent, to ensure that they are accurate and attract the right buyers. You can also use the survey findings to plan repairs prior to selling, or to anticipate purchasers wanting to negotiate. This can all be used to help you accurately budget for your sale and the capital you will likely have for any future purchases.
At Allcotts, you are able to transferable to the buyer*, should you wish to do so. This can speed up the sale process by taking out the need for them to find and instruct their own surveyor, and wait for the inspection date and subsequent report.
*Small admin fee payable.
How much is a vendor survey?
Our vendor surveys are priced according to the age and size of the property. Our instant online quote tool will give you a free, accurate quote for a vendor survey in seconds. Alternatively, if you would like to discuss your requirements with our expert team, or find out more about whether a building survey is right for you, you can call or email us for detailed advice.
Professional Surveyors, Quality Service | RICS Certified Surveyors
All of our Chartered Building Surveyors are members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS); this ensures our survey reports are comprehensive. Our team also includes Chartered Structural Engineers, which eliminates the need to refer to an external Structural Engineer for further investigation at a further cost, unless in the unlikely event that opening up of areas is required. Unlike other firms, we are completely independent and our reports are accepted by all financial institutions and insurance companies.