Before buying a property a survey must be completed. The purpose of this is several fold:-

(1) For the Lender - to satisfy the mortgage company that the property is worth the asking price, that it is re-saleable and that it will not fall down over-night!

(2) For you - To ascertain how much work is required on the property.

These ideas give rise to three main survey types:-

(1) Lenders report - A valuation for Mortgage purposes.
This is the minimum required and is purely for satisfying the lender of worth etc.

(2) Homebuyers report - Report on condition & valuation.
Encompasses the search above and also looks at basic state of repair and condition of the property.

(3) Structural survey - Full building survey.
The most thorough survey checks the property for all major and minor defects. This type of survey may take several days to complete overall as there is a large amount of paper- work to produce.

Surveyors are bound by law to tell you every detail. In full-surveys this will be pages & pages of information. This is because that if you latter find out a defect in the property that the surveyor should have found but missed, you can take legal action against them.
The level of survey that you take is dependant upon the type of property you're buying. For a fairly new property (say less than 10 years old) you probably only need a valuation. For somewhere a little older but still essentially a mainstream place a type(2) is probably wise. For old, character cottages etc a full structural survey is a must.
The cost of the surveyors fees is obviously related directly to the level of survey and the cost of the property. For a £50,000 property a basic valuation will be around £150.

To request a service, please fill in the following form (UK only). Please fill in all details for your request to be accepted. If a question is not applicable, please write N/A in the space provided. Please check the terms and conditions

The valuation report (and survey if applicable), will be carried out by an Incorporated Valuer or Chartered Surveyor. If a Homebuyer Report has been requested, it will be provided on the standard form for a Homebuyer Report published on behalf of the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyor (RICS), which now includes members of the Institute of Surveyors Valuers and Auctioneers (ISVA) after they voted overwhelmingly to merge.

The customer acknowledges that the standard conditions of engagement for the preparation of such a Homebuyer Report and valuation apply to this report. If a Building Survey has been requested this will be provided in the format prescribed by the valuer.