Blog – Home Report Scotland

When Will I Need a Home Buyers’ Survey?

Whenever you plan to put a property on the market, home buyer surveys are fantastic contingency plans. Whether you need a Home Report Glasgow or elsewhere, a thorough survey will not just put your buyers’ minds at ease, it will also make sure that you are a fully informed seller. A solid Home Report Scotland and beyond will give your buyers the confidence they need to go ahead and seal the deal!

Before Marketing a Property

Before you even think about putting a property on the market, getting a Home Report on the house or flat is essential. This is because your buyers are going to need to know a few important facts about the property they are buying before they sign on the dotted line.

Why Get a Home Report?

A Home Report Glasgow or elsewhere will lay a few important facts and figures bare for potential buyers. As a home buyer, they are going to need to know what to expect the day they move in. If you have nothing to hide, what’s to worry about? – let us take the stress out of the process! With Home Report Scotland, you can expect affordable, comprehensive expertise. We do the leg work for you when it comes to surveys, facts and figures.

What Your Home Report Will Do

It’s important to also understand what a home report will do before planning one. A home report will offer results from various assessments on your property. Therefore, your buyers aren’t going to be left with frustrating costs, and they certainly aren’t going to be complaining to you for months afterwards!

• Your home report will include a full assessment of your properties value & condition. That means internal and external fittings, walls and accessibility. It’s an audit and a valuation rolled into one.
• It will also let your buyers know what they can expect in terms of running costs. This is why it is so important to set up a home report before you go to market!
• These running costs can include council tax, utilities such as gas, water and electricity, and even internet and telephone access.
• It will also confirm parking arrangements and any extra costs which may arise during the running of the property.
• Essentially, it will give buyers a full breakdown of what to expect from long-term ownership.

Providing Your Home Report

Before you put your home up for sale, approach a home report expert who can arrange all the paperwork for you. While it can be tempting to undertake most of this yourself, a dedicated team can save you time, energy and money in the bargain.

Home Report Scotland’s team of experts will be able to compile and provide a thorough report and negotiate for surveys on your behalf.

Call us on 0141 227 6198 before you start marketing your property.

Selling Your Home: What Does a Surveyor Do?

Whenever you take out a Home Report Glasgow or elsewhere in Scotland, it is the job of a RICS qualified Surveyor to undertake an inspection and evaluate your property to be able to file a full report. But what is it that surveyors actually do? What does RICS mean? What can you expect from a surveyor when they attend your property for the first time? In this guide, we will take a closer look and find out.

What to Expect From Your Surveyor
A RICS qualified surveyor, supplied by a team such as Home Report Scotland, will attend your property and will make sure that they take down any details which may affect the value and potential sale. It is their role to make sure that your home is accurately valued and that any details regarding structural problems or notable ongoing concerns are fully detailed in a report. This way, you can be sure that your buyers receive an honest and accurate depiction of what to expect from your home.

Your Surveyor Visit
On your surveyor visit, an expert will request permission to walk around your home and inspect fixtures and fitments which will allow them to form an opinion of condition. Will they access the loft? Yes! where safe to do so. Will they go under the floor? Yes! where safe to do so. They are fully trained and audited to look for issues and features which will be essential knowledge for potential buyers and help you be an informed seller. As expert valuers they will be able to make a judgement on how the condition of your home affects value. You will then be supplied with a full report on condition and value. You can either act on this (you don’t have to!), or you can advise your buyers of action suggested in your home report.

What is RICS?
RICS stands for ‘The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ This is a professional body with a Royal Charter whose members have to act in the best interests of the public – you! This means that an RICS valuer or surveyor will be working to national standards. Therefore, an RICS valuer will not only have a wealth of expertise at their disposal but will also be able to carry out home surveys in line with regulatory standards. All of our Surveyors are RICS Qualified and are regulated valuers!

When Do I Book a Surveyor?
Don’t worry. As part of any home report request, we will arrange for our Surveyors at Harvey Donaldson & Gibson to attend your property for a thorough, professional assessment. They will be able to take down any and all necessary details for your report. It’s so important that you file a home report before you put your home up for sale!

Contact Home Report Scotland today for any advice or assistance you may need with regard to surveying on 0141 227 6198 today.

What is an Energy Performance Certificate and How is it Calculated?

As part of any full Home Report Glasgow or elsewhere, you will be required to produce an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). You may have seen these certificates before when buying a home or even associated with certain household products which can use electricity. We’re all fairly familiar with seeing these certificates, then – but what do they actually do? How are they calculated? And why do they make up such an important part of any Home Report?

What is an EPC?
An energy performance certificate, or EPC, is a legal requirement of anyone who may be buying, renting or choosing to sell a property. This means the following data may be included, based on inspection of your property but not your usage:

• Heating costs (generic)
• The costs of lighting a property (generic)
• Potential carbon emissions (generic)
• Hot water running costs (generic)

An EPC is therefore important in that it helps us to understand how homes can affect the wider environment. It’s also an essential resource for buyers. An EPC is always requested and supplied as part of a full home report and our experts are qualified and accredited to supply EPC’s. .

How are EPCs Calculated?
EPCs are calculated on a sliding scale. This means that a property may be graded from A to G. Similarly to the school grading system, you want an A more than you do an F! A-graded homes are the most energy-efficient and will, therefore, need less money to run electricity, gas and water on a regular basis.

Surveyors will analyse various aspects of your home in order to build a comprehensive and accurate EPC. A domestic EPC will analyse, construction, insulation and space and water heating to calculate energy efficiency.

Surveyors will need to undertake a number of thorough tests to be able to accurately detail the energy performance of your home. It’s always worth asking our experts here at Home Report Scotland to find out more!

When Do I Need an EPC?
While EPCs are produced with all comprehensive Home Reports Glasgow and elsewhere they have a shelf life of 10 years assuming no significant changes occur!

Find Out More
Need to know more about EPCs as part of the Home Report process? We’re here to help. A full EPC will be supplied by our chartered surveyors as part of a wider survey approach. Unsure what to expect? Call us or go online to learn more from our team.

You can call 0141 227 6198 for your free quote for a home report Glasgow, Edinburgh and beyond. Alternatively, request a free quote from us online without obligation!

Frequently Asked Questions About Home Reports

Are you new to selling a property? Worried about getting everything in place for potential buyers? Don’t panic. Home Report Scotland is here to ensure you have plenty of guidance and care in making sure that you provide buyers with as much information as possible about your home.

But what is a Home Report? Why do you need one? And how easy is it to arrange for one to take place?

In this guide, we’ll look at a few of the more frequently asked questions we can answer.

Frequently Asked Questions: What is a Home Report?

A home report is a collection of report that helps your buyers to understand a little more about your property. For example, they may wish to know about the potential running costs, council fees, accessibility and parking arrangements available.

They may also want to know about any potential work which may be required in the long term. It is a report that lays everything bare for buyers to understand!

What is Included in a Home Report?

Home reports are generally broken down into three sections:

• A Single Survey with Mortgage Valuation, which looks at the condition of your building, and provides a Market Value.

• An energy survey or Energy Performance Certificate, which assesses a property’s energy efficiency and environmental impact.

• A Property Questionnaire, which looks at accessibility, parking, council matters and any other additional fees which may be involved, and is completed by a seller.

Who Can Carry out a Home Report?

Home reports can be handled by trained experts – RICS qualified Surveyors.

It’s important you find a team who is backed by experience, quality and is fair. Home Report Scotland is supported by Harvey Donaldson & Gibson, who are nationally-renowned surveyors with years of expertise.

When Do I Need to File a Report?

We generally advise that a report is requested before you put a property on the market – it is a legal requirement. This is so that any data buyers may wish to access is readily available for them before they need to make any requests and that you as a seller are well informed.

You may also need to refresh your report if your property remains on the market for a lengthy period – 3 months to be precise but not every 3 months, just when your property sells after this stage!

How Much do Home Reports Cost?

A Home Report in Glasgow, Edinburgh, Inverness, Aberdeen or Dundee or elsewhere can vary in terms of costs. Our recommendation to you will always be to consult our team in the first instance if you would like a free quote. There is no obligation, and we can quote either through our online service or over the phone as you require.

Getting a home report doesn’t have to be difficult or even costly.

We will make sure to keep you up to speed on the whole process and will always offer you a competitive quote that you can feasibly afford.

Call us on 0141 227 6198 before you take your home to market!

Types of Survey

If you’re looking to appeal to the right home buyer, you are going to need to consider what they’re looking for! Before you sell your home, it is always important to make sure you file a Home Report Scotland or elsewhere. Surveys and reports are fantastic at not only helping to answer plenty of questions you would otherwise have to field yourself, but also to ensure your buyer has greater confidence in the sale.

But while a Home Report is required before you sell your home what other types of survey are there? Let’s take a quick look.

Home Reports
A home report will offer buyers everything they need to know as far as condition and value are concerned – they are a legal requirement for marketing a house in Scotland. Think of a report as your way of being upfront and honest with any buyers keen to make you an offer. A home report will include:

• A single survey and generic mortgage valuation, which will assess the condition and value of your property
• An energy survey or EPC, which will assess utility costs and energy impacts
• A property questionnaire or PQ, which will identify any further costs and queries your buyers may ask

Getting a home report Glasgow, Edinburgh or elsewhere is easy – but you’ll need to make sure you have the right team and RICS qualified surveyors to help you! Used as home buyer’s report, this will include a valuation of your property and will ensure your buyers are fully prepared to run the household.

Mortgage Valuation Reports
Otherwise known as a scheme 1 survey, this may be requested by some buyers and mortgage lenders as an alternative to a full home report if your house is not being marketed on the open market, whether with an agent or privately. As its name suggests, a valuation survey will essentially look closely at the value of your property. This report can cost anything from around £200 and is considered one of the more economic surveys, but it will need to detail any and all defects and structural problems which may be evident in your property. It is not as thorough as a home report, which may mean more details could be requested.

Full Structural Survey or Building Survey
This type of survey is considered the most expensive. It is also the most in-depth. If your buyers wants to know more about he condition of your property, this survey can be carried out on request. It’s possible that a full structural survey will be requested if you are handling property of some age or character or a listed building. For many buyers, it’s an essential guide on what they can expect from certain properties.

Home Report Guidance
Here at Home Report Scotland, we operate with the backing of Harvey Donaldson & Gibson Chartered Surveyors. That means all the work we carry out is fully authorised and within legal remits – and accepted by all mortgage lenders. It also means you get the thorough, comprehensive surveying and report filing that your buyers will need in order to make you an offer.

Home reports can help to sell your home! To find out more, call us on 0141 227 6198 today.