As Chartered Building Surveyors, we specialise in building surveys of traditional, listed and historic buildings in the locality, including the Lizard peninsular, Helford River, the Roseland peninsular, Truro, Falmouth, Helston, Penzance, St Ives and throughout Cornwall. Whether you are buying a home or an investment property, you are making a huge purchase and committing your money to a physical asset.  A pre-purchase survey will not only give you peace of mind but also the knowledge up front of what is wrong with your chosen property. With the information from the survey you might re-consider whether to buy the property or use the unbiased information you have to renegotiate the price. If you find for example, your prospective property needs £15,000 of roof repairs, it is reasonable to ask for £15,000 off the price. Alternatively, you might ask the seller to fix the problems before you buy.

 

We offer the following two types of building surveys:

 

•  Walk & Talk – an initial inspection usually with you and the estate agent prior to making an offer.  This preliminary inspection is approximately 30 minutes  long with a verbal report as the inspection takes place.  Major issues will be highlighted and advice offered before enlisting a solicitor and incurring their fees.  Designed to set your mind at ease but not a substitute for a full structural building survey. Advice can also be offered with regards to planning permission and building regulations for any proposed internal works and/or extensions, conversions etc.

 

•  Building Survey – an in-depth report written in a free text format and tailored to the individual property or client.  Recommended for any historic buildings and/or where building works are intended.  The report will provide you with detailed information about the construction of the property, give technical advice on any defects present and how these issues should be rectified.  Any substantial defects found can be used to negotiate on the buying price, often more than outweighing the cost of the initial survey.  

 

Please note we do not undertake the following types of surveys:

 

Valuation Survey: this type of survey is typically undertaken on behalf of a mortgage lender, to inform them whether the property is suitable for a mortgage. It provides very little advice in the way of issues or considerations.

 

Homebuyers Surveys: these surveys are generally only suitable for recently built properties or properties in good condition.  Homebuyers surveys include a ‘proforma’ report which operates on a traffic light system and typically includes standard phrases.