Scottish house move.

alistairolsen

Ive heard rumours about being legally required to provide a survey on the property one is selling.

Can someone advise me on the actual leagal obligations and their costs beyond the usual buying and selling fees and removals?

Cheers

caroline2960

Yes as of December 2008 every property put up for sale must have a Home Report, paid for by the owner. The Home Report is made up of a Survey with a mortgage valuation, an Energy Performace Certificate and a Property Questionaire.

The cost for the preperation of this will differ depending on the size of the property but generally for a standard 3 bed semi the cost will be in the region of £700, which most Surveyors will want in advanc, iepaid up front not taken from the sale proceeds the way EA fees are taken.

The RICS web site will give you details of surveyors in your area

scurr

Has anyone put a house on the market since the information pack became a must?

MenstrieBen

I've not seen many new ones appear around us - which is nice as if there were lots with the survey we may have to look at getting one to be on a level footing.

as it is as we've been on the market from before december 1st the full home pack is not needed. however, an EPC is for all homes sold or leased after jan 4th so we had to pay £80ish for that ;-(

debbieallan

The survey is called a home report and consists of 3 things - a survey, an energy report and a surveyor's report - on a house like mine valued between £100-£200,000 it is about £470. I'm going to put my house up for sale soon so will keep you informed of what it involves.

Giboska

I put my flat up for sale last week. Home report was done by DM Hall, they charged me 400+VAT. After survey was done, I was given draft report for my comments and approval. When everything was agreed between myself and surveyor re: wording, comments etc. home report was made available to my estate agent. I engaged surveyor directly, not through EA. I was given option to repay monthly or when my property is sold. I paid in full when surveyor came round to do his thing...

jamief

We've just paid for ours (£500+VAT, which included a 25% discount).

The Surveyor was round yesterday morning, chatting to him about how absurd the whole thing is - our house is 7 years old and there is no reason whatsoever for it to undergo a full survey! He commented on how ridiculous he though it was too. The report will take about a week to prepare, we can't put the house on the market until then.

Really a ridiculous idea, especially at the moment. Surely it would be wise doing away with this whole idea, otherwise the housing market might slow down even more?

debbieallan

Had my house valued by an EA yesterday, however she said the Home Reports only have 3 months validity which is not what the government website says. Can you guys who've had your Home Report done advise me on this please? Many thanks.

jamief

debbieallan wrote: »

Had my house valued by an EA yesterday, however she said the Home Reports only have 3 months validity which is not what the government website says. Can you guys who've had your Home Report done advise me on this please? Many thanks.

Home Reports valid for 12 months afaik.

However there has been some "discussion" regarding the reports being "refreshed" after 3 months at a cost of £100. This, to my knowledge, is entirely optional.

debbieallan

Thanks you for your reply. I certainly didn't want to fork out another £500 every 3 months in the current climate. £100 bad enough! Seems as though we know more than the EA though!!

jamief

Actually it seems there is no expiry on Home Reports, so the 12 month thing doesn't apply. The 3 month "refresh" is really just an update of the price - at the moment nobody really knows what is going to happen (i.e. how much will the surveyor charge to update the price), but the figure we heard was £100. That might not come to pass though - I hope not!

I know what you mean about the EA - 2 weeks ago when I saw ours, she hadn't even seen a completed Home Report so couldn't tell us about the exact contents of one. Hoping to get ours tomorrow.