Thank you very much. I was really impressed with your prompt call and how quickly we managed to arrange everything.

Once again thank you for your prompt and helpful response. – L Chalmers”

Mr Davidson was friendly and efficient and the certificate was online as promised within 24 hours. The cost of your service was very competitive and we would certainly use your company again for our other properties.”

Buyers are sometimes charged as much as 50% more in commission for a Home Report if they get one through their solicitor or estate agent, but many sellers are not aware that this is the case. Only a Chartered Surveyor and member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is legally qualified to undertake the necessary property survey and produce the Home Report. By going direct to a Surveyor, you will always get best value.

I have to update my Home Report every 12 weeks

The legislation does not impose a set shelf life or validity period for the Home Report.  Once you have obtained a Home Report you have fulfilled your obligation. Decisions as to whether any aspects of the Home Report need to be updated are for sellers to take. For example, if you carry out repairs to the property it may be beneficial to update the report.

As long as you do not take your property off the market for more than four weeks during marketing you are not legally required to update or “Refresh” the report.  Ask your estate agent what commission they are earning if they persuade you to have a Refresh carried out.  Do you really want to incur an unnecessary additional cost every 12 weeks?

My estate agent says the Chartered Surveyor has to be local or the lender will not accept the Home Report.

The only requirement is that the Chartered Surveyor is a Member of the RICS. Due to the quality assurance programme imposed by RICS our Chartered Surveyors are closely monitored to ensure accuracy and consistency.

My estate agent says its worthless unless the company is on every lenders panel

The valuation will not be accepted by lenders after 12 weeks and they will not require a “Refresh” of the valuation. However as stated above the onus is not on the seller to do this. Purchasers often want an independent valuation within the 12 week period.

What is the benefit of paying a large sum for the Home Report?

There is no benefit. The document will look exactly the same wherever you have it produced. Just ensure it is being carried out by a RICS Registered Chartered Surveyor.

As the new Government announces plans to scrap the Home Information Pack (HIP) in England and Wales, some sellers in Scotland are left confused as to what is happening North of the border.

If you’re selling in Scotland, then you will still require a Home Report, not a HIP. There has been no change to the successful Scottish system.

Home Reports and HIPs are different as the HIP does not include a valuation or surveyor’s report.   The legislation for Home Reports was enacted by the Scottish Government and has made buying and selling homes in Scotland fairer and clearer than ever. The government are now being urged to consider adopting the Scottish Home Report in England and Wales.

Home Reports will remain in Scotland.

“Long-standing proposals from the Tories to scrap HIPs (Home Information Packs) for England and Wales (but retaining EPCs) will go ahead.  RICS has called for the reform of HIPs for some time.

The Home Report in Scotland will of course be unaffected – a product which RICS Scotland believes is of real benefit to potential buyers and fully supports.”

Neil Freshwater – RICS Scotland – Policy and Press

Saturday hours are 10am – 4pm. Our weekday hours have also been extended and we are now open Monday – Thursday 8am to 7pm, Friday 9am to 5pm. Our online order facility is available 24/7 as always.

Regards

Mr Ferrigno”

Thank you Mr Ferrigno for taking the time to send us your kind comments.  As always, if anyone would like to give any feedback feel free to leave a comment or email us at enquiries@surveyscotland.com.

Whilst there are some very good, thorough and professional estate agents, there are still too many who are only interested in making their commission. All too often we have had clients who have received incorrect information about Home Reports. Is your estate agent’s preferred Home Report provider really offering something different? The contents of a Home Report are set by the Scottish Government and you can expect a competent service by any RICS Registered Surveyor.

Remember that estate agents are not Chartered Surveyors and require to pass your business onto a surveying firm in every case. Estate Agents should have an obligation to make sellers aware that it is not legally necessary to use their preferred surveyor when selling their home.

Bad Advice

To give a recent example, Rollo Davidson McFarlane refused to market two of our clients’ properties without a Mortgage Valuation Report – even though they had a full Home Report. We often discover that sellers are being incorrectly told that a Mortgage Valuation Report should be included in a Home Report. A Mortgage Valuation Report is not a required document within the Home Report.

How much extra are you being charged for a Mortgage Valuation Report which is considered useless by lenders after 2-3 weeks? I have heard of estate agents who push sellers to have a Mortgage Valuation Report updated every three weeks – at your cost and their financial gain!

Any seller deserves to at least expect honest advice from their agent. Don’t just take our word for it – it is advisable to seek information from independent sources such as the Scottish Government or the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

If you have a complaint about your estate agent please leave a comment.

For more information on Home Reports visit:
RICS – Home Report Guide
Scottish Government – The Home Report Documents

Sellers often complain to us that estate agents do not do enough to justify their commission. A good agent knows how to sell a house, and is unlikely to offer the seller a really poor service. It seems that too many people forget that the agent is employed by the seller to help them to get the best deal for them in every aspect.

How to Advertise

Anyone can put a For Sale sign up outside their home. Anyone can advertise property in the newspaper or online. There are many websites which offer the facility to advertsise online and many prospective buyers who visit them. The vast majority of home buyers now use the internet. Estate agents do not require a professional qualification and nothing they do is especially difficult. It is time to consider if it is worth paying someone thousands of pounds to provide a service which you may be able to do for yourself.

Two things are clear to us – how important the internet is in marketing your property, and what an unpleasant experience it is to deal with most estate agents.

There is lots of good info on the web to help you get started.

Useful links:
How To Sell Your House Privately
Home Report & Online Advertising

Graeme Hartley, Director of RICS Scotland said:

“We launched this campaign because we were concerned about reports from our members telling us that some buyers were paying over the odds for their Home Report with the estate agent or law firm pocketing the difference.

You wouldn’t employ a decorator to fit your boiler so why go to a third party to arrange your Home Report. A surveyor who is a member of RICS can provide a Home Report at the best possible price. Our new website spells out all the advice and information needed and makes it as simple as possible for clients.”

In Aberdeen, Edinburgh and Glasgow you can expect to see posters supporting the campaign as well as in Scottish newspapers, magazines and property-related websites. It’s about time estate agent myths were dispelled!

Thank you again for all the feedback over the years. It helps to keep us motivated!

“I have just received the EPC for my property and wanted to thank you all for the professional, punctual and efficient service your have provided.”

“Thanks for the prompt service. I am delighted with the fast service and quality and accuracy of the report.”

“Thanks for producing the Report so quickly and with what I think is a fair value and summary of the property. I will certainly recommend Survey Scotland to any friends that are looking to have a Home Report produced” Sarah 27/10/09

“Everyone we dealt with in your company were very helpful and pleasant. The service was delivered promptly and efficiently”

“I have very positive feedback for Survey Scotland, excellent value for money, report looked very professional and was processed and available in good time”

“I found the Survey Scotland customer service in particular to be excellent and have already recommended them to friends.” Roger 2/12/09

“Hi, can I say thank you very much for a very efficient service and thank you for being so prompt with the report.” Kerry 24/12/09