RICS Home Survey Level 2

Be aware that a mortgage valuation is not a survey.

For a valuation, your mortgage lender will make a brief inspection of the property to satisfy themselves that the property is worth the money they are lending you. Their report will include a few lines of general advice, but this is NOT a survey.

What is a RICS Home Survey Level 2

The RICS Home Survey Level 2 (formerly RICS HomeBuyer Report) was introduced by the RICS as a cost-effective method of minimising risk. It is suitable for a conventional house, flat or bungalow, built from common building materials and in reasonable condition.

It provides you with enough information to help you decide whether or not to proceed with the purchase, before you commit yourself. It highlights only urgent or significant defects in a property’s condition, and the need for repairs and/or replacements that you should be aware of before exchanging contracts.

What’s included in Home Survey Level 2

Background information on the property and location

A conditional assessment of all building elements

Condition of the building structure, timbers and checking woodworm or rot

Damp test results taken from the walls

Details of urgent problems which should receive specialist attention before signing a contract

Details of major faults in easy to get to parts of the property that may affect its value

Although a summary of the survey will be present at the front of the report and a reminder of the urgent repairs will be at the end, it is always worth reading the report in full. The Home Survey is easily understood – written in plain English rather than technical jargon.

For easy reference, the report will give a condition rating for each element: