If you like reading about the property market, you may have noticed that, over recent years, there has been something of a trend away from “let the buyer beware” and towards seller disclosure. In fact, buyers can now take legal action against sellers if they can demonstrate that the seller deliberately mislead them. Of course, they key words in that sentence are “demonstrate” and “deliberately”. Sellers can only disclose what they know and in law a person is innocent until proven guilty, which means that the onus is on you to prove that the actively failed to disclose something to you, rather than that they simply didn’t know it. That’s why a property survey can be a wise precaution.
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Surveyors work directly for buyers
Sellers choose the estate agent they want to use to sell their home and the estate agent acts for them, not for the buyer. Insofar as they legally can, it is the estate agent’s job to highlight a home’s good points and draw attention away from any potential flaws it has. Buyers choose surveyors and the surveyor works for the buyer. It is the surveyor’s job to give an accurate and objective report of the condition of the property so that the buyer can make an informed decision as to whether or not its price is reasonable.
Surveys versus valuations
A survey is undertaken on behalf of the buyer and looks at the condition of the home so that the buyer can make an informed decision as to whether or not the terms of the purchase are reasonable. A valuation is undertaken on behalf of a potential mortgage lender and simply assesses the value of the home and whether or not the home can be used as collateral for a mortgage. While you could reasonably see a valuation as being a form of home survey, it has to be clearly understood that it is a very “light touch” survey which offers very little in the way of hard information to the purchaser.
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