Structural Survey

This is a (hopefully) thorough report on the condition of a property you're planning to buy. It's the job of a surveyor to look around the property, inside and out, and come back with a detailed report on whether the property is structurally sound.

Structural surveys ought to list all the major and minor defects of the building and point out maintenance work which is going to be required in the future.

A structural survey will be more detailed than a home buyer's report and a valuation but you should check before you give a surveyor the go ahead, just exactly what the scope of the survey is going to be. This will help avoid misunderstandings later.

Structural surveys and homebuyers reports are used by buyers as negotiating tools for gaining reductions off the purchase price before exchange of contracts.

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See also: Financial Services, Mortgages