The seller has engaged the surveyors to provide the Single Survey Report and a generic Mortgage Valuation Report for lending purposes. The seller has also engaged the surveyors to provide an energy report in the format prescribed by the accredited energy assessment company.
The surveyors are authorised to provide a transcript or retype of the generic Mortgage Valuation Report on a lender specific pro-forma. Transcript reports are commonly requested by brokers and lenders. The transcript report will be in the format required by the lender but will contain the same information, inspection date and valuation figure as the generic Mortgage Valuation Report and the Single Survey. The surveyors will decline any transcript request which requires the provision of information additional to the information in the Single Survey Report and the generic Mortgage Valuation Report until the seller has conditionally accepted an offer to purchase made in writing.
Once the seller has conditionally accepted an offer to purchase made in writing the purchaser’s lender or conveyancer may request that the surveyors provide general comment on standard appropriate supplementary documentation. In the event of a significant amount of documentation being provided to the surveyors, an additional fee may be incurred by the purchaser. Any additional fee will be agreed in writing.
If information is provided to the surveyors during the conveyancing process which materially affects the valuation stated in the Single Survey Report and generic Mortgage Valuation Report, the surveyors reserve the right to reconsider the valuation. Where the surveyors require to amend the valuation in consequence of such information, they will issue an amended Single Survey Report and generic Mortgage Valuation Report to the seller. It is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that the amended Single Survey Report and generic Mortgage Valuation Report are transmitted to every prospective purchaser.
The individual surveyor will be a member or fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors who is competent to survey, value and report upon residential property. *
If the surveyors have had a previous business relationship within the past two years with the seller or seller’s agent or relative to the property, they will be obliged to indicate this by ticking the adjacent box.
The surveyors have a written complaints handling procedure. This is available from the offices of the surveyors at the address stated.
The surveyors will not provide an amended Single Survey Report on the Property, except to correct factual inaccuracies.
The Single Survey Report will identify the nature and source of information relied upon in its preparation.
The surveyor shall provide a Market Value of the property, unless the condition of the property is such that it would be inappropriate to do so. A final decision on whether a loan will be granted rests with the lender who may impose retentions in line with their lending criteria. The date of condition and value of the property will be the date of inspection.
Prior to 1 December 2008, purchasers normally obtained their own report from their chosen surveyor. By contrast, a Single Survey is instructed by the seller and made available to all potential purchasers in the expectation that the successful purchaser will have relied upon it. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors’ rules require disclosure of any potential conflict of interest when acting for the seller and the purchaser in the same transaction. The Single Survey may give rise to a conflict of interest and if this is of concern to any party, they are advised to seek their own independent advice.
The report and any expressions or assessments in it are not intended as advice to the seller or purchaser or any other person in relation to an asking price or any other sales or marketing decisions.
The report is based solely on the property and is not to be relied upon in any manner whatsoever when considering the valuation or condition of any other property.
If certain minor matters are mentioned in the report, it should not be assumed that the property is free of other minor defects.
Neither the whole nor any part of the report may be published in any way, reproduced, or distributed by any party other than the seller, prospective purchasers and the purchaser and their respective professional advisers without the prior written consent of the surveyors.
The report is prepared with the skill and care reasonably to be expected of a competent residential surveyor who is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
The report is addressed to the seller and was prepared in the expectation that it (or a complete copy) along with these Terms and Conditions (or a complete copy) would (or, as the case might be, would have been) be disclosed and delivered to
The surveyors acknowledge that their duty of skill and care in relation to the report is owed to the seller and to the purchaser. The surveyors accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever in relation to the report to persons other than the seller and the purchaser. The seller and the purchaser should be aware that if a lender seeks to rely on this report they do so at their own risk. In particular, the surveyors accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever to any lender in relation to the report. Any such lender relies upon the report entirely at their own risk.
The surveyors undertake to the seller that they will prepare a generic Mortgage Valuation Report which will be issued along with the Single Survey. It is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that the generic Mortgage Valuation Report is provided to every potential purchaser.
The surveyors undertake that on being asked to do so by a prospective purchaser, or his/her professional adviser or lender, they will prepare a transcript Mortgage Valuation Report for lending purposes on terms and conditions to be agreed between the surveyors and lender and solely for the use of the lender and upon which the lender may rely. The decision as to whether finance will be provided is entirely a matter for the lender. The transcript Mortgage Valuation Report** will be prepared from information contained in the report and the generic Mortgage Valuation Report.
All intellectual property rights whatsoever (including copyright) in and to the Single Survey Report, excluding the headings and rubrics, are the exclusive property of the surveyors and shall remain their exclusive property unless they assign the same to any other party in writing.
The surveyors are entitled to refrain from delivering the report to anyone until the fee and other charges for it notified to the seller have been paid. Additional fees will be charged for subsequent inspections and reports.
The seller will be entitled to cancel the inspection by notifying the surveyor’s office at any time before the day of the inspection.
The surveyor will be entitled not to proceed with the inspection (and will so report promptly to the seller) if after arriving at the property, the surveyor concludes that it is of a type of construction of which the surveyor has insufficient specialist knowledge to be able to provide the inspection satisfactorily. The surveyor will also be entitled not to proceed if after arriving at the property, the surveyor concludes that the property is exempt under Part 3 of The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 as detailed in the (Prescribed Documents) Regulations 2008. If there is a potential threat to their health or personal safety, the inspection may be postponed or cancelled, at the surveyor’s discretion.
In the case of cancellation or the inspection not proceeding, the surveyor will refund any fees paid by the seller for the inspection and report, except for expenses reasonably incurred and any fee due in the light of the final paragraph of this section.
In the case of cancellation by the seller, for whatever reason, after the inspection has taken place but before a written report is issued, the surveyor will be entitled to raise an invoice equivalent to 80% of the agreed fee.
If there is any incompatibility between these Terms and Conditions and the report, these Terms and Conditions take precedence.
The Single Survey is a report by an independent surveyor, prepared in an objective way regarding the condition and value of the property on the day of the inspection, and who is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It includes an energy report as required by statute and this is in the format of the accredited energy company. In addition, the surveyor has agreed to supply a generic mortgage valuation report.
The inspection is a general surface examination of those parts of the property which are accessible: in other words, visible and readily available for examination from ground and floor levels, without risk of causing damage to the property or injury to the surveyor.
All references to visual inspection refer to an inspection from within the property at floor level and from ground level within the site and adjoining public areas, without the need to move any obstructions. Any references to left or right are taken facing the front of the property.
The inspection is carried out with the seller’s permission, without causing damage to the building or contents. Furniture, stored items and insulation are not moved.
Unless identified in the report the surveyor will assume that no harmful or hazardous materials have been used in the construction. The presence or possible consequences of any site contamination will not be researched.
The surveyor will not carry out an asbestos inspection and will not be acting as an asbestos inspector in completing a Single Survey of properties that may fall within the Control of Asbestos in the Workplace Regulations. In the case of flats, it will be assumed that there is a duty holder, as defined in the Regulations and that a register of asbestos and effective management plan are in place, which does not require any expenditure, or pose a significant risk to health. No enquiry of the duty holder will be made.
The report will be prepared by the surveyor who carried out the property inspection and will describe various aspects of the property as defined by the headings of the Single Survey report with the comments being general and unbiased. The report on the location, style and condition of the property, will be concise and will be restricted to matters that could have a material effect upon value and will omit items that, in the surveyor’s opinion, are not significant. If certain minor matters are mentioned, it should not be interpreted that the property is free of any other minor defects.
Throughout the report, the following repair categories will be used to give an overall opinion of the state of repair and condition of the property.
Category 1: No immediate action or repair is needed
Category 2: Repairs or replacement requiring future attention, but estimates are still advised
Category 3: Urgent repairs or replacement are needed Failure to deal with them may cause problems to other parts of the property or cause a safety hazard. Estimates for repairs or replacement are needed now.
WARNING: If left unattended, even for a relatively short period, Category 2 repairs can rapidly develop into more serious Category 3 repairs. The existence of Category 2 or Category 3 repairs may have an adverse effect on marketability, value and the sale price ultimately achieved for the property. This is particularly true during slow market conditions when the effect can be considerable.
Parts of the property, which cannot be seen or accessed, will not be reported upon and this will be stated. If the surveyor suspects that a defect may exist within an unexposed area and which could have a material effect upon the value, he may recommend further investigation by specialist contractors.
Surveyors are not equipped or qualified to test the services and therefore no comment can be interpreted as implying that the design, installation and function of the services are in accordance/compliance with regulations, safety and efficiency expectations. However, comment is made where there is cause to suspect significant defects or shortcomings with the installations. No tests are made of any services or appliances.
A section is included to help identify the basic information interested parties need to know to decide whether to view a property.
A section is included that makes provision for an energy report, relative to the property. The surveyor will collect physical data from the property and provide such data in a format required by an accredited energy company.
The surveyor cannot of course accept liability for any advice given by the energy company.
The last section of the report contains matters considered relevant to the conveyancer (solicitor). It also contains the surveyor’s opinion both of the market value of the property and of the re-instatement cost, as defined below.
“Market Value” is the estimated amount for which a property should exchange on the date of valuation between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s-length transaction after proper marketing wherein the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion. In arriving at the opinion of the Market Value the surveyor also makes various standard assumptions covering, for example, vacant possession; tenure and other legal considerations; contamination and hazardous materials; the condition of un-inspected parts; the right to use mains services; and the exclusion of curtains, carpets etc. from the valuation. In the case of flats, the following further assumptions are made that:
Any additional assumption, or any found not to apply, is reported.
“Re-instatement cost” is an estimate for insurance purposes of the current cost of rebuilding the property in its present form unless otherwise stated. This includes the cost of rebuilding the garage and permanent outbuildings, site clearance and professional fees, but excludes VAT (except on the fees).
Sellers or prospective purchasers may consider it prudent to instruct a re-inspection and revaluation after a period of 12 weeks (or sooner if appropriate) to reflect changing circumstances in the market and/or in the physical condition of the property.
* Which shall be in accordance with the current RICS Valuation Standards (“The Red Book”) and RICS Codes of Conduct.***
** Which shall be in accordance with the current RICS Valuation Standards (“The Red Book”) and RICS Rules of Conduct***
Tel: 0131 313 0444
E-mail: survey@dhkk.co.uk
'Dixon Heaney Kean Kennedy' is a trading name of 'DHKK Limited', registered in Scotland with company number SC339964.
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