PHILIP J COOPER Limited. Chartered Building Surveyors

PHILIP J COOPER Chartered Building Surveyors

Philip J Cooper BSc FRICS MScCHE CEnv

Residential Surveys

Home Buyers Survey

A Home Buyers Survey Report is used for any residential property of recent origins and of conventional construction. This report covers all significant aspects of the property, notes any serious defects and supplies the purchaser with both market and insurance valuations. Unlike the Full Building Survey, any defects found will be mentioned only as a warning to the client that serious defects exist and make appropriate recommendations for further inspection by specialists.

Full Building Survey (formerly known as a Structural Survey)

If the property was built prior to 1950 or is not the usual form of construction, it is more appropriate to have a Building Survey carried out. A Full Building Survey Report provides a detailed report and examines and describes each element of the property individually. A note of it's condition and an opinion as to how or why certain defects have arisen are explained and how, from the surveyors point of view, the problem can be put right. This is the most comprehensive form of inspection and report and includes a photographic record. The inspection covers the roof, load bearing walls, and floors, together with a check for all types of dampness, woodworm attack, and fungal decay of timber. Visual inspection is made of the electrical installations, plumbing, heating and drains as well as all interior fittings, lightweight partitions, ceilings, plastering, staircases, skirting boards, internal doors, kitchen units, fireplaces, sanitary ware and floor coverings. Externally, the condition of fences, driveways, paths and outbuildings is assessed and comment made as to the site and surroundings.

Elemental Building Survey with Services (also known as Roof, Walls, Floors and Services)

This survey covers the roof, load-bearing walls, and floors, together with dampness checks of all types, woodworm and fungal decay of timber as well as visual inspection of the electrical installation, hot and cold plumbing installations, central heating and foul drains. No tests are applied of the services at this stage. The intention is to assess the age of each installation, its condition and whether there could be problems in the foreseeable future. If this appears to be the case, we usually recommend further inspection and testing by qualified specialists.

Elemental Building Survey Only (also known as Roof, Walls and Floors)

This survey covers the roof, load-bearing walls, and floors, together with dampness checks of all types, woodworm and fungal decay of timber. It does not include for electrical installations, plumbing and heating or drains and nor does the report comment upon the interior fitting out of the property – ie; plastering, ceilings, lightweight partitions, internal joinery etc.

New Build Survey (also known as Snagging List)

This report is used for any new property of recent origins and of conventional construction. The report covers all significant aspects of the property which can be visually inspected and takes into account that the property may not have settled down sufficiently for defects to become apparent. It does give the purchaser a check list of ‘snags’ which can be presented to the seller/builder to rectify.

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