Moving House
I have been offline for a couple of weeks as we have moved house from the wilds of the sticks (middle of nowhere, and when I say the middle of nowhere it really was), to the centre of town. The sigh of relief from all of us here as we transitioned to pretty much slap bang in the centre of town, was practically audible. The process of selling our last house and buying our new one has to have been the most painful experience, bar bereavement, of my adult life. That might sound like an exaggeration but England is well known for making the house buying and selling process unnecessarily complex and prone to failure. There were numerous occasions during the whole affair when we were convinced that either the sale or the purchase, or both, would fall through.
One of the big failings of our conveyancing process in England is the way we have properties surveyed. In Scotland prospective buyers must produce a home report. This combines a property survey and valuation, a property questionnaire and an energy report. Anyone interested in purchasing the property can ask the agent or seller to see the report. The report must be made available within 9 days. If one is not forthcoming in that time scale the seller can be reported to Trading Standards. The survey will contain details on a visual inspection of the property and the surveyor’s own valuation of the property. Repairs that are considered urgent are flagged as such. The prospective buyer then considers if they can shoulder the cost of repairs and can walk away at that point without incurring any penalties.
In England, the seller of a property is only required to provide an energy report. This means that the onus and expense of conducting a property survey is on the prospective buyer. Surveys can only be conducted when the memorandum of sale is passed from purchaser’s agent to all respective parties including solicitors. It serves as a formal document that the offer has been made an accepted by the seller. Then the purchaser can organise the survey of the property they want to buy. A basic valuation, usually required for anyone wanting to secure a mortgage, is usually shouldered by the purchaser. For properties under £500,000 the cost is usually between £100-£250. Property surveys are usually conducted by surveyors who belong to the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors or RICS. Basic Level one surveys, suitable for new homes, cost in the region of £300-£900 depending on the size of the property. A level two survey gives more detail regarding the need for and the costs of potential repairs. This survey would cost between £400-£1000 again depending on the size of the property. Level 3 surveys are usually required where a property has been significantly extended or is an older property. The survey looks at the structure, fabric and condition of the property looking at visible defects and potentially hidden flaws. The costs range from £600 to £1500 according to property size.
When we put a property up for sale and accept an offer we are then responsible for filling in a TA6 Property Information Form. This is a detailed questionnaire covering building works, boundaries, neighbour disputes, utilities, and council tax. The seller must disclose any issues affecting the property. In our case, we had a pin hole leak underneath the bathroom floor which led to a protracted insurance-based drying out and refurbishment project stretching from July 2025 to January 2026. This would heavily impact our insurance premiums, but not the premiums of the buyers. Insurance companies calculate risk not only on the condition of a property and possible hazards but also on the likelihood that the policy holder would claim on insurance. In effect it is a very cunning way of insurers making sure that they either make their money back through hefty premiums, or deter the policy holder from claiming in the first place. Tip for policy holders. Only claim if you are absolutely certain that you cannot shoulder the cost of repairs yourself.