Why It Is Important To See A Property Survey Before Signing On The Dotted Line

A property survey is an exercise in which a building is thoroughly checked before it is sold

. A report is prepared at the end of the process. The survey report will give the surveyor's overall views on the property, and will also go into specific details, particularly if there are problem areas to be documented.

One of the most important parts of a property survey is to look at the roof of a building. The aim of this part of the survey is to ensure that the roof is structurally sound, and does what it should do. The roof needs to keep the rain out, so the tiling will be thoroughly checked to make sure that it is effective. Chimneys can be a problem area, particularly large, tall ones. If the brickwork is unsound, the chimney could collapse and fall through the roof into a top floor bedroom, or it could fall and be supported by the roof, dropping to the garden or the pavement with potentially fatal consequences.

Another area that a property survey will look at is the state of the structural timbers of a building. This will of course have relevance to the state of the roof. The structural timbers should be in a good condition, if they are not there could be a risk of the whole building collapsing. One kind of detrimental situation that can occur with structural timber is dry rot, which is a form of fungal infection that causes the wood to degenerate into crumbling powder. Another form of degeneration is woodworm, where the wood becomes weakened by numerous holes caused by woodworms boring through the timber.

A property survey will also take account of the electrical system of a building. This is important as an electrical fault could cause a building to catch fire or it could cause someone to be electrocuted. Some buildings may have very old electrical systems that were installed using materials that would never be allowed today. Another issue is wiring that has been done on a do it yourself basis. Such wiring may be extremely dangerous, and an accident just waiting to happen.

The plumbing of a building will also be looked at during a property survey. Problems can result for the person buying the property if the plumbing is defective. A serious leak could ruin a property or, if the property is an apartment, a serious leak could ruin the apartment or apartments below. This could result, not only in bad relations with the people affected, but also potential lawsuits as well.

A properly conducted property survey will therefore be a vital tool in the decision-making process relating to whether or not to go ahead and purchase a property. Such surveys should always be done by suitably qualified professionals who have the necessary skills to enable them to do the job properly. Otherwise the survey may not be worth the paper it is written on.

by: James JR Robinson

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