Surveyors Cost

The cost of a house survey has remained static now for some time and in real terms has dropped.

The cost of being a Chartered Surveyor has risen with expensive insurance premiums, high administration costs for producing the new HomeBuyer Report and having to pay for licenses to be registered as producing HomeBuyer Reports and for the impending Red Book Valuation regulation.

These costs though have been borne by the Surveyor not the consumer. In fact margins have been lowered further due to competition for work resulting in lower fees in many areas. Further pressure will mount next year if and when VAT rises are implemented.

The value of a building survey or a HomeBuyer Report should never be underestimated though. It is possibly one of the areas that home buyers think they can afford to cut out. Not true at all. The importance of a survey is vital now with Lenders concentrating their efforts on looking after their interests only. They are not interested in the specific elements of a property, just an overall opinion of whether it is worth an amount to cover the lending criteria. Any home buyer, would certainly be interested to know this example:

On a recent homebuyer report, a mortgage valuer was at the same property inspecting it for the lender. Whilst looking in the drainage inspection chamber, it was noted to be blocked and potential evidence of a significant problem. The mortgage valuer said he was unable to comment upon it in his Report, as he should not have seen it. Although, if I had not been doing a HomeBuyer Survey, the customer would have been faced with a big problem on the moving in day if the drains were overflowing.

So, the cost of a Survey is always justified, and the consumer is currently lucky enough to get them at very competitive levels. This will not last forever though and prices will eventually have to rise when the market picks up and the lack of good Chartered Surveyors in the industry is found.

Buy to Let Property Investors special survey deal

The property investment market has gathered momentum as rents are expected to rise and buy to let investors return the housing market.

A student buy to let company approached us asking to help with their portfolio purchase in Leeds and since then all I have heard is how the investor looking for high returns is looking again at residential as the way forward, with the RICS quoting in excess of 6% yields for rental properties in Yorkshire.

Our expertise is showing the property investor the extent of works required to make the property habitable for tenants. The Homebuyer Report is perfect for helping clients form an investment opinion given the amount of work required to get it let.

The investment market is so large that we decided to target it fully. To encourage investors to be more prudent and get the right advice we decided to offer discounts for multiple survey requests. And why not, as an investor, if you bought more than one property from a seller, wouldn't you expect a discount?

The trouble with property investment is who do you listen to? The estate agent; they want to sell you a house, the bank; they want to sell you a mortgage, the solicitor; they want you to pull out or take out an insurance policy, the letting agent; they want a regular 12.5% fee, the Government; they want, well lots. THE CHARTERED SURVEYOR, the one you can trust for impartial and honest advice. And if the survey says you are paying too much, then it may save you thousands.

Even if you don't use E Surveyors to find you a RICS regulated Chartered Surveyor, please take professional advice and find one at www.ricsfirms.com

Good Luck with your investment, I am sure you know exactly what you are doing.

The Budget 2010

Purely from a housing market perspective, the 2010 budget brings missed blessings.

As an owner of a property valued at £250,000 and soon to sell, I am delighted with the news that this property will now be exempt from stamp duty for the next two years.

As a Chartered Surveyor, I am again delighted as this will no doubt lead to an increase in sales to first time buyers and potential parents helping their children onto the housing ladder.

The downside is the £1 million plus bracket. This end of the market is likely to stall given the increase in stamp duty to 5%. A £50,000 tax bill for buying a terraced house in London may be a little off putting next year.

Between now and April 2011 though we have an election and clearly these changes may not go ahead.

This summer looks good though, we have been told this week by weather forecasters that we are possibly in for the warmest summer since 1976. This, a World Cup and stamp duty free up to £250,000 - after the winter of discontentment, perhaps the summer of happiness.

House prices fall

According to a national newspaper today, house prices have fallen for the first time in several months. Sky News quote for the first time in ten months.

When we look at the housing market as we come out of a recession we expect instant results, but the difficulties in obtaining mortgages for first time buyers remain. This is bound to affect the housing market and their prices.

I have heard many stories of mortgage brokers who are considering whether to give up their jobs to concentrate on earning income elsewhere. One such adviser told me that the mortgage products are so hard to find. People with low earnings, adverse credit ratings or high loan to values just cannot be accommodated at the moment.

Also, we have seen the stock that went on the market in the summer last year finally sell as estate agents books look smaller and smaller. As they have been on for such a long time, homeowners have in some cases been forced to take low offers to get a sale. this will have caused the average house price to fall.

This is most probably just a stutter. We wait for the weather to warm up, flowers to fill the garden and houses to look attractive for the property brochures. We have alot to look forward to this year: a general election and change of government, a World Cup of such magnitude that has never seen before with an England win and a long hot summer.

So as we look ahead to a year of positivity, we can't think we are ready yet for another property price crash. But of course, if there is a huge increase in houses for sale in the summer, then this could have another negative impact on house prices. Its been a long time though since house prices were this affordable with interest rates so low. Could prices really fall any lower?

Gary Edgar

Chartered Surveyor

www.esurveyors.com

08456 437097

The 2010 Property Market in brief - Gary Edgar - E Surveyors

The property market has picked up and more homes are selling than they have done for some time. Prices achieved have risen and estate agents report that sales are achieved more quickly and closer to asking prices.

Although it is difficult to predict whether this will continue throughout 2010, we have to remember that as we get closer to a general election, central government will not want a property crash and will continue to spin, telling us the recession is over and we are on the road to recovery.

Once the May election is over, a successful World Cup in South Africa will hopefully see the pubs full of football fans enjoying a long hot summer of Rooney goals a plenty. Such confidence in the national football team will see consumers spending and working hard to afford it.

Rooney can't guarantee another 1966, nor can Gordon Brown expect a 1988 boom, but we are certainly hoping for a good performance all the same.

RICS Surveyors fees

In January we saw VAT return to 17.5%, but for customers of E Surveyors, this increase has not affected them.

Surveyors fees have been held at 2009 prices and we hope that these highly competitive prices will encourage more people to opt for a homebuyer report and not to rely on the typical mortgage valuation.

In January, I have personally seen at least two houses with drainage defects that for a mortgage company would not have been considered. I have seen dated electrical systems and older style central heating boilers that would not be considered significant to the value to affect the mortgage security. And sulphate attack to a garage floor, again would a mortgage valuer consider this a defect that may adversely affect the value of the property for security purposes?

Yes, there are many defects we regularly spot on surveys that the mortgage company just do not want to be informed of. We are aware of them, but cannot report on them unless specifically asked to.

So for peace of mind and to protect your biggest investment, ask us what we think we might find in the house you are looking to buy. A quick look at the details on rightmove or primelocation and we can advise you which would be the ideal survey to go for and the things we might look out for.

All this at last years fee scale.