Home Buyer Report

Forceten utilise our experience of building and construction methods and finishes together with our appreciation of quality standards in the production of Home Buyer reports for purchasers of re-sale property.

Domestic housing in England and Wales can date back as early as the 16th Century and may even have become listed as properties of historical interest, however the majority of occupied housing stock ranges from around 1900 to present day builds with a variety of building styles, construction methods and finishes applied to these properties. A great number of these properties have been extended, adapted and altered over their lifetime, having had numerous owners, all wishing to stamp their “mark” on the property to make it their own home.

The majority of home owners are conscientious and proud of their property and therefore, take great pains to obtain correct permissions, take professional advice and use professional trades personnel for these adaptations and alterations. Occasionally, and particularly with the current advent of DIY home styling programmes, home owners undertake projects for which they are unqualified themselves, occasionally leading to disaster.

It is frequently reported that potential home buyers make an uninformed decision to buy within eleven seconds of walking through the front door of a property having been swayed by its curb appeal, position and price. After this eleven seconds viewing of the property becomes irrelevant and it is easy to overlook the defects and faults with the property which subconsciously you are no longer looking for.

At Forceten we believe that buyers should make informed decisions when choosing to invest in, what is probably, their largest individual purchase during their life time and for this we offer a service of Home Buyer reports which is a building version of an ‘MOT’ on your prospective home. At the convenience of the vendor we will spend up to three hours in the property inspecting the entire building from chimney to cellar to enable us to produce a comprehensive report on the property. This will include but not be limited to:-

• External grounds, walls fences and access, Health and Safety inspection
• Garage inspection
• Exposed timbers inspection
• External walls inspection
• Internal loft and external roof coverings inspection
• Rainwater goods inspection
• Windows and doors inspection
• Internal timber work inspection
• Conservatory inspection (if applicable)
• Floors and sub floor inspection
• Internal wails and partition walls inspection
• Stairway inspection
• Bathroom and sanitary ware inspection
• Kitchen and fitted units inspection
• Chimneys fires and fireplaces inspection
• Door and window furniture inspection
• Decorative finishes inspection
• Damp location tests

and are made available as a bound printed document also including:-

• Advice on electrical, plumbing and gas installations
• Advice on energy efficiency and EPC (Energy Performance Certificate)
• Rebuilding cost estimate
• Local property price analysis
• Conveyancing advice

Reports typically run to approximately 15 to 20 pages. They are produced in an electronic format and emailed to the purchaser within three days of the inspection. We consider that a second viewing of a property armed with a report of this type which will include photographic references, layman term descriptions and suggested repairs and improvements, to be an invaluable tool in the final decision making process when a property is to be purchased. These reports are supplementary to a mortgage valuation and do not take into account the price to be paid for the property, but do enable further and final negotiations to be supported by documentary evidence should a defect be found. These reports are widely recognised by solicitors as justifiable documents when renegotiating prior to exchange of contracts.

We appreciate that home buying is expensive and that price is always a constraint in the ever spiralling cost of the process. Typically, Home Buyer reports range from £300.00 to £550.00 dependent on the age, size and location of the property, this can be as little as 1% of the overall purchase price and probably less than the seller is paying to advertise the property with an Agent. At present they do not attract VAT.

A sample of the Surveying section of this type of report is available for viewing by clicking here.

Forceten are based in Central England.