Property Survey Mortgage Advice in London

Once you have made an offer on a property in London, the next step of your mortgage process involves selecting a property survey. This is something that your mortgage advisor in London will help you with.

A property survey is carried out to determine the true value of a property. This can give the lender an idea of whether you have overpaid for the property. Depending on which type of property survey you choose, the survey may also highlight any damages in and outside the property and its overall condition.

What happens if I am paying more than the property’s worth?

If you have had your property survey carried out and it turns out that you are paying more than what the property is worth, your lender may down-value your final mortgage offer. This means that they reduce their initial mortgage offer (in your agreement in principle) to match the value that they think the property is worth according to the property survey.

In most cases, we recommend that you go back to your seller to try to renegotiate your offer, presenting them with your property survey. Hopefully, they will lower their asking price.

In some cases, they may want the full asking price, despite the property survey results. If this happens, you may need to make up the remaining total if you still want the property. If you cannot make up this amount, unfortunately, you may lose out on the property.

If you are a first time buyer in London and need further help with property surveys and understanding how they work, feel free to get in touch with our mortgage advisors in London, they will be more than happy to help!

Different types of property survey

Before you select a property survey, you will need to know the difference between each one and how different properties may require a different type.

The three main types of property surveys include:

  • Mortgage Valuation
  • Homebuyers Report
  • Full Structural Survey

Mortgage Valuation

A Mortgage Valuation is the most basic property survey, that will likely be carried out on all properties at the minimum. This survey will look at the true cost of the property and compare it to the offer that you have placed on the property and the mortgage you’re looking to take out.

This property survey is used for a mortgage valuation only, and will unfortunately not highlight any repairs that are needed on the property. During the survey, you may become aware of obvious defects, however, underlying issues and faults may not be brought to your attention. This is why sometimes getting a higher level of property survey can benefit you more.

Homebuyers Report

A Homebuyers Report looks at structural safety and will highlight issues that need immediate attention. For example, if there is dampness existing within the property, it will be detailed within your Homebuyers Report. You will be given this report by an independent property expert.

To make sure that you are not two different property surveys, it is worth asking whether the mortgage company’s surveyor can carry out this report for you. It is also worth noting that a Homebuyers’ Report may take a few hours to complete.

Full Structural Survey

This type of property survey features everything to do with a property. It included everything a Mortgage Valuation and a Homebuyers Report does, however, provides much more detail and insight into the property.

Depending on the type of property that you are looking to take out a mortgage on, a Full Structural Survey can take up to a day to complete.

As a mortgage broker in London, we would recommend that if you are looking at buying an older property, you should take out a Full Structural Survey on the property before buying it. Older properties tend to cost more to repair, therefore, you would want to know about these costs prior to purchasing the property and discovering the repairs needed further down the line.

Property survey advice London

If you are a first time buyer in London or moving home in London, we are here to help you select the right property survey for you and the property you are looking to buy.

We want to make sure that you make the right decision so that you know everything about the property before buying. In some cases, this could help you save money!

We are looking forward to hearing from you and helping you with your mortgage in London.

Date Last Edited: January 19, 2023