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Residential Property

Choosing the right report for your situation is essential. The following reports are available for buying or valuing residential property:

The RICS Home Survey – Level 1 (Available in Berkshire Office areas only)

  • Suitable if you are buying a newly built conventional house, flat or bungalow, built from common building materials. This service includes a a basic inspection, clear ‘traffic light’ ratings of the condition of different parts of the building, services, and the grounds, showing problems that may require varying degrees of attention; a summary of risks to the building grounds, and an assessment of the relative importance of the defects and problems.
  • No tests of the building fabric or services are undertaken. The RICS Home Survey – Level 1 does not include advice on repairs or ongoing maintenance and it does not include a valuation. See the RICS hyperlink above for a full description of the service.

The RICS Home Survey – Level 2 (survey only) (Available in all of our areas). Formerly ‘Homebuyers Report‘.

  • Suitable if you need intermediate information whilst buying or selling a conventional house, flat or bungalow, built from common building materials and in reasonable condition, on a property less then 100 years old.
  • The focus is on assessing the general condition e.g. subsidence, damp, structurally sound. A more extensive inspection of the building, its services and grounds, but still without tests. Concealed areas normally opened or used by the occupiers are inspected if it is safe to do so (typical examples include roof spaces, basements and cellars). The report objectively describes the condition of the different elements and provides an assessment of the relative importance of the defects/problems. See the RICS hyperlink above for a full description of the service.

The RICS Home Survey – Level 2 (survey and valuation) (Available all our areas). As the RICS Home Survey – Level 2 above, but includes:

  • the surveyor’s professional opinion on the ‘market value’ of the property
  • an insurance reinstatement figure for the property
  • a list of problems that the surveyor considers may affect the value of the property.
  • See the RICS hyperlink above for a full description of the service.

The RICS Home Survey – Level 3 (Available in all of areas) Formerly “Building Survey”. Choose this report if dealing with a large, older or run-down property, a building that is unusual or altered, or if you’re planning major works. The most detailed survey level about the structure and fabric of the property, this service includes:

  • a detailed visual inspection of the building, its services and the grounds and is more extensive than a survey level two e.g. every window and door are checked
  • Concealed areas normally opened or used by the occupiers are inspected if it is safe to do so (typical examples include roof spaces, basements and cellars)
  • Although the services are not tested, they are observed in normal operation – in other words, they are switched on or off and/or operated where the occupier has given permission and it is safe to do so. The report objectively describes the form of construction and materials used for different parts of the property. It describes the condition and provides an assessment of the relative importance of the defects/problems. Additionally, it should:
  • describe the identifiable risk of potential or hidden defects in areas not inspected
  • propose the most probable cause(s) of the defects based on the inspection
  • outline the likely scope of any appropriate remedial work and explain the likely consequences of non-repair;
  • The surveyor may also be able to provide an estimate of costs for identified repairs if agreed with you in advance.
  • See the RICS hyperlink above for a full description of the service.

Red Book Valuations are undertaken for:

  • Shared-ownership schemes e.g. housing associations
  • Shared-equity schemes e.g. Target HCA/Homes England
  • Tax Purposes e.g. Capital Gains, Inheritance (Probate)
  • Immigration
  • Charities Act
  • Marketing (Sales/puchases)

Lease extensions/Purchase of Freeholds Valuations and Calculations under Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (as Amended by the Housing Act 1996 and the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002)

Downloadable documents (PDF)

The "Description of the RICS Homebuyer Service" and "Choosing Between Surveys" downloadable information sheets presented on this page may be useful in choosing the correct survey. If you have further queries, please contact our qualified surveyors who are happy to provide free advice about the different surveys available.

We have a quote form based at Surveybooker
Use this form right now for a free quote

Contact us
by email: info@allensmithsurveyors.com
or call any local office
on the telephone numbers below:


Kent (Head Office):

Telephone: 01795 506354
Allen & Smith Chartered Surveyors
Senekol
Southsea Avenue
Minster-on-Sea
Kent ME12 2LU

South London Office:

Telephone: 020 78703384
Allen & Smith Chartered Surveyors
Old Bank House
363 Hither Green Lane
Lewisham
London SE13 6TJ

Berkshire Office:

Telephone: 01189 869963
Allen & Smith Chartered Surveyors
12a Southview Park
Marsack Street
Reading
Oxfordshire RG4 5AF

Essex Office:

Telephone: 01702 840033
Allen & Smith Chartered Surveyors
282 Leigh Road
Leigh-on-Sea
Essex SS9 1BW

Our customers say...

  • Faversham Kent - RICS Homebuyer Service - Kent

    Thanks for accommodating us with an appointment at short notice, and supplying us with our RICS report within days.

    It’s always difficult having to choose any service without prior knowledge of the company but I would definitely use and recommend you to others in the future.

    Thanks again,

  • Valuation service - Commercial Valuation - Essex

    I was very happy with the service especially the time from request, time to pay and results produced. The price was also reasonable as well

    Thanks

  • Valuation Canterbury, Kent CT2 - Residential Property Valuations - Kent

    Thank you for the report which I will forward to Baiba.

    I would just like to express my thanks for the way you have conducted business with us. You have made the experience so easy it's been a real pleasure working with you.

    Best regards

  • Kent survey feedback - Building Survey - Kent

    Goodmorning,
    We would like to thank you for your
    Superb service ...very friendly and helpful from beginning to end. Thank you so much!
    Kindest Regards
    Keith and Julie

  • Property valuation survey in Kent - Residential Valuations - Kent

    I just wanted to say a massive thank you for coming out to value our property and getting back the report so quickly. It was perfect timing as our new addition (baby boy) arrived Thursday morning 😊.

    If I could ask you to send a copy to Orbit, I would really appreciate it

    Thank you again

  • Help to Buy Valuation inspection went ahead as scheduled - Help to Buy valuations - Kent

    Thanks Pam

    Brilliant service from start to finish , MW

  • RICS Survey Level 3 - Report - Building Survey - Dartford, Kent

    Thank you for your email response and for providing all of the helpful information also.

    I just wanted to say thank you for conducting the survey in a professional manner and observation like you did. On further searches which were carried out on the property we established that the property had in fact been…

    Continued...
  • Valuation survey Kent - Keyworker Valuation - Kent

    Thank you for the survey that you arranged for me it was very easy to read and understand, also thank you for all your help especially the hand delivery i would recommend your services with confidence to anyone.

  • Desktop valuation of leasehold interest Essex - Lease Extensions and Freehold Purchase - Essex

    Thank you so much for getting this to us so promptly, we really appreciate it!

  • Help to buy valuation report Essex SS2 - Help to Buy valuations - Essex

    Re my valuers report for Places for People, Thankyou so much for getting my valuation amended so quickly. I really do appreciate all your help.

  • Building survey - Building Survey - Kent

    Perfect thank you Pam and please do thank the surveyor for their additional work.

  • Building survey - Building Survey - Dartford, Kent

    We were very happy with the survey, particularly we were relieved to read that your surveyor believes the extension and loft conversions to be several decades old. This has helped us in our decision to proceed with the purchase of the property. Thank you for a very thorough report.

  • Lease Extension valuation - Lease Extensions and Freehold Purchase - Reading, Berkshire

    Thanks again for the lease extension valuation estimate on my flat.

  • Building survey, Kent - Building Survey - Kent

    I just wanted to say a massive THANK YOU for providing this report so quickly for us. We used your services during our previous move and are so glad we did so again. We will certainly always recommend you to friends and family. You are stars and have really helped us out during a very stressful and time constrained move.…

  • Re: Quote Shared Ownership/Equity Valuation – Bracknell - Shared Ownership Valuation - Reading, Berkshire

    Hi Kelsey, That’s brilliant, thank you for sorting it so quickly!

  • Pre-purchase survey - Building Survey - Reading, Berkshire

    I had initially looked at the property I was buying and could not find any major issues to the untrained eye but decided to use Allen Smith Surveys just as a precaution. I am glad I did, not because they found major problems, but because it put my mind at ease that the property was not going to cause me any stress when I…

    Continued...
  • Thank you for the detailed and comprehensive report. - Commercial Building Survey - Reading, Berkshire

    You had highlighted three ‘red’ areas on the report which we understand and had already considered having the boiler replaced before receiving your report. We will have the fuse box tested once we are installed in the property. Thank you again for your services.

  • Re: Help to buy survey - Help to Buy valuations - Kent

    Thank you so much for all your help. This is brilliant and I can send it off to Target HCA at the weekend.

  • Commercial property survey - Lease Renewal - Essex

    Many thanks for all your help on getting this sorted in such a timely manner.

  • Probate survey - Residential Valuations - Reading

    Thanks. The service was excellent.

  • Level 3 Survey - Building Survey - Reading

    Your firm recently carried out a survey for me at 3 xxxxxx, Wokingham. I wanted to double check if the Surveyor was able to inspect an outer wall of the house which is at the back and only accessible via a neighbouring property. I am intending to repoint the brickwork on the front of the house but I am not presently sure if…

    Continued...
  • Re: RICS Home Survey Level 3 report - RICS Homebuyer Service - Reading

    Thanks so much for the information and getting back to me promptly, and for responding to my enquiries about the costs involved.

  • 106 xxxxx Square - Commercial Building Survey - Essex

    Thank you so much, the report was returned so quickly, it has really exceeded our expectations. The booking process was really easy and the team have been very responsive and helpful. We are pleased with the level of detail in the report and it covers everything we needed.