The RICS HomeBuyers Report

The RICS Homebuyers report aims to give you professional advice to help you to:

  • make a reasoned and informed decision on whether to go ahead with buying the property
  • take account of any repairs or replacements the property needs
  • consider what further advice you should take before exchanging contracts

It contains:

  • 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
  • advice on repairs and ongoing maintenance
  • issues that need to be investigated to prevent serious damage or dangerous conditions
  • legal issues that need to be addressed before completing your conveyancing; and
  • information on location, local environment and the recorded energy efficiency (where available).

The RICS HomeBuyers Report is in a standard format and includes the following sections:

  • A Introduction to the report
  • B About the inspection
  • C Summary of the condition ratings
  • D About the property
  • E Outside of the property
  • F Inside of the property
  • G Services
  • H Grounds (including shared areas for flats)
  • I Issues for your legal advisers
  • J Risks
  • K Valuation
  • L Surveyor's declaration

Appendices:

  • What to do now
  • Description of the RICS HomeBuyer Service
  • House diagram

The surveyor gives condition ratings to the main parts (or 'elements') of the main building, garage, and some outside elements. The condition ratings are described as follows.

Condition rating 1
No repair is currently needed. The property must be maintained in the normal way.

Condition rating 2
Defects that need repairing or replacing but are not considered to be either serious or urgent. The property must be maintained in the normal way.

Condition rating 3
Defects that are serious and/or need to be repaired, replaced or investigated urgently

NI Not inspected (Inaccessible areas that would normally be reported on are indicated)

More Information On The RICS HomeBuyers Report

The RICS HomeBuyer Report is provided by our Chartered Surveyors in Grantham, Lincoln and Stamford.

An official publication on The RICS HomeBuyer Report and the HomeBuyer service is available to download here:

Download: Description of the RICS HBR Service

The RICS Homebuyer Report is reproduced with the permission of The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors which owns the copyright.