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Can I Get a Homebuyers or Building Survey During the Pandemic?

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Booking a homebuyers or building survey during COVID-19

There’s no doubt that the pandemic has changed how we live our lives, but as we slowly go back to work and businesses reopen, the property market is getting moving again. You might wonder whether you can book a survey during the pandemic, and the simple answer is yes, you can!

You’ll need to have a valuation of your new property if you’re planning on taking out a mortgage. This lets your lender know that the property is suitable security for the mortgage but it won’t provide you with a detailed survey of the condition of the property. You can arrange two different types of property surveys – a Homebuyers Survey or a Building Survey. If you’re not sure which to go for, we’ve written a handy post that will help you choose between survey options.

While the coronavirus pandemic may have caused your move to fall through, or delayed your moving plans, the housing market is reopening following the current government guidelines on moving house.  It’s best to check with your mortgage providers and your bank in case you’ve got a bit of leeway when it comes to procedures that should be completed before your mortgage is approved, but our Chartered Surveyors can safely carry out Homebuyers Surveys and Building Surveys as long as the social distancing and sanitisation guidelines are followed.

Carrying out a survey during the pandemic

There are several regulations you should be aware of when it comes to the booking process for your survey and when the Chartered Surveyor arrives to survey your property:

  • Although it’s not very likely that you’ll need any viewings before the survey is booked, any initial viewings that might need to take place before the surveyor carries out Homebuyers or Building Surveys should ideally be virtual – either on a live video call, or by sending photographs and videos to the surveyor.
  • Sanitise touchpoints within the property before the surveyor arrives, and after they leave. This includes things you might forget, like door handles and light switches!
  • The government guidelines recommend that while someone from outside your household is inside your property, you stay outside. If you’re unable to stay outside, we recommend that you stay at least 2 metres away from the surveyor and wear a face covering to protect everyone inside the property.
  • If you or someone in your household is shielding or is in isolation, you should not attend the property while the surveyor is present. You should aim to reschedule your survey if this is the case.
  • If you are particularly worried about the risk of infection, please speak to our team and we can put your mind at ease. We are happy to follow extra measures to keep everyone involved safe.

A benefit of booking a survey via Survey2Go is that we can carry out the initial quote online – enter the value of your property into our quick quote calculator to receive an email with a quote. If you’re happy with your quote, you can get in touch to book your survey, without having to come into the office or into contact with anyone but your surveyor.

Moving house is a stressful experience – and moving during a pandemic is much worse! – but hopefully, we’ve put your mind at ease when it comes to booking a survey during the pandemic.