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Home Survey Checklist: What to Ask Before and After Your Survey
Buying a home involves decisions that cannot be made from photographs, a short viewing or a mortgage valuation alone. A well-briefed surveyor can help you understand the building's condition, the significance of visible defects and the investigations that may be needed before you become legally committed.
This home survey checklist explains what to do before the inspection, which questions to ask and how to use the report afterwards. It is relevant to buyers across England and Wales, including Liverpool and Merseyside, Greater Manchester, Cheshire, Lancashire, North Wales, Leeds, Sheffield, Stoke and the wider North.
Start by choosing the right survey scope
The first question is not simply whether to have a survey. It is whether the proposed service is suitable for the property and the decisions you need to make.
RICS explains the purpose and different levels of home survey in its consumer guide to home surveys. The current RICS Home Survey Standard provides the professional framework for consistent residential survey services.
A Level 2 Home Survey is commonly suited to conventional properties that appear to be in reasonable condition. A Level 3 Building Survey provides a more detailed assessment and is often more appropriate for older, altered, extended, unusual or visibly defective buildings.
Tell the surveyor if the property is listed, in a conservation area, of non-standard construction, significantly altered, vacant or affected by a particular concern. These facts can change the recommended scope.
Information to send before the inspection
A survey is more useful when the surveyor understands the purchase and your concerns.
Before the visit, provide as much of the following as is available:
The sales particulars and full property address.
The agreed purchase price.
The property's approximate age and construction, if known.
Details of extensions, loft conversions, wall removals or other alterations.
Information supplied by the seller about flooding, movement, damp, roof repairs or insurance claims.
Your own photographs and notes from viewings.
Any concerns about cracks, uneven floors, staining, ventilation, the roof, or the neighbouring development.
The estate agent's access arrangements and any areas that may be locked, occupied or obstructed.
Your intended works, especially if you plan to extend, remodel or improve energy performance.
The surveyor should remain independent and form a professional opinion from the evidence available. Your information does not determine the findings, but it helps ensure that important questions are considered within the agreed service.
Questions to ask before the survey
Is this the right level of survey for this property?
Describe the building honestly and ask the surveyor to confirm that the service is appropriate. A lower-cost inspection that is too limited for a complex property can leave important questions unresolved.
What areas will and will not be inspected?
RICS Home surveys are visual and non-destructive unless a different scope is expressly agreed. Ask about roof spaces, cellars, outbuildings, flat roofs, concealed services and high-level elements. Furniture, stored goods, floor coverings and restricted access can limit inspection.
Where a roof cannot be seen adequately from ground level, the surveyor may recommend another method or a separate roof inspection. Never assume that every concealed or inaccessible component will be assessed. We include the use of a Drone to inspect the roof as standard with our Level 3 Building Survey or as an optional upgrade on our Level 2 Survey.
Can specific concerns be addressed?
Send your concerns in writing. Ask whether they fall within the agreed service and whether any additional investigation is sensible. This creates a clear brief and helps the surveyor focus follow-up advice.
When will the report be delivered?
Agree the likely inspection and reporting timetable before instruction. If your conveyancer or seller has set a target date, tell the surveyor, but leave enough time to understand the findings and arrange further checks.
Documents to discuss with your conveyancer
A home survey and legal due diligence answer different questions. The surveyor assesses physical condition within the agreed scope. Your conveyancer investigates title, rights, restrictions, approvals and other legal matters.
Ask the conveyancer about documents relating to:
Planning permission and building regulations approval for alterations.
Listed building consent where relevant.
Guarantees or warranties for damp treatment, roofing, windows, insulation or structural work.
Electrical, gas and heating records.
Drainage arrangements and shared services.
Boundaries, access rights and party wall matters.
Leasehold responsibilities, service charges and planned major works.
Flood, mining, environmental and other searches appropriate to the location.
The GOV.UK guide to buying a home sets out the wider purchase process for England and Wales. It is useful for understanding where the survey fits alongside finance, searches, conveyancing and exchange.
What to do when the survey report arrives
Do not read only the summary or condition ratings. Work through the whole report, including limitations and recommended next steps. We'd recommend arranging another viewing and walk around with your report to fully understand the findings and recommendations.
Separate urgent matters from routine maintenance
Create three working groups:
Defects that may affect safety, stability, weather-tightness or immediate occupation.
Matters requiring further investigation before exchange.
Routine and longer-term repairs that can be planned after purchase.
A serious rating does not automatically mean that the purchase should end. It means the issue needs appropriate attention. The cause, extent, consequences and likely repair approach matter more than the label alone.
Ask focused follow-up questions
If anything is unclear, ask concise questions that help you make a decision:
What evidence supports the surveyor's opinion?
Is the likely cause established or is further investigation needed?
How urgent is the issue?
Which specialist should investigate or quote?
Could other parts of the building be affected?
Does the defect alter the suitability of the proposed survey level?
Should the conveyancer investigate approvals, guarantees or responsibilities?
Avoid asking the surveyor to guarantee concealed construction or predict an exact repair price from a visual inspection. Where cost matters, obtain properly scoped quotations from suitable contractors or consultants.
Arrange recommended investigations before exchange
Further investigation may be needed for suspected structural movement, drainage defects, electrical installations, heating systems, timber decay, moisture problems, asbestos-containing materials or inaccessible roofs. The correct specialist depends on the issue.
The important point is timing. If the result could change your willingness to proceed, the purchase price or the work required, investigate it before exchange where possible.
Use the report to make a reasoned purchase decision
A report is not a pass or fail certificate. It is evidence for deciding whether to proceed, seek more information, adjust your budget or renegotiate.
When obtaining repair quotations, give each contractor the same written scope so that prices can be compared properly. Consider access, professional fees, scaffolding, opening-up, making good, permissions and contingency, not just the headline trade cost.
If the findings materially change the property's condition or likely expenditure compared with what was known when the offer was made, our guide explains how buyers can negotiate a house price after a survey. Negotiation should be evidence-led and proportionate. A survey is not a tool for reducing an offer simply because routine maintenance exists.
For budgeting context, see our guide to RICS home survey costs across Liverpool, Manchester, Cheshire and Lancashire. Survey fees depend on the property, scope and risk, so obtain a quotation for the specific building.
A practical stage-by-stage checklist
Before instruction
Confirm the most suitable survey level.
Send the property details and your concerns.
Agree scope, fee and expected timescale.
Check that access can be provided.
Tell your conveyancer that the survey is being arranged.
Before inspection
Forward any new seller information.
Identify locked or obstructed areas.
Ask the agent to make keys and safe access available.
Avoid committing to exchange before the report and essential follow-up work.
After receiving the report
Read the entire document.
List urgent defects and further investigations.
Ask the surveyor focused clarification questions.
Send legal points to your conveyancer.
Obtain comparable specialist advice or quotations.
Update your repair and contingency budget.
Decide whether to proceed, renegotiate or withdraw.
When specialist building surveying input is valuable
Some properties need more than a standard purchase report. Period buildings, listed buildings, non-standard construction, extensive alterations and clear structural or moisture concerns can require specialist inspection or a tailored scope.
AMS SURVEYS provides residential building surveying advice across the North of England and North Wales. We combine building pathology, structural awareness and clear reporting so that buyers can understand both the defect and the next practical step.
If you are preparing to buy, request an instant survey quotation and provide the property details and any concerns. We can advise on a proportionate survey scope before you commit.
