Specialists Surveys
What is this?
Upon occasion, surveyors may recommend that one or more Specialist Surveys be carried out on a property, if they feel that it is important to get more information. These surveys may include, drain surveys, timber and damp reports, infestation surveys, mining reports, flood plain analysis, concrete analysis (mundic reports), radon gas analysis, soil stability tests, etc.
Who is it for?
Surveyors will uses their knowledge of the area in which a property is located to identify the risks to which the property is exposed. As a result, they will want to be wary of the potential for flooding, slippage, subsidence or exposure to radon gas. In addition their knowledge of building types and ages and their initial analysis of the property may indicate to them that the building could be suffering from one or more potentially damaging problems. Specialist surveyors will be able to report on the existence or otherwise of the problems, their extent, the cost to put right and the risks if no corrective action is taken. If you are planning to buy a property where the surveyor has recommended a specialist report, it would be foolish to ignore the recommendation. Lenders will not ignore it.
Who is it not for?
It is unlikely that brand new properties will need specialist reports as the supervising architect will normally ensure that the work has been carried out per the approved plans. It is not unheard of, however.
