Anyone who has bought or sold a house is aware of the impact of Home Reports. Home Reports provide an estimate, by a chartered surveyor, of the value of the property as well as letting potential buyers know of any potential issues.

Surveyors create this document, which is relied on by the public, solicitors and financial suppliers alike.

Chartered Surveyor Andrew Sykes, an associate at Shepherd, explained: “If you look at the housing stock, from the cheapest property in the worst area to the biggest, well-designed house in the best area – the job of the valuer is to place this on the spectrum.”

Why do you need a Home Report?

For most people, buying a house is the biggest financial decision they will make, so the Home Report needs to be of a good quality for both purchasers and lenders to use.

Since 2008, it has been down to the seller to pay for the Home Report – prior to this it was the interested buyer who had to pay for a valuation.

If five people were interested in a property, they would all have to pay for separate valuations, which might suggest slightly different property values and therefore lead to different bids.

Now, the surveyor is appointed by the seller to produce a professional, reliable report that can be used by everyone. The Home Report provides a valuation of the property, as well as information on the house’s condition and if any work needs done on the property.

How is the property value decided?

As you may expect, the number of rooms, size of the floor area, and the condition of the property all play an important role in deciding the property value on the Home Report.

The old adage is also true: location, location, location!

Andrew says that this market knowledge is needed in order to create this valuation: “You need to do this job for a while to get the lay of the land – it’s all about knowing other properties in the region.”

For modern properties, creating a valuation is pretty straightforward, Andrew believes, as you can compare against other properties of a similar size and condition nearby. For unusual or country properties it is more difficult, with the surveyor needing to find comparable properties and adjusting the price based on different conditions, e.g. property area and number of rooms.

Is it worth doing up the kitchen before I sell?

The short answer is no.

Although some people might be put off by an older style kitchen or bathroom, Andrew believes the money it would take to replace your units would actually be more than would be added to the price of your property.

If you are planning to live in the property for a few more years, then by all means treat yourself to a new kitchen or bathroom, but if your plan is to leave the property within a few months, it is not worth your money.

What it IS worth taking a look at is any ‘threes’ on your report – these symbolise areas that need improvement e.g. a leaking room or some mould can negatively impact the value of the property, as well as making it slightly off-putting to buyers. As Andrew noted, there is not a lot of appetite to come into a house that needs a lot done.

However, if the people do get the work done on the areas marked as three, this will be updated on the Home Report – either to say that they work will be carried out, or that it has been carried out already.

What if I think the valuation is wrong?

Surveyors know what they are doing and are extremely well informed about their ‘patch’: surveyors can produce up to three Home Reports in a day.

However, in this age of information, it is not surprising that people are becoming more knowledgeable about price, which can be a good thing, but some online property price predictors are falsely based purely on inflation and can lead to false results.

Andrew concluded that part of the job of a surveyor is to manage expectations – including explaining to the owner when he is surveying what the issues are and why the valuation is what it is.

Don’t agree with something? Just ask.

Want to learn more? Take a look at our guide on ten things you can discover from a Home Report.