Pre-Sale Survey for Home Sellers

A pre-sale survey, sometimes called a seller's survey, vendor survey or pre-marketing survey, is a professional inspection commissioned by the homeowner rather than the buyer.

Instead of waiting for your eventual purchaser to arrange a survey after agreeing a price, you arrange your own inspection before, or at an early stage of, marketing your property.

Pre-sale surveys are already offered within the UK surveying market specifically to help sellers identify defects before a purchaser's survey takes place.

The purpose is not to guarantee that another surveyor will agree with every finding.

It is to put you in a much better position to understand the condition of the property you are selling.

The traditional sales process often looks like this:

Put property on market → Accept offer → Buyer's survey → Problem discovered → Further investigation → Renegotiation

A Sale Ready Survey brings the inspection forward:

Survey → Understand → Investigate or repair → Market → Accept offer

Knowing about potential problems earlier gives you more time and more options.

You may decide to:

• repair an important defect before marketing;
• obtain quotations so you know the likely cost;
• arrange a specialist investigation;
• locate certificates, guarantees or approvals;
• discuss an issue with your solicitor;
• price the property with its condition in mind;
• take no immediate action where a defect simply forms part of normal maintenance.

The principle of identifying defects early, rather than discovering them after an offer has been accepted, is a central benefit identified by existing pre-sale survey providers.

Depending upon the property and agreed scope, we consider matters including:

Outside the property

• roof coverings;
• chimney stacks;
• gutters and downpipes;
• external walls;
• windows and external doors;
• external joinery;
• extensions;
• garages and outbuildings;
• visible drainage arrangements;
• paths, walls and boundaries.

Inside the property

• roof spaces;
• ceilings;
• internal walls and partitions;
• floors;
• fireplaces and chimney breasts;
• windows and doors;
• kitchens and bathrooms;
• evidence of dampness or condensation;
• visible signs of structural movement;
• significant defects or deterioration.

Services

Services are considered visually within the limitations of the inspection, including:

• electricity;
• gas where present;
• water;
• heating;
• hot water;
• drainage.

A building survey is not normally a specialist test of electrical, gas, heating or drainage installations. Where appropriate, we may recommend further investigation by a suitably qualified specialist.

Finding a defect does not automatically mean you should repair it.

Sometimes the sensible action is to investigate it. Sometimes it is better to obtain a quotation. Sometimes the issue simply needs to be understood.

That's why our Sale Ready Survey doesn't just list defects. We help you decide what to do next.

🔴 Resolve before marketing

Significant matters where appropriate action before marketing should be considered.

Examples could include active leakage or an immediately hazardous defect.

🟠 Investigate or obtain a quotation

Something requires further information before you can make an informed decision.

This could include suspected dampness, movement, deterioration or an installation with no evidence of recent inspection.

🔵 Locate documentation

The physical inspection may identify alterations or installations where your solicitor is likely to want supporting information.

Depending on the circumstances, this might include:

• planning approvals;
• Building Regulations documentation;
• window installation certificates;
• electrical certificates;
• guarantees;
• warranties;
• boiler records;
• documentation relating to extensions or conversions.

Pre-sale surveying services already identify locating missing documentation for previous alterations as a practical way sellers can prepare earlier in the transaction.

🟡 Consider disclosure or further advice

Some findings may need to be discussed with your estate agent, solicitor or another appropriate adviser before marketing or during the transaction.

🟢 Routine maintenance

Not everything a surveyor finds is a serious problem. Older homes inevitably require maintenance.

We distinguish between matters that deserve attention before selling and those that form part of normal property ownership.

Following the inspection, you receive your Sale Ready Pre-Sale Survey Report.

This provides:

• a description of the property;
• significant condition findings;
• defects identified during the inspection;
• recommendations;
• appropriate further investigations;
• pre-sale priorities;
• relevant inspection limitations.

You will also receive a clear Sale Ready Action Plan, helping separate significant matters from ordinary maintenance.

No.

The purpose of a pre-sale survey isn't to turn an older property into a new one.

Nor do we recommend carrying out unnecessary repairs simply because a surveyor has identified normal ageing or maintenance.

For example, discovering that a roof is approaching the later stages of its expected life does not necessarily mean replacing the roof before selling.

Understanding its condition, however, means you are less likely to be taken by surprise if the buyer's surveyor raises it.

The objective is preparation, not perfection.

A pre-sale survey may be particularly worthwhile if:

• you own an older property;
• the property has been extended or significantly altered;
• you know that repairs are required;
• you are concerned about damp or cracking;
• the property has an older roof;
• you are unsure about the significance of a defect;
• a previous sale has fallen through;
• a previous buyer's survey raised concerns;
• the property is unusual or traditionally constructed;
• you simply want to understand its condition before committing to your next move.

Current UK seller-survey guidance particularly identifies older, altered or unusual properties as situations where a pre-sale survey may be useful. 

No.

In England and Wales there is not currently a general legal requirement for somebody selling their home to commission a building survey before sale.

A Sale Ready Survey is an optional professional service for sellers who want to understand the condition of their property earlier in the selling process.