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HOME REPORTS
Another good reason for selling with BSPC
After they were made a mandatory part of the sales procedure for the majority of residential houses placed on the market, Home Reports - which comprise a Single Survey, Energy Report and Property Questionnaire - have become accepted for the positive benefits they provide.
 Conceived as a means of simplifying the house selling process by putting valuable information into the system when it's most needed and by dispensing with the expense of multiple surveys.
Find out more about Home Reports (PDF) »
Your local BSPC member firm will undertake
Home Reports as part of the marketing process.
Your BSPC solicitor firm will
ensure copies are made available to potential buyers
who request a report. As the law stands at present the
seller foots the bill for the Home Report and there is
nothing in the legislation that says the buyer should
contribute or reimburse the seller for the cost – but
then, as most sellers are also buyers, it levels out.
The cost of producing a Home Report will depend on
the Single Survey and as this is related to the value of
a property, individual costs will vary accordingly although
it’s likely the average fee will be in the region of £600.
Another reason for using a BSPC member firm to sell
your home, it’s anticipated that a deferred payment
option will be available, enabling sellers to delay paying
the cost of Home Reports, advertising and any other
up-front marketing costs until their sale is concluded
(terms and conditions will apply).
BSPC’s 22 member firms
have direct access to several Home Report providers
(firms of surveyors) and will therefore be able to offer
clients the best price possible – and by not being wholly
reliant on one or two providers, this will also ensure
BSPC clients receive a fast and efficient service.
Contact a BSPC Solicitor »
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Home Reports - The Basics
 SINGLE SURVEY
On a par with the current Scheme 2 Homebuyers
Survey and Valuation Report, the Single Survey
is designed to give sellers detailed, objective
information about the condition and value of a
property before it is marketed for sale, so there
are no nasty surprises after the event when it's
too late to do anything about it.
It will include things like the type, accommodation,
neighbourhood, age and construction of the house.
It will also include an accessibility audit that may
benefit parents with young children as well as the
elderly and disabled. Current regulations stipulate
only surveyors registered with or authorised to
practise by the Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors (RICS) can prepare Single Surveys.
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 ENERGY REPORT
This has two parts and is undertaken at the same
times as the Single Survey. The Energy Efficiency
rating is a measure of the overall efficiency of a
house; the higher the rating, the more energy
efficient the house is – and the lower the fuel bills
will be accordingly. The Environmental Impact
rating is a measure of the home’s impact on the
environment in terms of carbon dioxide (CO2)
emissions; the higher the rating the less impact it
has on the environment. Having a wood-burning
stove, for instance, will warrant a higher rating than
a fire that burns coal because wood is carbon
neutral (as trees grow they remove CO2 from the
air, so by burning wood you are only putting back
what has been taken out).
Both parts provide a current rating and a potential
rating. In light of what will be included in the Energy
Report, cost-effective home improvements that
could potentially raise the energy performance of a
house and therefore make it easier to sell at a later
date, include: increasing loft insulation to 250mm;
installing cavity wall insulation; insulating the hot
water cylinder with a 160mm-thick jacket; draughtproofing
single glazed windows (or replacing them
with double glazed windows), and fitting low energy
bulbs to all fixed light sources.
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 PROPERTY QUESTIONNAIRE
Includes valuable information provided by the
current home owner/seller, which will be useful for
buyers, solicitors and surveyors. Not as daunting
as it sounds, it covers details such as length of
ownership, council tax banding, parking,
alterations/additions/extensions, central heating,
issues that may have affected the property, eg fire
and flood, services, repairs, boundaries, factoring,
specialist works/treatments, guarantees etc.
This degree of information helps prospective buyers
decide whether to submit an offer to purchase a
house – it’s also likely to reduce the risk of delay
and difficulties in conveyancing. However, as the
details given by the seller are not guaranteed, the
buyer’s solicitor will still have to carry out various
searches and check the validity of the information
(another good reason for using a solicitor to handle both the marketing and conveyancing).
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Not all Home Reports are equaland sellers should be aware that a Home Report will only be accepted by mortgage lenders if it has been prepared by a surveyors firm on the lender's approved panel - not all are.
Find out more »
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