The Home Report

The Home Report was introduced by the Scottish Government in 2008 to give purchasers more information on the property that they were considering buying including property valuation. It also means that there is no need to have a survey carried out by the purchaser before they offer.

The Home Report is made up of 3 documents:

Single Survey
Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
Property Questionnaire

All New Door Home Reports are carried out by a highly reputable firm who are well established in the Scottish marketplace.

The single survey is carried out by a chartered surveyor, who is regulated by RICS (Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors). They will carry out an in-depth visual inspection of the property. The report will include detailed information about the condition of each aspect of the property and mortgage valuation.

This is broken down into a category system:

• Category 3 - Urgent repairs or replacement are needed now. Failure to deal with them may cause problems to other parts of the property or cause a safety hazard. Estimates for repair or replacement maybe required.
• Category 2 - Repairs or replacement requiring future attention.
• Category 1 - No immediate action or repair is required.

It should be noted that not all lenders accept the mortgage valuation on Home Reports and may ask for a further mortgage valuation to be carried.

The EPC gives buyers the information regarding the efficiency of the property, the same way a new electrical appliance does. The report highlights the average current costs of the property and recommends ways to improve efficiency and reduce costs.

The Property Questionnaire forms the third part of the Home Report and is generally completed by the seller. This should be completed to the best of the seller’s knowledge.

The questionnaire contains information for the purchaser such as council tax banding, parking, whether there are access rights across the property, if there have been any alterations made to the property, if there are any factoring or services fees.

The law states that anyone marketing their home for sale must provide a potential purchaser with a copy of the Home Report. Even if you are not using an estate agent or solicitor.

The regulations state that

• The report must be compiled by a Chartered Surveyor or a provider who has been approved by the Scottish Ministers.
• The cost of the Home Report is generally determined by the size of your home and the fee is set by the companies compiling the reports.
• The home report must be no older than 12 weeks from when the property goes onto the market.
• The valuation and single survey have a life span of 90 days.
• The Home Report must be made available to potential purchasers. Those that you, estate agent or solicitor believe is not serious or do not have the funds to purchase the property can be refused a copy.
• The legislation does not state that any repairs that are highlighted on the report must be fixed. This is entirely your decision but some may affect the saleability and you would be wise to seek further advice from the surveyor or your solicitor.

At New Door we include the cost of the initial Home Report in our fixed selling fees.

Before offering on a property you should request a copy of the Home Report as this will advise you of the condition and valuation of the property.

• You can obtain a copy of the Home Report from whoever is marketing the property. You should not incur a charge, you may be asked to cover the cost of printing and postage if you do not wish an emailed copy.
• You should receive a copy of the Home Report within 9 working days of your request being submitted.
• The buyer has the legal right to rely on the information within the Home Report.
• Your solicitor and mortgage lender will require a copy of the Home Report. They will establish if there are any issues on the report that require further investigation or documentation from the vendors.

If there are any issues that you are concerned about you can speak directly to the surveyor who will explain these to you or as above your solicitor/mortgage lender may carry out further investigation.

For eg

• Structural changes including removal of walls, conversions or extensions.
• Properties built or refurbished prior to 2000 will generally find that there is a disclaimer regarding asbestos as the use of asbestos was only removed from building products used in the home after this time.
• Non-traditional builds such as, no fines poured concrete.
• Over head electrical cables/ pylons and electrical substations.