Service 

The instruction is in respect of a market valuation report and will be based upon an inspection of the subject property by a suitably qualified valuer who will then produce a standard format valuation report which is subject to several assumptions as detailed in the RICS Valuation – Professional Standards. Each part of the service is described below in more detail.

The Valuation Report is prepared for the sole use of the client(s) and their professional advisors. 

The report is only valid for the purposes stated in the report and remains valid for 3 months unless stated otherwise. 

This service is intended for use only in situations where the client requires a basic valuation report and does not require specific advice on the condition of the property. If this has been instructed, this is under a separate agreement. 

The property will be valued by means of the comparable method of valuation unless otherwise stated in the report.

Neither the whole nor any part of the Valuation Report or any reference hereto may be included in any published documents, circular or statement or published in any way without the valuer’s written approval of the form and context in which it may appear.

The valuation will be undertaken in accordance with the Internal Valuation Standards (IVS) of the International Valuation Standards Council and the RICS Practice Statements applicable at the date of the Inspection and the RICS Valuation – Global Standards 2022 also known as ‘The Red Book. Any divergence from these standards by request from the Client for any reason will be stated within the report under assumptions. Where a Market Appraisal is instructed to assist in understanding the value of the property prior to purchase, the valuation report shall be in Short Form format, suitable for its purpose. 

 

 

The Valuer

The valuer will be a Fellow (FRICS), or Member (MRICS) of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and a member of the RICS Valuer Registration Scheme and who is registered with the RICS to undertake such instructions and has the appropriate knowledge, skills and understanding to inspect, value and report upon the subject property.

The valuer will be an employee of House to Home Surveys Ltd. 

The valuer will act in accordance with the RICS Valuation – Professional Standards as amended from time to time. Compliance with these standards may be subject to monitoring under RICS conduct and disciplinary regulations. 

The valuer will have suitable equipment for inspecting and measuring the property which will be used where deemed to be necessary, safe and practical at the valuer’s discretion.

The valuer will immediately inform you of any known or suspected conflicts of interest, if applicable and will then confirm your instructions before proceeding further.

The valuer will not be acting as an expert within the meaning of Part 35 of the Civil Procedure Rules unless specifically instructed to do so in a separate signed agreement.

The Inspection  

The extent of the property to be inspected will be as defined by the client or, in the absence of such definition, the extent that appears to be reasonable to the valuer having regard to the available evidence on site.

The valuer will undertake a brief, limited inspection of the subject property (unless otherwise instructed), sufficient only to form an opinion of value. The valuer will not carry out a survey and will not inspect any part of the structure which is covered unexposed or inaccessible. Carpets will not be lifted and furniture will not be moved.

The valuer will inspect the outside of the main building from ground level and from within the property boundaries and where necessary adjoining public highways with the aid of binoculars where appropriate.

The valuer will inspect the grounds and boundaries sufficient only to the extent that is necessary to form an opinion of value.

If the property is a flat, the valuer will inspect the interior of the flat only inspect the exterior of the building and any common or shared parts only to the extent necessary to form an opinion of value.

The valuer will visually inspect services, only to determine the type and nature of the service connections but will not operate or undertake any test. Drainage inspection chamber covers will not be lifted.

The valuer may limit the inspection should it be considered necessary due to either personal security or Health and Safety issues.

The Valuation Report

 

The valuer will produce a report in standard format which will include an opinion of the market value of the relevant interest in the property.

Should the valuation be for Help to Buy or Shared Ownership purposes, this shall be carried out in accordance with the specific criteria required by Target HCA or the Shared Ownership Provider. 

The date of valuation will be assumed to be the date of inspection unless instructed otherwise or if the instruction is in relation to a valuation for probate cases in which case the date of valuation will be as stated in the instruction.

The valuation will be of the freehold/leasehold interest in the property as specified by you. If you are unable to specify the tenure the valuer will make one of more assumptions as considered appropriate and as set out below, under Assumptions.

The valuation will be on the basis of Market Value and/or Market Rent as appropriate and as described below:

Market Value is defined as: 

‘The estimated amount for which an asset or liability should exchange on the valuation date between a willing buyer and a willing seller in an arm’s length transaction, after proper marketing and where the parties had each acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion.’.

Market Rent is defined as: 

‘The estimated amount for which an interest in real property should be leased on the valuation date between a willing lessor and a willing lessee on appropriate lease terms in an arm’s length transaction, after proper marketing and where the parties had acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion.’

Valuation Date is defined as:

“The date on which the opinion of value applies. The valuation date shall also include the time at which it applies if the true value of the type of asset can change materially in the course of a single day”.

If instructed by you, the valuer will also provide an opinion of the property’s estimated Reinstatement Cost for insurance purposes. This will be calculated by reference to and in accordance with RICS Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) guidance.  The figure will be exclusive of VAT, other than on professional fees, and will not reflect any loss of rent, the cost of alternative accommodation or any other consequential losses. If the property is a Listed Building, or is otherwise of an age and type for which BCIS data is not applicable, then the valuer will report accordingly. If the subject property is a flat, any Reinstatement Cost figure which is provided will be for the subject property only.

The report is provided strictly for your own use and is confidential to you and your professional advisors, unless if carried out for Help to Buy purposes, whereby the report shall be addressed to Target HCA, as required.

As an RICS member, the valuer may be required to disclose the report to RICS Regulation for audit purposes, as part of its work to ensure that RICS professional standards are being maintained.

The valuer accepts responsibility to you that the report will be prepared with the skill, care and diligence reasonably expected of a Competent Chartered Surveyor but accepts no responsibility whatsoever to any other person. Any such person who relies upon the report does so as his or her own risk.

Assumptions

 

Unless specifically instructed otherwise, the valuer will make assumptions about legal matters and the construction and use of the property, as set out below. Any other assumptions will be clearly stated in the report. The valuer will not be under any duty to verify these assumptions.

 

• The valuer will assume that any relevant information provided by you or your professional advisors is accurate. It is your responsibility to advise the valuer if you become aware of any errors or omissions.

 

• If the subject property is a house or bungalow, the valuer will assume that the tenure of the property is freehold unless instructed otherwise.

 

• If the subject property is a flat, unless instructed otherwise the valuer will assume that the tenure is leasehold for an unexpired term of at least 85 year at a fixed peppercorn ground rent, that the lease contains adequate provisions of access, insurance, management and maintenance of the buildings and grounds, and that any service charge which is payable is reasonable and not onerous. 

 

• The valuer will assume that the property is not subject to any unusual or especially onerous restrictions, encumbrances or outgoings/liabilities and that good legal title can be shown.

 

• A valuation provided on the Market Value basis will be on the assumption of a sale with vacant possession, unless otherwise stated in

the report

 

• A valuation provided on the Market Rent basis will be on the assumption that the property is vacant, unfurnished and is available to let for a period of 6 months on a single assured shorthold tenancy, unless otherwise stated in the report.

 

• The valuer will assume that an inspection of those parts which have not been inspected would not reveal any material defects or cause the valuer to alter the valuation.

 

• The valuer will assume that no high alumina cement, calcium chloride, asbestos or other potentially deleterious or hazardous materials were used in the construction of the property

or have since been incorporated,

 

• The valuer will not undertake or commission a site investigation and will assume that the site is not land filled and is not adversely affected by any underground mining or other works, invasive vegetation, radon, methane or other gases or any actual or potential contamination or flooding. The valuer will assume that the land is of adequate bearing capacity for its present and potential uses.

 

• The valuer will assume that the property and its value are unaffected by any planning, building, highway or other matters which would be revealed by a local search and replies to the usual enquiries, or, by any statutory notice and that neither the property, not its condition, nor its actual or intended use, is or will be unlawful.

 

• Where issues are evident from the inspection or revealed from routine enquiries, these matters above will be detailed in the report accordingly.

 

• The valuer will assume that all usual mains services are connected or are available under normal terms and that the roads, sewers and services outside the cartilage of the property are the responsibility of the Local Authority or other statutory body.

• All monetary values will be stated in £ sterling.

Cladding

If the property being valued or surveyed is a flat with cladding or combustible attachments

(balconies etc.) to any parts of the building, it is the Clients responsibility to provide us with a copy of a suitable cladding report (eg EWS1 form or equivalent) signed by an approved signatory if applicable.  We shall make no comment relating to the report and accept no responsibility or liability for any errors or omissions in the form. 

Where we provide a valuation or opinion which is based on such a report, a liability exclusion clause shall apply as follows:

‘In arriving at the valuation and/or our opinion of the property, we have relied in good faith upon on an EWS1 External Wall Safety form (or equivalent) produced by a third-party assessor. We can accept no liability to the client or any other party for any losses or potential losses arising from our reliance upon the EWS1 form. Any person requiring more information should obtain independent advice.’

If there are any suspected or known issues with the fire safety of the building, we will be unable to supply a valuation unless you are able to provide evidence of the full cost of repair that the owner of the subject property will be liable for and anticipated repair timescales involved.

Where both House to Home Surveys Ltd and the client have agreed the property is to be valued on the assumption that the cladding and fire safety of the building meets current standards, we can accept no liability should this prove, at a later date, to not be the case.

If the property is within the scope that meets the criteria for requiring an EWS1 in line with current RICS guidance, or in the Surveyor’s professional opinion is that one is needed, you must supply a valid EWS1 form in order for us to be able to provide a valuation. The signatory must hold an appropriate level of membership of one of the professional bodies signalled as appropriate in the latest MCHLG guidance. We reserve the right to refuse to rely on an EWS1 Form should the signatory appear to be unsatisfactory.

If the EWS1 is rated A3 or B2 you must also provide sufficient details of the repairs required, the full cost of repair that the owner of the subject property will be liable for, the anticipated repair timescales and details of any increases to service charges. We are unable to provide a valuation without this information. You are required to confirm on our dedicated form that we can rely on this information for the purpose of providing the valuation. We can accept no liability should the details provided to us prove, at a later date, to be incorrect.

If any information provided cannot be; verified or is incorrect or missing, we may be unable to offer a valuation following our inspection.  In such a situation, a report shall be issued excluding an opinion of value and no refund will be made to the customer.

Cancelling this contract

You should seek advice on your obligations under

The         Consumer         Contracts          (Information,

Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 (‘the Regulations’) and/or the Consumer Rights Act 2015 in accordance with section 2.6 of the current edition of the Home Survey Standard RICS professional statement. Upon signing the terms, you agree to waiver your 14-day cooling off cancellation rights to ensure the survey can proceed without delay.  

 

You are entitled to cancel this contract, and your fee shall be returned in full to the same bank account, by giving notice to the Companies office at least 2 working days (this does not include weekends) before the date of the visit to the property. If you choose to cancel or amend the date of the service after this time your fee will become non-refundable. 

 

 

 

 

Terms of Payment and Delivery  of Service

You agree to pay our fee and any other charges agreed in writing.

The visit to the property will be made by the Surveyor once we have received the instruction form and payment has been made.  If you require any further information or wish to negotiate any variations on these standard terms, please contact us before you sign and return the instruction form. 

We do not hold monies in a client account for the purpose of survey instructions although your money is protected by our cancellations policy as stated in these terms of engagement.

Once the visit has been made, the report will be subsequently compiled and sent via email. 

Reports are normally prepared, checked and sent to you electronically within three working days of the inspection taking place. If you request a hard copy upon instruction, you will be required to pay the printing and postage costs. 

Liability

The report is provided solely for the use of the Client and the Surveyor cannot accept responsibility if it is used, or relied upon, by anyone else. 


 

The contract is between House to Home Surveys Ltd and Client. None of our employees, Partners, Directors or consultants individually has a contract with you or owes you a duty of care or responsibility. You agree that you will not bring any claim against any such individuals personally in connection with our services.   

No third-party liability is accepted, meaning no other parties other than the Client named within the report may rely upon its content. We do not hold any liability to any third party. 

 

If you suffer loss or damage as a result of a breach of our contract or negligence, our liability shall be limited to a just and equitable proportion of your loss having regard to the extent of responsibility of any other party, whether that shortfall arises from an agreement between you and them, your difficulty in enforcement or any other cause. 

 

We will make every effort to ensure that our service meets your requirements, but we recognise that occasionally things can go wrong. You should understand that in order to balance risk fairly between us, we have capped some of our legal liabilities in accordance with RICS recommendations. This means that if we were in breach of contract or a duty of care that we owe to you, the maximum compensation that we should be obliged to pay you would be as follows:

 

For a breach of contract or a duty of care relating to a valuation, up to 10% of our valuation of the Property. For example, if we value the Property at £200,000, any damages you could recover from us would be limited to £20,000.

Conflict of Interest 

We are not aware that there is any conflict of interest with any known parties in this transaction. If you become aware of any conflict of interest, please notify us immediately. 

Complaints Handling Procedure 

We hope you have no reason to be dissatisfied with our service, however in the event that you are, a copy of our Complaints procedure is obtainable on written request from: 

The Complaints Administrator, Unit 4C Gattinetts Business Park, Hadleigh Road, East Bergholt, CO7 6QT. 

 

Note: These terms form part of the contract between you and the surveyor.

This report is for use in the UK.