Moving House and Home

to be Nearer Work

Independent Building Surveyors

We are independent building surveyors and unlike many surveyors we like to meet you at the property during the survey and we are more than happy to talk to you about the reports. Please free phone 0800 298 5424 for a friendly chat with one of our surveyors.

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My reasons for moving house

How did I sell my house?

I went with the traditional route of a local estate agent. Luckily being a surveyor I knew the local estate agent and felt that this particular estate agent offered a far better service than the national companies. Having said that, and having worked within two national estate agents, I do feel also that there are advantages to national estate agents such as getting good coverage. In this particular case I thought that the local estate agents would manage to do this as well.

What value?

I remember asking the estate agent to come around and value the property and being a surveyor you have one view on value and the estate agent definitely has a different value in mind. In this particular case the values were quite different and as is only probably the case with a surveyor selling a house, I showed the estate agents similar properties that I had seen for sale and their sold prices (remember that you need to be looking at the sold prices, not what the estate agents are advertising in the newspapers).

The estate agent came back to me and advised that it was really how quickly I wanted to sell the house. It may sound strange but I had just come back from being on holiday and decided that I did want to move so the time frame of moving was important so I went with the advice of the estate agents who thought that they could sell the property within four to twelve weeks at that particular price which they did.

Looking back the only real thing that I did was to make sure that the house was neat and tidy whenever anyone came to view the property. I also added a few plants to the garden as it was summer and I made sure that both the estate agent and the person viewing the property had somewhere to park when they came to view it as the last thing you would want is for the person to have difficulty parking particularly if this is one of their main criterias for buying the house.

Other articles that may be of interest

We have written several surveying articles which may also help if you are looking to move house:

Why are our surveys better than the competion's?

Building surveys, also known as structural surveys

Problems with NHBC Warranty

How to buy a property at an auction

Do estate agents tell the truth or do they just want the house sale?

My search for a house

It is always a Catch 22 situation whether you search for a house before you have sold yours or not. I decided that the estate agent that I had known for many years had been very honest in his prediction of sale time and had started looking for a new property. As mentioned one of my main criteria was to be near a good road system and in my particular case this was the M1. I had a very open mind about whether the house should be old or new which is perhaps an interesting comment when I tend to carry out surveys predominantly on older properties.

I chose it for a number of reasons:

1. As mentioned because of the good transport links

2. The view and the fact that it was near a green area, ironically this has now had planning permission on and is having houses built on it which is something perhaps I should have looked into more.

3. It was also at the time a cul de sac which it no longer is as the road is now linking into the new area where the houses are being built.

4. Probably the main thing that I was looking for in the house was that it was a house that I could actually develop, extend and alter which is what I have done over the years.

Did the house move go smoothly?

Not exactly. One of the main problems with the house exchange was that it wasn't actually ready on time yet the solicitor still wanted me to exchange which I said I wouldn't do. They then charged me a penalty for not exchanging on the due date; even though the house wasn't ready there was some small print which meant that I still had to exchange so be very careful when buying a new property.

There were also problems with the house with regard to the heating where the pipes had not been mechanically bent (they had been hand bent) and this had effectively closed up the heating system pipes meaning that the heating didn't work.

So, it is fair to say that it wasn't the smoothest of handovers however the thing that has been great is that the house is located in a far better position for me with regard to road access, the neighbours are great and also being able to do the alterations and extensions that I wished to do on the property. Now looking back on the move it was a good move.

Location, Location, Location

As mentioned I had a very open mind on the type of property I was after, it was more the location that was important. I did look at anything and everything and I did overall enjoy the experience but then it probably goes without saying as I'm a surveyor I like property!

Independent Surveyors

If you are interested in having a structural building survey why not call us for a friendly chat on free phone 0800 298 5424. We would also be glad to email you several examples of our tailor made reports, Schedules of Condition, Structural Surveys and Property Reports. We also find that Specific Defect Reports can be used where there is one problem or issue that needs resolving between the landlord and tenant. As you can see from this article we use lots of sketches and photos in our reports as the feedback we have from our clients is that the sketches and photos help them understand the reports.

We trust you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you believe should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not pause to contact us (we are only human).

We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human).

The contents of the web site are for general information only and is not intended to be relied upon for specific or general decisions. Appropriate independent professional advice should be paid for before making such a decision.

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