You conduct the survey with the assistance of Survey Shack's app. The app guides you through the property using professional written interactions, images, and visual cues. Your responses to a set of professionally crafted questions generate an informative report on the property's condition. This process educates you on the property's condition and, when necessary, provides specific recommendations on the best professional or type of competent contractor to instruct.

While equipment is not essential to undertake the Survey Shack self-survey, having certain items can significantly enhance your ability to inspect the property. We recommend, if possible, bringing binoculars, a ruler, and, if available, a damp meter. These items will enable you to conduct a more thorough and effective property inspection. These items can be purchased for as little as £50 from Amazon. Please see the 'Recommended Tools' section below.

We suggest allocating approximately 30 minutes for Survey Shack's guided external survey. While you may answer questions at a later time, it is advisable to respond while the information is fresh in your mind. 

For the internal inspection, especially if you plan to examine the roof structure, we recommend allowing a more generous timeframe, potentially up to 60 minutes, depending on this factor.

You won't be required to complete the inspection all at once. However, for a comprehensive pre-survey, we suggest completing the external assessment and as many internal elements as you feel comfortable with during your initial viewing. We recommend addressing the remaining elements during subsequent inspections. Multiple viewings demonstrate your interest and provide adequate time to arrange access to all areas of the property, should they be deemed safe to access, and risk mitigation.

We do not provide valuation services.

The primary purpose of a mortgage valuation is to safeguard the lender's interest in a property. While the valuation surveyor has a duty of care to the applicant, these surveys are often brief, sometimes lasting as little as 15 minutes, including property measurements. Consequently, it's evident that a mortgage valuation survey does not comprehensively assess all aspects of a property's condition. It may not account for upcoming significant expenses that could impact the applicant but might not concern the lender.

While the guidance, questions, and responses have been crafted by a professional RICS accredited member, it's important to note that a professional surveyor will not be reviewing your responses to the questions or the subsequent report based on your selections.

Based on your inputs, you may receive advice recommending instructing a professional surveyor and/or consulting with competent contractors.

In the near future, we will provide recommendations for defect-specific, industry rated competent contractors and surveyors based on the location details of the property you enter.