Pre-purchase Damp and Timber Survey
Many mortgage lenders nowadays require that a pre-purchase damp and timber survey is carried out before they give a mortgage. When a mortgage lender requires this, they always state that the survey must be carried out by a Property Care Association (PCA) member. I am a member of the PCA.
When buying a property, the general building surveyor will often advise the buyer that a damp and timber specialist investigates the property to ascertain its condition after they have picked up high readings of moisture, or areas of concern within the property. When this happens, a specialist damp and timber surveyor will then come and inspect the property and conduct a more thorough detailed inspection.
Often, during these inspections we have found that many of the buildings we inspect do not require any remedial work. The general building surveyor has simply recorded high readings of moisture on their moisture metre, but that does not mean to say that there requires to be any remedial works carried out. The moisture metre is a very good tool used by many surveyors, including ourselves. However, the surveyor’s knowledge and experience in the damp and timber preservation industry is also paramount.
This is what I specialise in, and my reports are often used by mortgage lenders to get an overall picture of what work is required, how extensive and what the likely cost is going to incur.
As an independent surveyor, you can always rest assured that my reports are completely impartial and so we will not be stating that work should be carried out when it is not necessary.