The Facts About Home Reports
On 1st December 2008, the Home Report becomes a requirement in most cases when selling a property. This is a creation of the Scottish Parliament and was introduced in the Housing Scotland Act 2006. The Act states that a person who is responsible for the marketing of a house for sale, must possess a Home Report, consisting of three parts.
Firstly, there will be a single survey which is an assessment by a surveyor of the condition of the home, a valuation and an accessibility audit for people with particular needs. It will not be a full Scheme 2 survey of the property but it should be better than a basic Scheme 1 valuation report.
Secondly, there is a questionnaire to be completed by the owners, relating to issues such as council tax banding, parking arrangements, whether the property is listed, what alterations have been carried out to the property and the like. It is vitally important that this information is accurate.
Finally, there is an energy report. This is an assessment by a surveyor of the energy efficiency of the home, its environmental impact and ways in which the property’s energy efficiency may be improved.
As a seller, how will this affect you?
After 1st December 2008, you have nine days from the property going on the market, to comply with the new regulations and therefore it is likely that these Reports will have to be prepared in advance of marketing.
Even if you are selling your property privately, you will require a Report as in terms of the Act, a person who is responsible for marketing a house must provide a Report to any prospective purchasers. You are responsible for complying with any request by a potential buyer for a copy of the Report and if you are using an estate agent, it is important to make sure that the estate agent ensures that the Report is available for prospective purchasers as there are fines involved if Reports are not given out to purchasers. There are a few exceptions to this but generally any request for a Report will have to be met.
As a purchaser, how will this affect you?
If you are interested in a property which is marketed after 1st December 2008, you will be entitled to request a copy of the Home Report from the estate agent or party selling the property. There may be a charge in providing this. The Report will obviously give you some information about the property but at the time of writing, the Council of Mortgage Lenders has not yet confirmed that they will definitely accept the survey within the Home Report as suitable for mortgage purposes so it is possible at this stage, you will still require to obtain your own survey if you are obtaining a mortgage. You will at least however have information on what the surveyor has valued the property at and this may assist you in deciding whether or not this is the property you wish to go for. We will be able to help you go through the Home Report and advise on whether you may need another survey to satisfy your lender or to provide you with further information on the property. You may still need to have a specialist attend at the property in the event the Report reveals any wet rot or dry rot etc and again we can assist in this regard.
It is anticipated that, the cost of the Home Report will be in the region of £500 to £1,000 and the recommendation currently is that the survey has a shelf life of approximately three months. It is likely that your estate agent will assist in compiling the Report however as always, we recommend that you contact us for advice in the first instance.
Article compiled by Karen Fulton
Posted by Sharon Clift on Nov 14, 2008
