Choosing a survey

What should you ask your surveyor?

Before you instruct, ask which survey level the surveyor recommends and why, what they will not open or test, whether a valuation is included, and when the written report will arrive. After the report, ask them to explain any rating 3, any NI, and anything they said needs further investigation. Their answers should stay tied to what they actually saw.

Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless a source says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.

What should you ask before the surveyor is instructed?

Which level do you recommend for this building, and what about it would make a lower level the wrong product?
Is this a survey only, or a survey and valuation? If there is a valuation, who signs it, and are they a registered valuer?
What will you not remove, open or test? Say it for the loft, drains, electrics, heating and any flat roof.
Who will do the inspection, are they the person who signs, and is the firm RICS-regulated?
What is the fee, what extras cost more, and on what date will you issue the written report?
What access do you need, and what should the agent tell the occupier?
If you are also acting for the lender or the seller, say so now. You want a surveyor whose duty on this job is to you.

RICS tells clients to understand the difference in levels and to discuss concerns before the service is undertaken. A Level 1 will not grow into repair advice on the day because you asked a good question at the door. The level is the instruction. Change it before they leave the office, not after they have inspected.

What is worth asking on the day of the inspection?

If you are allowed to attend at the end, ask one practical question: what, if anything, should delay exchange until it is understood. Then stop. A doorstep tour is how ratings get softened in memory. Write down what they say and compare it with the report. If the two disagree, the report is the one that was prepared under the standard, and the disagreement is itself a question to put back in writing.

Point out anything you already know they might not see: a crack behind a wardrobe, a damp patch the seller has just painted, a roof slope with no hatch. You are not telling them the conclusion. You are giving them access to a fact. Concealment is a legal problem for the seller’s forms. It is also how a visual survey misses something obvious.

What should you ask once the report has arrived?

Read the document first. Then ask about specific lines, not “is the house okay?”. For each rating 3, ask what they saw, why it is serious or urgent, and whether they want a specialist or a quote before you exchange. RICS’s Level 3 description says written quotations for rating 3 repairs should be obtained before legal commitment. That is a useful rule of thumb for a rating 3 in a Level 2 as well: price the item, or investigate it, before you are bound.

For each NI, ask why that element was not inspected and whether the surveyor is worried about it. RICS says the surveyor notes parts they could not check, and if they are concerned the report should say what further investigation is needed. An NI with no concern is a limit. An NI on the roof structure, with a sentence about staining, is a job of work. Ask which one you have.

Ask them to distinguish what they observed from what they infer. “The valley is wet and the ceiling beneath is stained” is an observation. “This may be long-standing condensation” is a hypothesis. You want both, labelled. You do not want a surveyor who retires into “not a specialist” without saying what they did see. Further investigation is a next step, not a way of emptying the report of meaning.

What should you not expect the surveyor to decide?

Do not ask them to tell you the price reduction. They can describe defects, urgency and, at Level 2 and 3, repair approaches. Your solicitor sends any figure to the seller, usually with quotes attached. Do not ask them to guarantee the house for the next ten years. The inspection is the condition on that day, within the limits of the level. Do not ask them to confirm a legal title, a listed-building consent, or that the extension has building regulations approval. They may tell you to ask your solicitor. That sentence is a referral, and your solicitor should actually make the enquiry.

If the wording is simply hard to read, you can decode it without a second call. Keep their sentence visible next to the plain-English note, so you are not negotiating from a paraphrase you cannot trace.

Common questions

What is the single most useful question before you book?

Which level do you recommend here, and why would the level below it be wrong? A surveyor who can answer that has looked at the age and the alterations, not just the postcode. If they will only sell you a Level 2 because it is what they always do, and the house is a heavily altered Victorian, get a second opinion on the instruction before you pay.

Should you ask who will actually turn up?

Yes. The person who inspects should be competent for that level, and you should know whether a different person will sign. RICS members carry the duty. A firm name on the email is not, by itself, the surveyor. Ask for the member’s name and the level they are providing.

Should you ask if they also act for the agent?

Yes. You want to know if the same firm is valuing for the lender, selling the house, or retained by the agent. Dual roles are sometimes legitimate and should still be disclosed. Your instruction should say who the client is. If you are not the client, you may not be able to rely on the report in the way you think.

Will they lift the manhole covers?

Ask. RICS says Level 1 and Level 2 do not, as standard, remove inspection chamber covers, and Level 2 does include a more extensive drainage-chamber inspection than Level 1 where that is part of the service. The practical answer depends on access, weight and safety. If drains are a known worry, agree a drainage inspection as an extra rather than hoping the standard visit includes a CCTV survey. It does not.

Can the surveyor say the wiring is safe?

They can describe the consumer unit, the visible cabling and any signs of amateur work, and they can recommend an Electrical Installation Condition Report. They do not complete an EICR as part of a Home Survey, and they are not certifying the installation. If the report gives the electrics a poor rating, the next question is “what did you see?”, then you commission an electrician qualified to inspect.

How do you ask about a condition rating 3 without panicking?

Quote their sentence back to them. Ask what would need to be true for this to stay a rating 3 after a specialist looks, and what quote they expect you to obtain before exchange. A rating 3 is RICS’s mark for serious or urgent repair, replacement or investigation. It is not a code for “pull out”. It is a code for “do not exchange on a shrug”.

What do you ask when a section is marked NI?

Ask why it was not inspected, whether they have any concern, and what further investigation they recommend. RICS says NI means that element was not inspected, and that concerns should be spelled out. Do not fill the blank in yourself with “probably fine”.

Who follows up the legal points in the report?

Your solicitor or conveyancer. Surveyors often flag missing consents, rights of way, guarantees and tenancy issues under a documents section, sometimes marked R for papers to request before you sign. The surveyor is not the person who raises enquiries on the title. Pass them the page.

Can you ask another surveyor to review the report?

You can ask another firm to inspect, which is a new survey, or to comment on the document, which is a desk review of someone else’s observations. A desk review cannot see the crack. It can tell you whether the written advice matches the level you bought. If the first report says further investigation, a second general survey is often the wrong spend. Instruct the specialist they named.

Should you send a long list of questions?

Send a short list tied to their paragraphs: the rating 3s, the NIs that matter, and the further-investigation lines. A twenty-point wishlist about redecorating wastes the follow-up they owe you on the things that affect safety or the decision to buy. Keep their wording in the email so the answer stays anchored to the report.

Sources

Key facts

Before instruction: Level and why, what is not opened or tested, whether valuation is included, who signs, report date, access, fee.
After the report: Every rating 3, every NI on a risky element, every further-investigation line. Ask what they saw, not what a contractor might charge.
What they are not: Your solicitor, your lender, or the person who negotiates the price. Legal issues they flag are for your legal adviser.
Follow-up: RICS publishes a consumer “What to do now” PDF with the home survey material. Ask your own surveyor before you rely on a generic list.