Choosing a survey level
The selling agent offers a free valuation of the house. Is that a RICS Level 2 home survey?
No. A selling agent's free valuation is not a RICS Level 2 home survey. It is a sales opinion of price, offered so the instruction to market the house, or the negotiation, can proceed. Level 2 is an inspection and a report on a conventional home. The agent has not agreed to rate defects, to follow the home survey standard, or to carry the duties of that product. Complimentary price talk does not change its name because it happened at a viewing.
Last reviewed 24 October 2026. Written for buyers in England and Wales unless this answer says otherwise. No named surveyor has signed this page. It is general guidance, not a report on your house, and not legal advice.
What is the fuller explanation?
Level 2, formerly the HomeBuyer Report, is for a conventional property in reasonable condition and of simple form. It can be survey only, or survey plus market valuation and reinstatement. An agent's free figure has none of that structure. It may be informed by nearby sales and by what the seller hopes to achieve. It is not a condition rating, and it is not a document you can treat as having inspected the roof void, the drains or the services. There is no rule that a fee of zero, being attractive, upgrades the conversation into a survey.
MoneyHelper's mortgage valuation is a third thing again. That valuation is for the lender and is not a structural survey. So you can stand in a house with an agent's opinion, a lender's valuation, and still have no Level 2. If you want Level 2, instruct a firm, agree whether valuation and reinstatement are included, and pay that firm's fee. Do not ask the agent to staple a disclaimer onto their price opinion and call the bundle a home survey. The consumer guidance describes the levels. A marketing appointment is not one of them.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- What does a Level 2 include that an agent's price opinion leaves out?
- Can this firm offer Level 2 as survey only, without a valuation?
- Which of my worries would still be uninspected after a free agent visit?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the agent's figure as sales talk about price.
- Instruct a Level 2 separately if that is the product you want.
- Do not describe the free valuation as a home survey to your lender.
Costs vary with the building and with who you instruct. Where this page does not cite a published figure, ask the surveyor, a relevant specialist, or your solicitor for a written quote. Do not treat a forum average as the price.
Also asked about this
If the agent is a surveyor by training, is the free visit a Level 2?
Only if they were instructed to provide a Level 2 and the report says so. Training alone is not the product.
Does a zero fee mean the advice is a Condition Report?
No. Level 1 is still a paid, defined survey. A free sales opinion is neither Level 1 nor Level 2.