Choosing a survey level
When a Level 2 includes a valuation, can you use the reinstatement figure as the purchase price?
No. Market value and reinstatement are different figures. MoneyHelper describes reinstatement as an insurance rebuild figure, not the price you pay for the house and not a budget for the repairs in the survey. Use market value only for what the valuation says it is, and keep reinstatement for insurance.
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?
A Level 2 with a valuation can print both numbers. Buyers add them, subtract them, or send the rebuild cost to the agent as if it were a revised offer. That mixes three ideas: what a buyer might pay, what it might cost to rebuild after a total loss, and what it might cost to repair a defect. Only the third comes from quotations for the actual work. The survey’s condition ratings do not calculate any of those money figures by themselves.
If the report has no valuation, it has neither number. Do not borrow them from a lender’s mail. A mortgage valuation is for the lender, not a survey you can stretch. Ask your insurer how they want reinstatement used, and ask your solicitor about the price you have agreed. There is no RICS formula that turns a rebuild figure into a discount. Repairs still need their own written quotations where a rating 3 means you should get them before you commit.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Which figure is market value, and which is reinstatement?
- Are you clear the repair costs are in neither figure?
- Is this Level 2 with a valuation, or survey only?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not offer the reinstatement figure as your price.
- Do not use it as the list of repairs.
- Ask the insurer what rebuild figure they need, rather than inventing one.
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 reinstatement is higher than the price, are you getting a bargain?
Not on that comparison. The numbers measure different things. A higher rebuild cost is not a valuation of the deal.
If it is lower, is the house underinsured already?
The survey does not audit the seller’s current policy. Ask the insurer when you arrange your own cover.