Choosing a survey level
A surveyor who is not described as RICS-regulated offered verbal comments and no written report. What record would you not have if a lender or a solicitor asks later?
You would not have a written report. The person is not described as RICS-regulated and offered verbal comments only, so there is no document setting out what was seen, what was not inspected, and what condition was found. A lender or a solicitor who asks later can be shown a conversation, which is not a record they can file. The comments may have been useful on the day. They do not exist as a report once the visit is over.
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 written home survey is the thing other people in the purchase can read: the solicitor, a lender's underwriter, or you in three weeks when memory has blurred. Verbal comments leave you repeating what you think you heard. There is no condition section, no limitation, and no page that can be attached to an enquiry. Whether the person is RICS-regulated is a separate description they have not claimed. The gap you would feel first is the missing document.
If you need something a solicitor or a lender can read, instruct a written report from a firm that will put its name on the paper. Do not ask the solicitor to rely on your note of a conversation. Do not reconstruct a report from memory and call it the survey. The offer was verbal and not described as RICS-regulated. What you would not have later is the written record.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Will there be a written report, or only the comments given on the day?
- What could I show a solicitor or a lender afterwards?
- Are you described as RICS-regulated, and if not, what service is this?
What are the typical next steps?
- Do not treat verbal comments as a report you can file.
- Instruct a written survey if a lender or solicitor will need to read one.
- Keep any notes labelled as your own memory, not as the survey.
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 you record the conversation on your phone, is that the report?
No. A phone recording is your recording of comments. It is not a written report from the person who spoke, and it was not offered as one. A lender or a solicitor asking later still would not have that firm's report. They would have a tape you made. That is a different object.
Does a short follow-up email repair the gap?
Only to the extent of what the email actually says. A line wishing you well is not a survey. You would still lack a written report of condition, limits and findings unless someone writes those things. The original offer was verbal comments and no written report. An email that does not change that still leaves you without the record.