Survey costs
One firm's quote is silent on whether the annexe is included and the other firm's quote excludes it. What has the cheaper number not listed?
The cheaper number has not listed the annexe. One firm is silent on whether the annexe is included. The other firm says it is excluded. Silence is not a list, and it is not the same as inclusion. A lower figure that never mentions the annexe has not priced the second building, the extra roof, or the time to inspect it. The survey has not happened yet, so nothing has been decided about the annexe's condition. Until the quiet quote says the annexe is in, the cheaper number is a price for a scope that leaves the annexe unstated.
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?
Quotes are compared on what they name. An annexe can be a converted garage, a granny flat or a linked range, each with its own doors, services and roof. Excluding it is a clear limit. Saying nothing is an unclear limit, which is worse if you then assume the small number covers more. The cheaper figure may be cheaper because the annexe was never in the time allowed. It may be cheaper for other reasons. You cannot tell while the page is silent.
Ask the silent firm, in writing, whether the annexe is inside the fee and inside the inspection. Ask the other firm what excluded means on the day: not entered, or entered only if unlocked. Tell your solicitor which scope you are actually buying. Do not invent a reason the cheaper number must be wrong, and do not invent lender criteria from a missing line. A mortgage valuation is not a structural survey, and neither quote is a valuation.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does your fee include the annexe, or is the quote silent because it is out?
- If the annexe is included, which parts of it will you inspect?
- What will you write if the annexe is locked on the day?
What are the typical next steps?
- Treat the cheaper quote as not having listed the annexe.
- Ask that firm in writing whether the annexe is included.
- Compare the two quotes only after both scopes name the annexe or exclude it.
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 annexe has its own front door, must every quote include it?
No. A separate door does not force a firm to include the building. One quote already excludes it. The cheaper quote has not listed it at all. You need the silent firm to say yes or no. The door does not answer the fee.
Does a lower fee mean the annexe was inspected more cheaply?
No. The inspection has not happened. A lower fee that never mentions the annexe has not described a cheaper inspection of it. It has left the annexe off the list. Condition and price both wait until the scope is written down.