Seller-side surveys
As seller you think rating 3 on the chimney is harsh. Does sending a photo cancel the buyer's report?
Sending a photo does not cancel the buyer's report. You may think rating 3 on the chimney is harsh. A photograph can show a detail from one angle on one day. It does not replace the inspection the buyer instructed, and it does not rewrite that surveyor's condition note. The buyer's report stands as the opinion from their visit. Your photo is further material you can pass to your own adviser. It is not an erasure of their document.
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?
Sellers often see a rating as harder than the house feels in daily use. The buyer's surveyor graded the chimney from what they inspected. A photo you take later may show a repair, a different light or a part they also saw. It is evidence of what the camera caught. It is not a second survey and not an instruction to them to change the grade. Their report remains theirs. Your disagreement belongs in negotiation or in your own advice, not in a claim that their pages have gone.
If you want the chimney considered again, commission your own competent inspection and give that opinion to your solicitor. Do not tell the buyer their report has been cancelled by your picture. A lender looking at the buyer's survey will still see rating 3 until that surveyor, if they agree, alters their own report. Your solicitor can present your photo and any new findings as additional material. They cannot make the original unwritten.
What should you ask your surveyor?
- Does your photo delete the buyer's chimney note?
- Can a single picture replace the inspection they instructed?
- Does your view that the grade is harsh rewrite their report?
What are the typical next steps?
- Keep the buyer's report as their document, photo or not.
- Pass your photo to your solicitor as extra material only.
- Commission your own inspection if you want a different opinion.
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
Will a later survey you buy automatically replace their chimney grade?
No. Your own survey is a separate opinion for you. It does not automatically edit the buyer's report or their rating on the chimney. A buyer and a lender can still read the original. Your paper may help a discussion if it is relevant and clear. It is an addition, not a cancellation. Only the original author can change the original report.
Does feeling the grade is harsh remove the condition note?
No. Harshness is your judgement of their opinion. The condition note is what they wrote after their visit. Disagreement does not delete sentences. Use your solicitor if you want to respond, and use a proper inspection if you want new facts about the chimney. A feeling that the grade is high is not a revision of their survey.