What changes if a Level 2 is sold with a valuation in the same fee?

What is the fuller explanation?

A low valuation and a rating 3 are not the same event. One is price. One is condition. They can coincide. They can also diverge: a house can be priced fairly and still need a roof, or priced high with a short report. Do not ask the condition ratings to “add up” to the valuation figure. Ratings contain no prices.

Ask whose name is on each document and whether the lender will accept this valuation or will send their own. Paying twice by accident is common. RICS publishes no combined tariff. The quote should split the work even if it shows one total.

What should you ask your surveyor?

• Who is the valuation for, and may I rely on it?
• Is the condition report a Level 2 under the Home Survey Standard?
• Will my lender still instruct their own valuation?

What are the typical next steps?

1. Decide whether you need a valuation at all before you accept a bundle.
2. Read the condition report even if the valuation pleased you.
3. Do not negotiate the price using only the valuer’s number and ignore a rating 3.

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

Which pages should you read next?

• What did RICS used to call a Level 1, and what does that level still leave out?
• Who do you complain to if a home survey misses something?
• Why is a lender’s valuation fee not a cheaper alternative to a Level 3?
• Guide: What is the difference between a mortgage valuation and a home survey?
• All UK home survey questions

Sources

• RICS: House surveys: the costs, types and benefits of an RICS home survey
• RICS: RICS Home Surveys (Home Survey Standard)
• MoneyHelper: Mortgage-related fees and costs (a mortgage valuation is not a structural survey)