Surveys & Condition
Damp findings are three different problems in one word
A survey noting damp could mean condensation, penetration or rising damp, and they cost wildly different amounts to fix.
Surveys & Condition
Survey levels, damp, structure and what a report is really telling you.
21 articles · updated August 11, 2026 · page 1 of 2
Surveys & Condition
Survey levels, and which one is worth paying for
A lender valuation is not a survey. Confusing the two is how buyers discover a roof after completion.
More in Surveys & Condition
Surveys & Condition
The three different numbers all called a valuation
A lender valuation, a market appraisal and a formal surveyor valuation answer different questions and rarely agree.
Surveys & Condition
Subsidence, heave and settlement are three different events
They involve ground moving down, up, or a new building bedding in, and their remedies and costs are unrelated.
Surveys & Condition
Which cracks matter and which do not
Every building has cracks. Width, direction, location and whether they are growing are what separate cosmetic from structural.
Surveys & Condition
What a survey explicitly does not cover
The exclusions section is the most important part of a survey report and the least read.
Surveys & Condition
Invasive plants and the transactions they stall
A plant can affect mortgageability, insurance and liability between neighbours, which is why surveyors look for a small number of…
Surveys & Condition
How a surveyor reads a roof from the ground
Most roof inspections happen from a ladder at eaves level or from the ground with binoculars, which shapes what a report can say.
Surveys & Condition
Non-standard construction and what it means for you
A building not made of masonry cavity walls is not necessarily worse, and it is treated differently by lenders, insurers and…
Surveys & Condition
Flood, ground and environmental risk before you commit
Some risks attach to the land rather than the building, and they are researched through searches rather than through an inspection.
Surveys & Condition
Electrics, heating and drainage: the specialist reports
A general survey observes the services and recommends testing. Those tests are separate instructions with separate certificates.
Surveys & Condition
Further investigation recommended, and what to do about it
This phrase is the most consequential sentence in most survey reports, and the most frequently ignored.