This details the Terms and Conditions regarding the instructions received from a property owner or their authorised agent to undertake relevant inspections and compile a Home Report.
The seller or their appointed agent agrees to pay Onesurvey Limited the fee prior to inspection of the property. In return Onesurvey Limited will collate the Home Report and all its components, on behalf of the seller; in order to comply with The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006. Onesurvey Limited will also arrange for a Mortgage Valuation Report to be prepared over the property.
Onesurvey Limited will provide copies of the completed Home Report to registered prospective purchasers when requested and this will either be in electronic or hard copy format. By acceptance of these terms and conditions the seller, or their appointed agent do not have objection to the distribution of the completed report to those interested and registered parties. The seller or appointed agent also undertakes that the report will not be issued to parties who have not registered with Onesurvey Limited. If such distribution occurs the seller or their appointed agent will, by accepting the Terms and Conditions, accept responsibility for all liabilities that those unregistered parties may incur. Should your Home Report contain any Category 3 (in urgent need of repair) comments, Onesurvey may forward the relevant details to a selected specialist who may offer advice on the likely cost of any remedial work.
Any complaints regarding the Home Report, in the first instance, must be made to Onesurvey Limited. Onesurvey is not responsible for the content of the individual components within the Home Report. Onesurvey Limited reserves the right to subrogate any complaint to the relevant party that has provided the particular section of the Home Report. In particular we would draw your attention to the following Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors' terms and conditions which the appointed chartered surveyor will operate under.
To ensure that we have correctly understood your requirements and that you are fully aware of the Terms and Conditions of both Onesurvey Limited and the appointed survey you must tick the box on the confirmation page. It is a condition of this agreement that any agent confirming acceptance on behalf of their client must provide the seller with these Terms and Conditions prior to acceptance.
A copy of these Terms and Conditions and confirmation of instruction will be forwarded automatically by email to the address provided with this instruction. A further copy of these Terms and Conditions will be included within the Home Report.
Single Survey Terms and Conditions (with MVR)
Part 1 - General
1.1. The Surveyors
The seller has engaged the surveyors to provide the single survey report and a generic mortgage valuation report for lending purposes. The seller has also engaged the surveyor to provide an energy report in the format prescribed by the accredited energy company.
The surveyor is authorised to provide a transcript or retype of the generic mortgage valuation report on to lender specific pro-forma. Transcript reports are commonly requested by brokers and lenders. The transcript report will be in the format required by the lender but will contain the same information, inspection date and valuation figure as the generic mortgage valuation report and the single survey. The surveyors will decline any transcript request which requires the provision of information additional to the information in the report and the generic mortgage valuation report until the seller has conditionally accepted an offer to purchase made in writing.
Once the seller has conditionally accepted an offer to purchase made in writing, the purchaser's lender or conveyancer may request that the surveyor provide general comment on the standard appropriate supplementary documentation. In the event of a significant amount of documentation being provided to the surveyor, an additional fee may be incurred by the purchaser. Any additional fee will be agreed in writing.
If information is provided to the surveyor during the conveyancing process which materially affects the valuation stated in the report and generic mortgage valuation report, the surveyor reserves the right to reconsider the valuation. Where the surveyor requires to amend the valuation in consequence of such information, they will issue an amended report and generic mortgage valuation report to the seller. It is the responsibility of the seller to ensure that the amended report and generic mortgage valuation report are transmitted to every prospective purchaser.
The individual surveyor will be a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors who is competent to survey, value and report upon residential property. *
If the surveyor has had a previous business relationship within the past two years with the seller or sellers agent or relative to the property, they will be obliged to indicate this by ticking here.
The surveyor has a written complaints handling procedure. this is available from the office of the surveyor at the address stated on the report.
1.2 The Report
The surveyor will not provide an amended report on the property, except to correct factual inaccuracies.
The report will identify the nature and source of information relied upon in its preparation. The surveyor shall provide a market value of the property, unless the condition of the property is such that it would be inappropriate to do so. A final decision on whether a loan will be granted rests with the lender who may impose a retention in line with their lending criteria. The date of condition and value of the property will be the date of inspection. A single survey is instructed by the seller and made available to all potential purchasers in expectation that the successful purchaser will have relied upon it. the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors rules require disclosure of any potential conflict of interest when acting for the seller and the purchaser in the same transaction. The single survey may give rise to a conflict of interest and if this is of concern to any party they are advised to seek their own independent advice.
The report and any expressions or assessments in it are not intended as advice to the seller or purchaser or any other person in relation to an asking price or any other sales or marketing decisions. The report is based solely on the property and is not to be relied upon in any manner whatsoever when considering the valuation or condition of any other property.
If certain minor matters are mentioned in the Report it should not be assumed that the Property is free of other minor defects.
Neither the whole nor any part of the report may be published in any way, reproduced or distributed by any party other than the Seller, prospective purchasers and the Purchaser and their respective professional advisers without the prior written consent of the Surveyors.
*Which shall be in accordance with the current RICS Valuation - (The Red Book) and RICS Rules of Conduct.
1.3 LIABILITY
The report is prepared with the skill and care reasonably to be expected of a competent residential surveyor who is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.
The report is addressed to the Seller and was prepared in the expectation that it (or a complete copy) along with these Terms and Conditions (or a complete copy) would (or, as the case might be, would have been) be disclosed and delivered to
1.4 GENERIC MORTGAGE VALUATION REPORT
The surveyors undertake to the Seller that they will prepare a generic Mortgage Valuation Report, which will be issued along with the Single Survey. It is the responsibility of the Seller to ensure that the generic Mortgage Valuation Report is provided to every potential Purchaser.
1.5 TRANSCRIPT MORTGAGE VALUATION FOR LENDING PURPOSES
The Surveyors undertake that on being asked to do so by a prospective purchaser, or his/her professional adviser or Lender, they will prepare a Transcript Mortgage Valuation Report for Lending Purposes on terms and conditions to be agreed between the Surveyors and Lender and solely for the use of the Lender and upon which the Lender may rely. The prospective purchaser may be charged a fee for this service by the surveyor. The decision as to whether finance will be provided is entirely a matter for the Lender. ** The Transcript Mortgage Valuation Report will be prepared from information contained in the Report and the generic Mortgage Valuation Report.
1.6 INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY
All intellectual property right whatsoever (including copyright) in and to the Report, excluding the headings and rubrics, are the exclusive property of the Surveyors and shall remain their exclusive property unless they assign the same to any other party in writing.
1.7 PAYMENT
The surveyors are entitled to refrain from delivering the Report to anyone until the fee and other charges notified to the Seller have been paid.
Additional fees will be charged for subsequent inspections and Reports.
1.8 CANCELLATION
In terms of the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellations and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013, you are entitled to cancel this contract by giving notice in writing to the surveyors office at any time before the day of inspection and in any event within fourteen days of entering into this contract. Please note that where you have agreed to or specifically requested that the surveyor provides services to you within fourteen days of entering into the contract, you will be responsible for fees and charges incurred by the surveyor up until the date of cancellation.
The Surveyor will be entitled not to proceed with the inspection (and will so report promptly to the Seller) if after arriving at the property, the Surveyor concludes that it is of a type of construction of which the surveyor has insufficient specialist knowledge to be able to provide the inspection satisfactorily. The Surveyor will also be entitled not to proceed if after arriving at the property, the surveyor concludes that the property is exempt under Part 3 of The Housing (Scotland) Act 2006 as detailed in the (Prescribed Documents) Regulations 2008. If there is a potential threat to their health or personal safety, the inspection may be postponed or cancelled, at the Surveyors discretion.
The Surveyors acknowledge that their duty of skill and care in relation to the report is owed to the Seller and to the Purchaser. The surveyors accept no responsibility or liability whatsoever in relation to the Report to persons other than the Seller and the Purchaser. The Seller and Purchaser should be aware that if a Lender seeks to rely on this Report they do so at their own risk. In particular, the surveyors accept no responsibility whatsoever to any Lender in relation to the Report. Any such Lender relies upon the Report entirely at their own risk.
In the case of cancellation or the inspection not proceeding, the Surveyor will refund any fees paid by the Seller for inspection and Report, except for expenses reasonably incurred and any fee due in light of the final paragraph of this section.
In the case of cancellation by the Seller, for whatever reason, after the inspection has taken place but before a written report is issued, the Surveyor will be entitled to raise an Invoice equivalent to 80% of the agreed fee.
**Which shall be in accordance with the current RICS Valuation - (The Red Book) and RICS Rules of Conduct.
1.8.1 CANCELLING THIS CONTRACT
Nothing in this clause 1.8.1 shall operate to exclude, limit or otherwise affect your rights to cancel under the Consumer Contracts (Information, Cancellation and Additional Charges) Regulations 2013 or the Consumer Rights Act 2015, or under any such other legislation as may from time to time be applicable. Entirely without prejudice to any other rights that you may have under any applicable legislation, you are entitled to cancel this contract in writing by giving notice to Onesurvey Ltd at any time before the day of the inspection, and in any event within fourteen days of entering into this contract. Please note that where you have specifically requested that Onesurvey Ltd provides services to you within fourteen days of entering into the contract, you will be responsible for fees and charges incurred by the surveyor up until the date of cancellation.
1.9 PRECEDENCE
If there is any incompatibility between these Terms and Condition and the Report, these Terms and Conditions take precedence.
1.10 DEFINITIONS
PART 2 - DESCRIPTION OF THE REPORT
2.1 THE SERVICE
The Single Survey is a Report by an independent Surveyor, prepared in an objective way regarding the condition and value of the Property on the day of the inspection, and who is a member of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. It includes an Energy Report as required by Statute and this is in the format of the accredited Energy Company. In addition, the Surveyor has agreed to supply a generic Mortgage Valuation Report.
2.2 THE INSPECTION
The Inspection is a general surface examination of those parts of the Property which are accessible: in other words, visible and readily available for examination from ground and floor levels, without risk of causing damage to the Property or injury to the Surveyor.
All references to visual inspection refer to an inspection from within the property at floor level and from ground level within the site and adjoining public areas, without the need to move any obstructions. Any references to left or right are taken facing the front of the property.
The Inspection is carried out with the Seller's permission, without causing damage to the building or contents. Furniture, stored items and insulation are not moved.
Unless identified in the report the Surveyor will assume that no harmful or hazardous materials have been used in the construction. The presence or possible consequences of any site contamination will not be researched. No detailed inspection of the grounds or neighbouring land has been undertaken, but we have assumed for the purposes of this report that neither contamination nor dangerous or invasive species, for example Japanese Knotweed, exists.
The Surveyor will not carry out an asbestos inspection, and will not be acting as an asbestos inspector in completing a Single Survey or properties that may fall within the Control of Asbestos in the Workplace Regulations. In the case of flats it will be assumed that there is a duty holder, as defined in the Regulations and that a register of Asbestos and effective Management Plan is in place, which does not require any expenditure, or pose a significant risk to health. No enquiry of the duty holder will be made.
2.3 THE REPORT
The report will be prepared by the Surveyor who carried out the property inspection and will describe various aspects of the property as defined by the headings of the Single Survey report with the comments being general and unbiased. The report on the location, style and condition of the property, will be concise and will be restricted to matters that could have a material effect upon value and will omit items that, in the Surveyor's opinion, are not significant. If certain minor matters are mentioned, it should not be interpreted that the property is free of any other minor defects.
Throughout the report, the following repair categories will be used to give an overall opinion of the state of repair and condition of the property.
2.3.1 Category 3: Urgent repairs or replacement are needed now. Failure to deal with them may cause problems to other parts of the property or cause a safety hazard. Estimates for repairs or replacement are needed now.
2.3.2 Category 2: Repairs or replacement requiring future attention, but estimates are still advised.
2.3.3 Category 1: No immediate attention or repair is needed.
WARNING: If left unattended, even for a relatively short period, Category 2 repairs can rapidly develop into more serious Category 3 repairs. The existence of Category 2 or Category 3 repairs may have an adverse effect on marketability, value and the sale price ultimately achieved for the property. This is particularly true during slow market conditions when the effect can be considerable.
Parts of the property, which cannot be seen or accessed, will not be reported upon and this will be stated. If the Surveyor suspects that a defect may exist within an unexposed area and which could have a material effect upon the value, he may recommend further investigation by specialist contractors.
2.4 SERVICES
Surveyors are not equipped or qualified to test the services and therefore no comment can be interpreted as implying that the design, installation and function of the services are in accordance/compliance with regulations, safety and efficiency expectations. However, comment is made where there is no cause to suspect significant defects or shortcomings with the installations. No tests are made of any services or appliances.
2.5 ACCESSIBILITY
A section is included that makes provision for an Energy Report, relative to the property. The Surveyor will collect physical data from the property Company. The Surveyor cannot of course accept liability for any advise given by the Energy Company.
2.7 VALUATION AND CONVEYANCER ISSUES
The last section of the Report contains matters considered relevant to the Conveyancer (Solicitor). It also contains the Surveyor's opinion both of the market value of the property and of the reinstatement cost, as defined below.
"Market Value" is the estimated amount for which a property should exchange on the date of valuation within a willing buyer and willing seller in an arms-length transaction after proper marketing wherein the the parties have acted knowledgeably, prudently and without compulsion. In arriving at the opinion of the Market Value the Surveyor also makes various standard assumptions covering, for example, vacant possession; tenure and other legal considerations; contamination and hazardous materials, the condition of un-inspected parts; the right to use mains services; and the exclusion of curtains, carpets etc. from the valuation. In the case of flats, the following further assumptions are made that:
Any additional assumption, or any found not to apply, is reported.
"Reinstatement cost" is an estimate for insurance purposes of the current cost of rebuilding the Property in its present form unless otherwise stated. This includes the cost of rebuilding the garage and permanent outbuildings, site clearance and professional fees, but exclude VAT (except on the fees).
Sellers or prospective Purchasers may consider it prudent to instruct a replacement and revaluation after a period of 12 weeks (or sooner if appropriate) to reflect changing circumstances in the market and/or in the physical condition of the Property.