Services
What is a Home Condition Report?
The Home Condition Report, which includes the energy performance certificate, is designed to be an objective report on the condition of the property on the day of inspection that can be relied upon by buyers, sellers and mortgage lenders. It will be written in layman terms in a standard format and will describe the general condition of the property taking account of its age, character and location; how energy efficient it is; and any defects or other matters requiring attention.
The HCR is designed to be a “mid-range” survey, similar to the current Homebuyer Survey and Valuation, not as detailed as a Building Survey (Full Structural Survey) but a lot more extensive than a mortgage lender’s valuation inspection. The report will not tell you how to repair the defects or how much it will cost to repair it will only tell you the defects are there.
There are two other elements to the HCR which are the Buildings Re-instatement costs and the Energy Performance Certificate ( EPC ).
The Role of the Home Inspector (HI)
The role of the HI is to carry out an independent inspection of the property and provide an impartial objective report on what was seen on the day of inspection. The HI is reporting on what is seen or what is considered to be issues as a result of the circumstances.
The HI inspects the inside and outside of the main buildings and all permanent out buildings, and the visible parts of the services – gas, electricity, water and drainage services. The inspection is non-invasive, which means the HI does not take up carpets, floor coverings or floorboards, move furniture, remove the contents of cupboards or lift and disturb loft insulation. Also the HI does not remove secured panels or undo electrical fittings. Where the Hi has not been able to inspect any parts of the home that are normally reported on this will be mentioned in the report.
The HI would expect to be able to have access to any planning permission or building regulation documents you have if you have altered the property in any way and any service certificates for electric and gas appliances.
The HI gives each part of the structure of the main building a condition ration, to make the report easy to follow. The condition ratings are: -
NI Not Inspected
1 No repair is currently needed. Normal Maintenance must be carried out
2 Repairs or replacements are needed but the HI does not consider these to be serious or urgent
3 These are defects that are either serious/urgent and/or require urgent repair or replacement.
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PCD LLP 2023