A clear, expert survey before you commit RICS Level 2 and Level 3 home surveys

As a rule, choose a Level 2 for a conventional house or flat built from around the 1950s onwards that's in reasonable, well-maintained order, and a Level 3 for anything older, of unusual or non-traditional construction, visibly neglected, or significantly altered or extended.

The RICS Home Survey Standard sets the framework, and the real gap between the two is depth: a Level 2 confirms the property's condition and flags problems that are urgent or serious, while a Level 3 investigates how the building is put together and why a defect has happened — not just that it exists. If you're unsure which fits, we'll quote for both and explain the difference so you can decide on scope rather than guesswork. We'd rather you bought the right level than the dearest one, and where a property clearly warrants a Level 3, we'll say so plainly.

Quite a lot more — in both building terms and everyday-living terms. Beyond the Level 2's condition assessment, a Level 3 establishes how the property is built and how its materials will perform over time, exposes the hidden problems that visible defects often point to, sets out repair options with a timeline and the consequences of leaving things unaddressed, and comments specifically on energy efficiency.

Our Level 3 reports also go further than the RICS baseline on the practical things that shape daily life. We provide information on the mobile phone and broadband signal you can expect at the property, comment on local sources of noise pollution, and give fuller, more detailed guidance on the home's energy efficiency than a Level 2 — the kind of factors most buyers only discover after they've moved in, and which our Level 2 reports don't cover. For an older, extended or higher-value home, it's that combination of structural depth and liveability detail that usually justifies stepping up from a Level 2.

Yes — the two things do completely different jobs. Your lender's valuation exists to protect the lender, not you. It assesses whether the property is adequate security for the loan, is often carried out with little or no internal inspection, and you may never even see a copy.

It is not a survey, and it won't tell you about the property's condition or the defects you'd be taking on. A home survey is commissioned by you, for you, by a surveyor who has inspected the property in person — and it's the only one of the two that sets out the property's true condition and the issues worth raising before you're committed. Treating the mortgage valuation as a survey is one of the more expensive mistakes a buyer can make.

As soon as your offer is accepted and you're reasonably confident the sale is proceeding — earlier than most people assume. Booking promptly matters because the survey often informs whether you proceed at all, and at what price; leaving it late can hold up your solicitor or push a finding past the point where renegotiation feels comfortable.

Our on-site inspection takes a few hours, a world away from the ten or twenty minutes of a typical viewing, and we usually issue the report about a week afterwards, followed by a call from the surveyor who carried it out. Building that into your timeline early keeps the purchase moving and means any serious finding surfaces while you still have room to act on it.

Our Level 2 surveys start from £650 + VAT and our Level 3 surveys from £900 + VAT, with every quote priced individually. The right fee depends on the property's size, age, construction and complexity, so instead of a flat rate we look at your specific property and give you a clear, bespoke figure with no surprises.

You can also add an independent Market Valuation, a buildings reinstatement (insurance rebuild) figure, or both, from £199 + VAT — taken separately or combined at a discount. Where a property could reasonably take either level, we'll quote for both so you can weigh the difference in scope and price side by side before you decide.

Often, yes — and for many buyers it's where the survey pays for itself. When a report identifies defects that need attention, you have evidence to go back to the seller and ask for a reduction, or for works to be done before completion.

Buyers who add our independent Market Valuation use it the same way: where our assessed Market Value sits below the agreed price, that's a documented, RICS-backed basis for a conversation about the figure. The more thorough the survey, the stronger that position — a Level 3's detailed account of defects, repair priorities and likely consequences gives you far more to work with than a headline condition rating. We won't promise a particular outcome, but we'll give you the facts to negotiate from.

Our surveys are carried out by RICS-qualified surveyors who are also RICS Registered Valuers — so the person assessing the building can also speak to its value, which not every firm can offer. We deliberately keep volumes modest, around three to four surveys a week per surveyor, so each property gets unhurried attention.

Our surveyors are also CAA-licensed drone pilots, so we fly drones to inspect roofs and chimneys up to seven storeys; we include a complimentary solicitor's summary with every survey; and your surveyor calls you afterwards to talk the report through. And we don't upsell: where a Level 2 is right, we'll tell you, and where a property needs a Level 3, we'll be straight about that too. The aim is the right level of detail for your property — and full information in your hands before you're contractually committed.