Home Report

What a Home report means for sellers and buyers

Like homes across Scotland, homes for sale in Central Scotland must have a Home Report before they can be advertised for sale.

A Home Report is made up of three documents, a Survey, an Energy Report and a Property Questionnaire.

The Single Survey

A single survey is almost certainly the most important element of the Home Report. It is a detailed survey of your home conducted by a chartered surveyor. It will comment on the main features of your home, rating different elements on a scale of 1 - 3 where 1 is in good condition, 2 means that a repair will have to be done at some pint, but it's not urgent and 3 means that action to re[pair a fault is urgent.

The Single Survey will also include a valuation of your home.

The Energy Report

The Energy Report is the part of a Home Report designed to give an idea of how energy efficient a property is. It is normally completed by the surveyor who provides the Single Survey because both can be done on the same visit. But there are also accredited energy assessors.

The Energy Report comes in two parts. The first part is an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) which gives your home a rating for how energy efficient. The Energy Performance Certificate rates homes from A (most efficient) to G (least efficient). It looks very much like the energy ratings you see on electrical items such a fridges and washing machines.

The second part includes information on your energy consumption and recommends ways that it could be reduced.

The Property Questionnaire

This is where you, the owner, comes in. The Property Questionnaire (known simply as the PQ) is designed to add to the Home Report information that only you as the owner are likely to know. It asks a range of questions from how long you have lived in the property to whether you have had any specialist timber treatment work done on the house.

Normally, the seller would be expected to complete this part of the Home Report, but CSPC member firms are well placed to help if you are unsure about how best to answer some of the questions asked.

For sellers

If you are thinking of selling, you will have to have a Home Report.

Talk to any CSPC member firm and they will able to arrange a Home Report on your behalf, swiftly, efficiently and with the minimum of fuss. That helps to make sure your home can be advertised for sale as soon as possible.

You can also expect your CSPC member to recommend a surveyor who really understands the property market where you live and who can reflect that when it comes to deciding on its full market value.

For Buyers

The Home report gives you a lot more information that you would normally have had under the previous system. It will give you an idea of market value and the condition of the property.

You are entitled to ask for a copy of the Home Report and the selling agent is obliged to provide it within nine days subject to a handful of exceptions. Normally, you should expect to get a free copy of a Home Report provided you are happy to have an electronic version. There is likely to be a charge for a printed version to cover the costs of production.