domestic energy assessors

What is A Home Condition Report ?

The Home Condition Report is an objective report on the physical condition of a property. The HCR is more or less like a 'health check' for the property and provides information that buyers, sellers as well as mortgage lenders make use of for property buying/selling processes. Naturally, HCR's have become an important (though not a compulsory) part of Home Information Packs.

Neither as detailed as a Building Survey nor as concise as a mortgage lender's valuation inspection, HCR's are 'mid-range' surveys that describe the general condition of a property with respect to its age, features and its location. HCR's contain a lot many details, right from energy efficiency reports to structural flaws, etc. but do not contain any valuation elements.

As per the Housing Act 2004, a home information pack which may contain a home condition report needs to be put together before it is put up for sale. HCR's are either to be commissioned by sellers or by the estate agents and they need to employ specially certified home inspectors (registered with an industry-run scheme approved by the Government) for the inspection job. Home Inspectors need to have NVQ Level 4 qualification (that is equivalent to degree level qualification) and in-depth understanding of structural integrity and construction flaws in single homes and residential complexes.

What Does A Home Condition Report Contain?

A Home Condition Report upholds the physical condition of a home/property in a standard format. It provides details about the structure and condition of the home on the date it has been inspected. Condition ratings are also done as part of HCR's; the rating, of course, is focused on the major parts of the main building. House-owners, therefore, get to know about major defects and/or damages; the minor problems are not dealt with in a HCR.

Details on the energy efficiency of a building and its environmental impact are also included in the HCR. (The Energy Performance Certificate that rates a house on its energy efficiency as well as on its environmental impact, even suggesting improvement measures, is a 'compulsory' document included in the HIP).

Why Is A Home Condition Report Considered So Important?

Researches have shown that many a property transactions are abandoned mid-way and in most cases, the reason behind this has been due to inadequate information about a house's physical condition. Survey-related problems have also been at the base of the delays in the process even after offer acceptance. Viewed from this angle, HCR's have proved beneficial for all parties involved in a property transaction.

A Home Condition Report is definitely an advantage for a seller. The information helps them work up a proper marketing strategy and determine a reasonable asking price. Additionally, with HCR's sellers get a chance to fix or at least get some quotations for any defects/ problems detected. This further helps the seller gain the confidence of the buyer and avoid delays and/or gazumping.

Buyers are making more-informed purchases and hence they are not facing complex situations like having to pay high repair bills or any other serious problem cropping up immediately after possession. Moreover, with HCR's it has now become quite easy for buyers to get mortgage lenders to finance their purchases.

With speedy process, no re-negotiations, no sales falling through, everybody involved is less stressed, instead everyone is going gaga over HCR's!