Cosey Homes are an established practice of Chartered Surveyors and structural engineers in Birmingham and the West Midlands. We have in excess of 10 years’ industry experience and are accredited by the most important professional industry bodies including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE).
Our team provides a full range of property surveying and consultancy services including residential property valuations, RICS HomeBuyer Survey (Level 2) and RICS Building Survey (Level 3). Purchasing a property is one of the most important investment decisions of your life, after all, which is why it is essential that you’re able to make an informed choice.
At Cosey Homes, we will provide you with a thorough understanding of the physical condition of the building you are thinking of buying.
You can request a RICS Homebuyers Survey quote by completing a simple form.
Birmingham Victoria Square
One Victoria Square
Birmingham
West Midlands
B1 1BD
A must for anyone buying a new home
For older or altered buildings
For a highly accurate valuation
Cosey Homes offer a comprehensive range of services including valuations, building survey (Level 3) and reports. Our dedicated team works independently from estate agents or mortgage companies. We take great pride in our professional approach, giving impartial advice and an unbiased assessment of the building to help you make the right purchase decision. Our reports are designed to be easy to understand and contain valuable information to guide your decisions based purely on facts and figures.
As RICS accredited surveyors and valuers, we offer:
Formerly known as a Full Structural Survey, the RICS Building Survey (Level 3) is the most comprehensive property report we produce. It is usually recommended for homes that are in excess of 70 years old, for larger properties and buildings that have undergone (or are planning to undergo) significant alterations.
An in-depth visual inspection of all accessible elements of the property will assess its overall condition and state of repair, giving details of all major faults and defects including subsidence, damp, timber decay, woodworm and rot. The report will also contain our expert recommendations for remedial action and repair as well as future maintenance requirements, including cost estimates.
A HomeBuyer Survey (Level 2) is a mid-level property investigation, recommended for modern homes of standard construction that are in a reasonable state of repair. The survey is non-invasive and based on a visual inspection of all accessible elements the property. The aim is to provide an expert evaluation of the building’s overall condition, highlighting any obvious defects. The report also includes an independent market valuation. The RICS HomeBuyer Report (Level 2) is designed to help property buyers make a reasoned and informed judgement on how to proceed with their purchase.
At Cosey Homes, we use a templated reporting format that is jargon-free and easy to follow, adopting the RICS standard reporting traffic light system to highlight the severity and level of urgency of any issues found.
A RICS Condition Report (Level 1) delivers the least detailed home survey option. Our surveyor will carry out a brief site visit to assess the property’s ‘as is’ condition on the day of inspection, and produce a brief report. The survey report is designed to provide peace of mind that the building is well constructed, highlighting any obvious areas of concern but not making recommendations for maintenance or repair.
We would recommend a Condition Report for brand new homes or those that were built recently and where no building defects are expected to be found. For our professional help and guidance to choose the best survey for your home purchase, please get in touch with the Cosey Homes team.
A property purchase may well be the biggest investment you ever make, so it makes good common sense to obtain independent expert advice before you make such a huge long-term financial commitment. With a professional home survey in place, you have the peace of mind of knowing that there won’t be any expensive nasty surprises once you are the owner. And if serious building defects do come to light, you have the option of renegotiating the price with the seller, or walk away from the purchase altogether.
There are several different types of professional property survey available – RICS Condition Report, RICS HomeBuyer Report and RICS Building Survey – and as a layman you may find it confusing to decide which is the best one for your needs. The right choice of home survey largely depends on the property itself, and this is where Cosey Homes can help. Contact our expert team for professional guidance and advice, so you get the right level of detail and all the facts you need to inform your decision making.
Whether you choose a Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 home survey, the survey report won’t contain detailed information about the building’s services such as gas and electricity. The reason for this is simple in that our hands are tied. By law, we are prohibited from testing any services since Chartered Surveyors are not qualified gas or electric engineers. The best we can do is to carry out a visual inspection and add a recommendation in our report that further testing should be carried out by a qualified professional.
Whether you choose a Level 1, Level 2 or Level 3 home survey, the survey report won’t contain detailed information about the building’s services such as gas and electricity. The reason for this is simple in that our hands are tied. By law, we are prohibited from testing any services since Chartered Surveyors are not qualified gas or electric engineers. The best we can do is to carry out a visual inspection and add a recommendation in our report that further testing should be carried out by a qualified professional.
Once the site inspection visit has taken place and the survey report has been completed by one of our surveyors, we carry out in-house quality control checks before the report is ready to send out. You should expect to receive your copy of the final survey report as a PDF document via email. Should you require a hard copy in the post as well, please let us know and we can arrange this for an additional fee. At Cosey Homes, we will do our best to work as quickly as we can to get your survey ready for you. We aim to deliver all our survey or valuation reports within 5 working days from the date of the inspection.
At Cosey Homes, we will do our best to work as quickly as we can to get your survey ready for you. We aim to deliver all our survey or valuation reports within 5 working days from the date of the inspection.