Cosey Homes are a long-established team of Chartered Surveyors and structural engineers operating in Plymouth, Devon and across the South West. We provide a broad range of specialist property and consultancy services, having served thousands of happy clients over the last 10+ years.
If you are looking for expert impartial advice, first-class reporting and excellent customer service, contact the team at Cosey Homes to find out more about our portfolio of services, discuss your particular surveying needs or arrange for an independent property survey.
We are proud to be accredited by UK industry-leading organisations including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE).
Are you looking to buy a home in or around Plymouth on the Devon/Cornwall border? Do you need a flat or a house? Would you prefer a new build or an older property? Are you prepared to take on a fixer-upper or would you like to be able to move straight in? Sound professional advice from an independent surveyor can make all the difference in making the right decision.
Whether your property search is focused on Peverell, Lipson, Millbay or Stoke Village, or you’re looking towards Plympton, Plymstock or Modbury, or Saltash on the other side of the Tamar Bridge, we have a huge amount of local housing market expertise to put at your disposal.
At Cosey Homes, our professional survey reports are detailed, well-formatted and easy to understand, and packed with valuable guidance to empower you in your purchasing decision. What’s more, we have no commercial ties to estate agents or mortgage companies, which enables us to be entirely impartial in our advice and tailor our services to your needs alone.
You can request a RICS Homebuyers Survey quote by completing a simple form.
Cosey Homes Surveyors Plymouth
The Senate
Southernhay Gardens
Exeter
EX1 1UG
A must for anyone buying a new home
For older or altered buildings
For a highly accurate valuation
If you are thinking of purchasing a property in Plymouth or the PL postcode area in Devon or Cornwall, it is prudent to protect your financial investment by carrying out a property survey. We are experienced RICS Chartered Surveyors with extensive local knowledge in the West Country, specialising in full RICS Building Surveys (Level 3), RICS HomeBuyer Reports (Level 2), RICS Condition Reports (Level 1) and Residential Valuations for all types of property.
Formerly known as a full structural survey’, a RICS Building Survey (Level 3) is our most in-depth property investigation. It’s a detailed Level 3 survey which is perfectly suited to older properties (>70 years) including period homes and listed buildings. It is also the right choice of survey for very large properties as well as for buildings with major historical alterations or where comprehensive refurbishment works are planned. Our surveyor will carry out a detailed on-site visual inspection and produce a thorough report on the overall condition of the building including any urgent and/or significant defects such as structural movement, damp and timber decay. The survey report will also provide recommendations for required remedial works and future maintenance including cost estimates.
This mid-range survey is recommended for modern properties that are in a reasonable state of repair and that are built with standard construction materials and methods. During our site visit, we will carry out a non-invasive visual inspection of accessible building elements, with the aim of providing an overview of the building’s condition and highlighting any urgent defects. We also provide a free market valuation as standard. Using the RICS standard templated traffic-light reporting format allows the report to be easily understandable, which has proven extremely popular with our clients. A RICS HomeBuyer Report (Level 2) puts the necessary information at your fingertips to enable you to make a considered decision about your property purchase.
With a wealth of local Plymouth property knowledge and having been extensively trained in residential valuations, our RICS Registered Valuers can provide accurate property valuations that are far more robust than any informal market appraisal given by an estate agent. Our residential valuations are permissible in court and can be used for a wide range of formal purposes including matrimonial matters and divorce settlements, insurance and mortgaging purposes, personal asset valuations, tax and probate matters. Get in touch today to find out more.
The most basic home survey option is the RICS Condition Report (Level 1). If you are looking to buy a new-build home or a property that is only a few years old, this may be all that’s required to give you the peace of mind that the building is in good condition. We will carry out a brief visual site inspection and produce a summary report to assess the building’s overall state of repair. While no defects are expected to be found, the report will highlight any obvious areas of concern. However, there is not enough scope in a Level 1 survey report to make any recommendations for repair or maintenance.
At Cosey Homes, we would always recommend an in-depth Building Survey (Level 3) for properties that are older than 70 years. This includes Victorian and Edwardian homes, properties situated in a Conservation Area as well as listed buildings. A Level 3 survey offers sufficient scope to cover the unique features, qualities and requirements of a historic character home.
A HomeBuyer Report (Level 2) is a mid-range investigation designed to give an overview of the building’s condition and highlight any urgent areas of concern. A Building Survey (Level 3) is a more detailed analysis that covers all major defects. This is the best choice for older or larger buildings, ‘fixer upper’ projects and non-standard properties.
If the survey findings flag up unexpected problems or urgent remedial works, you are well within your rights to renegotiate the sale price. Many buyers ask for a discount to cover the cost of unexpected repairs (or obtain assurances from the seller that he will fix the problem before contracts are exchanged). Of course, there is no guarantee that the seller will accept a lower offer but there’s certainly no harm in trying.
According to English property law, a transaction only becomes legally valid once contracts have been exchanged. Gazumping is a perfectly legal (though frowned upon) practice whereby the seller accepts a higher offer before exchange, effectively pushing you out of the transaction.
With so many different property surveys on the market, it can be hard to know which is the right one to choose. At Cosey Homes, we recognise that you need professional guidance and advice to talk through all available options including the pros and cons of each survey type. Why not get in touch today for a friendly chat with our expert team?
We pride ourselves on our excellent customer service and will work as swiftly as we can to deliver your report. As a general rule, you can expect to receive it by email as a PDF document within 5 working days after the site visit. If you require an additional hard copy, this can be arranged for an extra fee.