A survey you commission before you sell — and one your buyer and their solicitor can rely on too. It puts the condition of your home on the table from day one, so the sale is less likely to stall or fall through. A full, Level 3-standard inspection, from £700. Kent, Sussex, Surrey and London.
Almost every home survey in England and Wales is bought by the buyer, late in the process, once they’re already emotionally and financially committed. Then the survey finds something, and the deal wobbles: a renegotiation, a delay, or a collapse. Around 30% of sales in England fall through — and the late discovery of defects is one of the biggest reasons why.
The Home Insight Survey turns that on its head. It’s commissioned by you, the seller, before the property goes on the market — and, crucially, it can be relied upon by prospective buyers and by the eventual buyer as well. The condition of the home is out in the open from the first viewing. No nasty surprises at week eight, far less room for a buyer to chip the price, and a sale that’s much more likely to actually complete.
It’s the same model that helps Scotland — where a seller’s survey is mandatory before marketing — run a fall-through rate below 10%, against England’s 30%.
The inspection is a full, thorough visual survey to the same standard as a Level 3 Building Survey — roof to drains, every accessible element. But the report goes well beyond condition alone. It brings together, in one concise document:
It’s deliberately delivered in a concise, standardised format — comprehensive underneath, but quick to read, so a buyer or their solicitor can find the key points in minutes rather than wading through fifty pages.
The report comes in two versions. The standard non-costed report tells you what needs doing and how urgent it is. The costed version adds guideline repair figures against the defects, so everyone can see the likely order of cost. I’ll talk you through which is right for your sale when you enquire.
To be straight with you: the Home Insight Survey does not include a valuation and is not intended for your lender — it’s about condition and risk, not mortgage security. If a buyer’s lender needs a valuation, that’s a separate piece of work. And while the inspection is thorough and non-invasive, like any visual survey it can’t report on what’s hidden or inaccessible.
Seller’s surveys are still new to England and Wales — you won’t find many agents suggesting one yet. I think that’s exactly why it’s worth considering: in a market with plenty of homes competing for attention, arriving with a professional survey already done is one of the simplest ways to make yours stand out, move faster and hold its price. If you’d like to be ahead of that curve, I’d be glad to talk it through.
I’m based in Hartfield, East Sussex, and carry out Home Insight Surveys across Kent, Sussex, Surrey and the London fringe — including Tunbridge Wells, Sevenoaks, Tonbridge, East Grinstead, Crowborough, Uckfield, Forest Row, Edenbridge, Crawley, Horsham and the towns and villages between.
Postcode, age and type, and roughly when you’re hoping to market it. You’ll have a fixed fee, a date and a clear scope inside one working day — usually within hours — and an honest view on whether a Home Insight Survey is the right move for your sale.