Home Reports are here!

What Home Reports Mean to You

From 1 December 2008, every home advertised for sale must – by law – have a Home Report. This report must be ready before your home is advertised.

The report contains information about your home, including a survey, that will be made available to prospective buyers on request.

Trust us to Deliver

If you are thinking of selling, you can instruct us to provide a Home Report as part of the preparations for putting your home on the market.

As lawyers and estate agents, we have a unique combination of skills and expertise that makes us ideally suited to preparing a Home Report for your home.

We will instruct a qualified surveyor to provide the Single Survey and the Energy Report, compile these reports and the Property Questionnaire into a finished Home Report and make it ready for distribution to interested buyers on-line, by e-mail and as a printed document.

What can you expect from us:

1. Expert recommendations on market value

2. Prompt instruction of the Single Survey and Energy Report

3. Speedy delivery of the completed report to get your home on the market as soon as possible

4. High quality presentation of your home

5. On-line, electronic and hard-copy distribution to buyers

6. Regular updates on progress

7. Regular reports on buyers who have viewed your Home Report

8. A range of payment options to suit your circumstances.

I’m Thinking of Selling – What do I do Now?

As of December 1, you will need a Home Report before your home is advertised for sale.

The best way to achieve this is to ask us to instruct a Home Report on your behalf.

We will provide an expert valuation for your home based on the latest sales information and will compile a dossier of evidence for the surveyor to support that valuation.

At the same time, we will integrate the delivery of the Home Report with the other preparations we make for advertising your home such as production of schedules and preparing advertisements.

This will ensure that once the Home Report is complete, we will be ready to advertise your home immediately.

How Much Will a Home Report Cost – and Who Pays?

The cost of a Home Report will depend on the Single Survey. Generally, the cost of a survey is related to the property value, so the cost of a Home Report will vary according to the value of your home.

It is expected that, as the seller, you will pay for the Home Report. GSPC has negotiated special rates with surveyors to ensure that Home Reports provided by GSPC members provide the best value for money in the market.

We can provide a range of payment options including deferred payment arrangements that could mean you will not have to pay for your Home Report until your home is sold. Please ask us for more information.

What’s in a Home Report?

The Home Report is divided into three sections:-

• Property Questionnaire
• Single Survey
• Energy Report

All the sections are designed to supply the seller and buyer with detailed information on the condition and value of a property – before offers are made.

Energy Performance Certificates

The Energy Performance of Buildings (Scotland) Regulations 2008 make it mandatory for every residential property sold or rented out after 4th January 2009, to have an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). Accordingly, where a building is to be sold or let, the owner must make a copy of a valid EPC for the building available free of charge to a prospective buyer or prospective tenant.

The EPC provides a measure of how energy efficient your home is in much the same way as dishwashers and other electrical appliances now display an energy rating. The EPC also provides information on how the energy efficiency of the home can be improved.

Please contact us if you need any assistance. We will be happy to recommend a surveyor to carry out the necessary inspection for you.