Has anyone commissioned a survey on own home prior to putting on market?

[MaureenOHara]

I was wondering if it would be useful so that I could deal with any issues before putting on the market - so as to get a smooth sale?

Yes it’s a good idea. Selling in Scotland requires you to have a Home Report ( survey) before marketing your property. They are carried out by independent surveyors.

My parents house is on the market at the moment, the Head of the estate agents went around the whole place forensically when he came to value it including going in the loft, checking all the electrics & insisted on a full report of the central heating & gas system, he even used a drone to check the roof & chimney stacks. He even told us to remove the semi fitted wardrobes in one bedroom & carpets in two bedrooms because they weren't neutral.

Yes we did.

We had an old house, grade 2 listed cottage, and although we had taken very good care of it, and couldn't see any issues, you never quite know do you?

We wanted to be fully aware if there were any issues so that we could deal with them before we went on the market.

Firstly, so that 'survey issues' wouldn't hold up the sale because we knew nothing would come up if we had already dealt with them, and secondly so we had knowledge nothing was wrong and any buyer couldn't claim their survey showed 'this' 'that' and 'the other' when we knew fully well it didn't!

It gave us a feeling of control, and peace of mind, and a survey of our own we could produce. It was money well spent for our particular house.

We haven’t but have a fairly modern, well maintained home.
DH was saying exactly this though as we just got our survey back on an older house.
It would be a lot less hassle if the sellers had the survey done and then knew what their house was actually worth or got the work done beforehand.

Not a building survey but a report on the condition of the thatched roof, with recommended actions and timescales, and estimated costs for required work.
Thatch is quite divisive and off-putting to many buyers. Giving this warts-and-all information up-front seems to have reassured some, giving them some confidence about how much they would have to factor in for re-thatching. It also flushed out early those who were easily put off so they didn’t bother viewing.
I don’t think the thatch survey held back any genuine potential sales- it probably helped. And by addressing the question up-front it removed a bargaining chip post-offer so we ended up selling on the agreed offer price.

Can't say I'd want to 'rely' on someone else's commissioned survey, but it might allow a seller to put some potential drawbacks right before going on the market.

Not that I’m planning to move as I’ve only been in my lovely new home since February, I would 100% do this using a RICS Level 2 survey.
The survey is valid for 90 days .
As others have said, in Scotland the sellers must provide a current survey at time of sale. We used ours to focus on some ‘2’s that we were able to convert to ‘1’ s.
But as a buyer if I saw a survey before purchasing it would encourage me to make an offer more quickly and confidently. I could use the viewing time to look at the ‘2’s and ‘3’s in real time and factor them into what the cost of work might be and make a more informed offer. I could also see for myself whether a specialist surveyor would be necessary.

In principal it seems sensible, but you live there!?

Surely you know about the major problems?

Surveys are far overpriced for the detail you get, you’d be much better having an electrical inspection, boiler service, getting someone knowledgable to glance at your roof & pointing.

I can see the appeal, especially with an older or altered house, but I would treat a seller-commissioned survey as a decision tool rather than something a buyer will automatically rely on. A buyer may still arrange their own inspection, and the report does not remove the need to disclose anything you know about.

If you do one, choose an independent surveyor with no connection to the estate agent and ask what level of inspection is appropriate for the age and construction of the house. Deal with any urgent safety or water-ingress points first, but do not spend heavily chasing every minor recommendation just to make the report look tidy. For specific concerns, a focused roof, drainage, electrical or damp inspection can be more useful than a broad survey. Keep invoices, guarantees and reports together so a buyer can see what was found and what was actually remedied.

As a buyer, I would still be doing my own survey. So it’s not a selling point per se. But I think a lot of buyers are naive about the issues that come with older houses, so having the info up front might either scare off time wasters or mean buyers go in with their eyes open.

However, as a seller I think it’s a great idea if you can afford it. Our house was a 5 year old new build and waiting for our buyer’s survey back was still nerve wracking even though we weren’t aware of any issues. Even if it shows minor things that you don’t fix, just being able to be up front about them on viewings and price accordingly etc would be a bonus.

Sounds a great idea especially in this hard to sell market. It shows that you are serious about moving which many sellers aren’t (some are just testing the market and seeing if they can get a ridiculous amount of money for their house and only then they will think about moving). For that reason alone I would be interested in buying their house.

From the buyer side, a seller who hands over a recent survey at the viewing or with the memorandum of sale makes an immediate good impression - it signals a house with nothing to hide, and it genuinely shortens the nervous part of the process. Two practical caveats from watching it play out. First, most buyers will still commission their own survey anyway, partly for independence and partly because the lenders valuation is a separate thing they cannot skip - so a pre-market survey earns its keep as a trust and speed tool, not as something the buyer can simply rely on. Second, and this is the bit people discover too late:: once you know about a defect you generally have to disclose it on the TA6, so commission one with your eyes open. For an older or quirky house (thatched, listed, visibly settled) the knowledge is worth it because buyers will find the issue anyway and use it against you at the eleventh hour, but on a well-maintained modern house the same money might do more work in fresh paint and a proper declutter. If you do go ahead, get quotes for any remedial work at the same time - a survey plus two written quotes turns "the house needs X" from a negotiation weapon into a priced fact.