Drain surveys should never be considered an additional expense, it is now considered to be one of the most valuable parts of the surveying process and is not to be over looked. Defective drainage systems are responsible for major structural defects in buildings, subsidence and can be avoided if located and corrected in time.
So what should you expect from a Home Buyers CCTV Drainage Survey?
In most cases the drain will require high pressure jetting to clean the drain prior to surveying. This ensures that the footage, photographs and report will be of the highest quality. A typical home buyers CCTV drain survey on a standard 3 bedroom home will take around three hours. The first hour to clean the drainage system and the remaining two hours to carry out the survey. When booking a survey always be sure that you have been quoted for jetting as well as surveying.
To prevent any delays with sale, we would recommend the survey to be carried out as soon as possible, and prior to exchange of contracts.
There is no good reason not to have a drainage survey carried out – drain surveys remain valid for 5 years and should be kept as a historical record. Survey reports can be re-used within a five year period as part of a sellers pack meaning they retain their value. Commercial / industrial properties should also be considered for all of the above mentioned reasons.
What is in the report?
At Advance Drain Services, our NADC C-D-S (Certified Drainage Surveyor) will provide you with an easy to read report, which will include the following:
- Structural Condition Reporting/analysis
- Misconnections identification and reporting
- Drainage system ownership – Private/Water Company
- Detection of vermin within the drainage system
We will also provide a PDF report and live feed link.
For your information :
- Mortgage lenders and insurance companies may request a drain survey. These reports will satisfy all parties including solicitors for CON29DW’s (Water Searches)
- Water company could be for-warned about any defects on their asset, saving time and money on repairs and preventing the buyer from inheriting problems
- Most RICS building surveyors do not carry the equipment to carry out an in-depth survey to a critical part of the structure (everything else can be properly inspected apart from the drainage system.)
- Buyers are often left in the dark about the condition of drains which are often out of sight, out of mind and can often be in a very poor condition
If you would like to know more about our home buyers CCTV survey's, please contact us on 01622 470118 or email drainage@advance.fm