Cosey Homes are a professional practice of structural engineers and Chartered Surveyors in Manchester, dedicated to providing a complete range of property services. We operate with over 10 years of industry experience, and are proud to be accredited by the most respected specialist bodies, including the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS), the Chartered Institute of Building (CIOB) and the Chartered Association of Building Engineers (CABE).
At Cosey Homes Chartered Surveyors, we provide expert guidance for residents in Manchester, and across the UK including major cities such as London, Birmingham, Bristol and Leeds. If you require property surveys or any kind of building-related advice in the Greater Manchester area, please call us on 0161 3120 100, or using the form on our Contact Us page.
Buying a property is one of the most expensive purchases of your life, and involves countless important decisions that can affect your enjoyment of your home for years to come. When it comes to making these choices, it’s essential that you are fully informed about your options and their long-term effects. At Cosey Homes, we can offer a comprehensive picture of your property’s structural integrity, physical condition and maintenance requirements to help you understand the decision you need to make.
Property buyers and investors in Manchester encounter distinctive challenges due to the city’s rapid urban development, varied building styles, and history as a centre of industry. From local planning regulations and energy efficiency requirements to issues unique to Manchester’s climate and older properties, conducting a detailed property survey can be invaluable in identifying potential risks and ensuring a wise investment.
In recent years, there’s been a surge of new-build apartments and converted properties, particularly in the city centre and surrounding neighbourhoods like Ancoats and Castlefield. Planning regulations here are often stricter for projects in conservation areas or buildings with historical significance. For example, renovations and structural changes to listed properties, common in older parts of Manchester, require special permissions to preserve architectural integrity.
Many older homes have inadequate waterproofing, leading to issues such as rising damp or mould, which can worsen over time. A property survey can identify these issues early on, allowing buyers to budget for remedial work. Additionally, structural issues like subsidence are prevalent in areas with soft clay soil, especially in South Manchester neighbourhoods such as Chorlton and Didsbury. Former industrial sites may also have contamination issues in the soil, making it important to check for land contamination certificates or environmental hazards, particularly if the property has undergone commercial-to-residential conversion.
As one of Manchester’s leading teams of Chartered Surveyors, we have used our expertise to help thousands of clients all over the north of England. We hold ourselves to an exceptionally high standard, and always work to provide the very best customer service, reliable impartial advice and quality building reports and valuations.
We are completely independent from mortgage advisors and estate agents, so you can be sure that the guidance we offer is unbiased and tailored to your best interests. We never recommend work that won’t benefit you or your home, and we make sure that our reports are well-formatted and easy to understand, so you can access the valuable information you need to make the right choice.
You can request a RICS Homebuyers Survey quote by completing a simple form.
A must for anyone buying a new home
For older or altered buildings
For a highly accurate valuation
There are many kinds of report, and different surveying offices may not follow the same industry body guidelines. At Cosey Homes, our work is approved by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and as such, we offer the following:
The most detailed survey type, a Level 3 Building Survey provides an in-depth examination of the property’s structure and condition.
The Manchester RICS Homebuyers Survey provides a more detailed evaluation of the property than the Condition Report, offering a comprehensive analysis in a standardised, easy-to-understand format.
This is the most basic survey type, providing a brief summary of the property’s overall condition at the time of inspection.
It’s recommended that every buyer commissions a survey before they proceed with a property purchase. Whether you are looking to move into a beautiful listed cottage, a newly-built modern apartment or are relocating your firm to a larger office complex, a survey can help you determine whether the property is as good as it looks, or whether there are hidden defects and substantial repairs needed before you can move in.
The results of a building survey (Level 3) often save buyers thousands of pounds in remedial work later down the line, and equip them with reasons to re-negotiate the purchase price. Even if no substantial defects are discovered, homeowners and building managers are usually quite pleased with the peace of mind a survey returns.
The cost of a property survey in Manchester will depend on the type of survey you choose, the level of detail required and property size. HomeBuyers Reports start from £400 and are suited to standard properties. They offer a more detailed look at visible defects and sometimes including a valuation. If you’re buying an older or larger property, the building survey cost in Manchester usually starts at £550 and provides a more in-depth structural analysis of the building.
It would be nice to think that a newly-built property is sold in a perfect condition. However, this is not the case, and it’s fairly common for new homes to feature a whole host of problems. A professional snagging list can capture smaller jobs, however a RICS Condition Report (Level 1) is usually chosen to reassure buyers that there are no significant problems with the construction or materials with the building.
Even if you have no specific concerns about a property, it is still important to have it surveyed professionally. Many structural issues are not immediately apparent, and it often takes specialist analysis to identify a defect, determine the cause and make accurate recommendations about how to repair it.
A survey can tell you about urgent remedial work that needs doing, as well as how much it is likely to cost. Many buyers use this information to negotiate the same amount of money off of the asking price for the property, although others prefer that the seller gets the work done as part of their sale agreement.
The most appropriate survey for a listed building is the RICS Building Survey (Level 3), as it will go into the depth necessary to cover the unique features and requirements of a historic, character home.
The main difference between a Building Survey (Level 3) and a HomeBuyers Survey (Level 2) is the depth of investigation. A HomeBuyer survey (Level 2) is non-invasive, meaning that only the visible and easily accessible parts of a building are inspected. On the other hand, a Building Survey (Level 3) will take every reasonable measure to check the condition of “hidden” areas, such as under floorboards and inside attics, and will also made informed speculations about the state of any completely inaccessible areas of the property.