How to save money with a property survey

How to save money with a property survey

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When you find your dream home in France, it's easy for your budget to run away with you. Finding the right property is more than just the purchase price: there are always additional and hidden costs which a good surveyor can help you understand and even reduce or avoid completely! 

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With a comprehensive property survey, you'll have all the facts you need. You'll know whether you can achieve your goals, where you can save money, and any early or unexpected expenditure that you'll need to consider.

 

Here's how a survey can help you make the most of your budget and avoid hidden costs.

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1. Can I achieve my goals?

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Choosing the right new home is all-important. And knowing if you can add that extra bedroom and en suite or kitchen extension can turn a good property into a great investment.

 

Your surveyor will be able to let you know whether it's possible to achieve your goals for renovation and extension, which is often cheaper than buying a bigger property.

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2. What's worth keeping?

 

Of course, retaining original features is always popular. Your surveyor will be able to tell you which original elements of the property are in good condition or can be salvaged.

 

Roofs, floors, doors and windows, and electrics and heating are often the areas of the building that need replacing first, and can be expensive.  In certain cases, some parts of the building may need replacement or even rebuilding.

 

Find out from your surveyor if any sections of the property need to be rebuilt or if are they sound enough to be included as they are within the renovations, to save you time and money.

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3. How much can I save with DIY?

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Doing some of the work yourself can help reduce your overall spend, but bear in mind the logistics of it all. Planning to do much of the work at weekends invariably takes longer than expected, and you'll need to factor in time and costs of travelling to the property and sourcing supplies locally.

 

Even for serious DIY'ers, some areas should be left to the professionals, including structural work, roofs, and gas, electrics, heating, and drainage, which must meet high regulatory and safety standards.

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To help with your budget, a good surveyor will be able to highlight where cost savings can be made through DIY, where a tradesperson would be required, and indicative costs of necessary repairs or renovations.

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4. What are the priorities?

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Knowing what your priorities should be can help you budget far more effectively.

 

Your surveyor will be able to highlight urgent safety and security issues, such as dangerous electrics, insecure locks and broken staircases, and key building repairs, such as faulty boilers and leaking roofs and windows.

 

You'll know what needs urgent attention and what can wait. From here, you'll be able to create a project plan to map out and regulate your overall spend.

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5. How much will my total investment be?

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Perhaps the most important information you'll need to know is, 'How much is this all going to cost me?'

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And of course, any urgent work that needs doing to make the property habitable before you move in will lead to extra costs that will have to be found during or after purchase. All of this will need to be considered as part of your overall investment.

 

A good surveyor can bring all of this together for you, pinpointing areas of expenditure that you'll need to consider both upfront and in the medium- to long-term, providing estimated timescales and indicative costs. 

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How can we help you?

 

Find out how we can help you save money with a French property survey.

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