Guides & tools
Your questions, answered.
Plain-English answers to the questions homeowners actually ask, written to help you brief professionals with confidence. Costs researched, sources shown.
Every cost claim is sourced to a named publication or official body - how we write our guides.
Buying a home.
How much does a Level 2 Home Survey cost?
Typical Level 2 Home Survey fees in 2026, what moves the price up or down, what the survey includes, and when you should pay more for a Level 3 instead.
6 min read
Level 2 vs Level 3 survey: which do I need?
The real differences between a Level 2 and a Level 3 survey, what each costs, and a straightforward test for choosing the right one for your property.
6 min read
What does a Level 2 Home Survey include?
What a surveyor inspects in a Level 2 Home Survey, how the traffic-light ratings work, what's left out, and what happens after the report lands.
6 min read
What problems do Level 2 surveys find, and what happens next?
The issues Level 2 Home Surveys flag most often, what a condition rating 3 actually means, and how buyers use survey findings to renegotiate or walk away.
6 min read
How much does a Level 3 Building Survey cost?
Typical Level 3 Building Survey fees in 2026, what pushes the price up, how the cost compares with a Level 2, and when the extra spend earns its keep.
6 min read
Is a Level 3 Building Survey worth it?
When the deepest survey earns its fee, when a Level 2 genuinely does the job, and the property warning signs that settle the question either way.
5 min read
What happens during a Level 3 Building Survey?
How a Level 3 Building Survey actually runs: what the surveyor inspects, how long it takes, what the report contains and how it differs from lighter surveys.
6 min read
Structural problems a Level 3 survey can uncover
Subsidence, roof structure, damp and timber: the serious defects a Level 3 Building Survey is designed to catch, and what to do when one appears in your report.
6 min read
How much does conveyancing cost?
Typical conveyancing legal fees for buying and selling in 2026, what disbursements really are, and the extras that catch buyers out.
6 min read
Conveyancer or solicitor: does it matter?
The difference between licensed conveyancers and solicitors, when it matters, and what actually predicts a good experience - whoever you instruct.
5 min read
How conveyancing works: from offer to completion
Every stage of the conveyancing process explained: instruction, searches, enquiries, mortgage offer, exchange and completion - and where the time really goes.
7 min read
Why conveyancing takes so long (and what actually speeds it up)
Where conveyancing loses its weeks - searches, enquiries, chains and silence - and the handful of things buyers and sellers can genuinely do about it.
6 min read
How much does a mortgage broker cost?
What mortgage brokers charge in 2026, how fee-free brokers get paid, and how to judge whether a broker fee is worth paying.
5 min read
Mortgage broker vs going direct to the bank
When a whole-of-market broker beats walking into your bank, when direct is fine, and the cases where a broker earns their keep several times over.
6 min read
How getting a mortgage works, from AIP to offer
The mortgage journey step by step: agreement in principle, full application, valuation and offer - with realistic timings and the checks behind each stage.
6 min read
Self-employed and getting a mortgage: what actually matters
How lenders assess the self-employed, what accounts and evidence you need, and why a broker changes the odds more here than anywhere else.
6 min read
How much does a snagging survey cost?
Typical snagging survey prices by property size, why value doesn't change the fee, and what a professional snagging inspection includes.
5 min read
Do I need a snagging survey on a new build?
Why brand-new homes still need inspecting, what snagging surveys find that buyers miss, and the maths of a few hundred pounds against a two-year defects window.
5 min read
When to book a snagging survey: before completion or after?
The timing question that decides how much leverage you have: pre-completion inspections, moving-in snag lists, and the two-year defects period.
5 min read
The snags inspectors find most in new builds
The defects that turn up again and again in new homes, which ones matter, and how to get the developer to fix them under your warranty.
6 min read
How much does a shared ownership valuation cost?
Typical RICS staircasing valuation fees in 2026, who pays, how long the valuation lasts, and the other costs of buying more shares.
5 min read
Staircasing valuations: the rules that set your price
Why the market value, not what you paid, prices every extra share - and the valuation rules housing associations apply when you staircase.
5 min read
How staircasing works, step by step
The full staircasing process: valuation, application, mortgage, solicitor and completion - with costs, timings and what changes at 100%.
6 min read
Staircasing valuation expired? What happens next
Staircasing valuations last three months. What an expiry costs, how desktop updates work, and how to keep your purchase on track.
5 min read
How much does a damp survey cost?
Independent damp and timber survey prices in 2026, why the free ones aren't free, and what a proper investigation includes.
5 min read
Your survey flagged damp: do you need a specialist?
What a damp flag in a Level 2 or Level 3 survey actually means, when a specialist damp and timber survey is worth it, and when it's negotiating theatre.
5 min read
What a damp and timber survey covers
Inside an independent damp and timber inspection: moisture profiling, timber checks, what the kit really tells the surveyor, and what the report should give you.
5 min read
How much does a structural engineer's report cost?
Typical structural engineer report and calculation fees in 2026, what changes the price, and how to buy exactly the report you need.
5 min read
Structural engineer vs surveyor: who do you need?
What surveyors spot and engineers prove: which professional fits which problem, and the order that saves paying for both unnecessarily.
5 min read
Moving home.
How much do removals cost?
Typical UK removal costs by property size and distance, what packing adds, why dates move the price, and how to keep the bill sensible.
6 min read
Removal company vs hiring a van: the honest comparison
The real cost gap between DIY van hire and a removals firm once fuel, insurance, time and broken sleep are counted - and when each is right.
5 min read
Moving day: how it actually runs
The realistic timeline of a moving day with a removals firm, where chains cause waits, and what makes the day go smoothly.
5 min read
Booking removals when your completion date keeps moving
How to book a removals firm around an uncertain chain: flexible bookings, cancellation terms, storage gaps and the dates to avoid.
5 min read
How much does an end of tenancy clean cost?
Typical end of tenancy cleaning prices by property size in 2026, what oven and carpet add-ons cost, and what landlords can actually require.
5 min read
What an end of tenancy clean includes
The checklist agencies actually inspect against: room by room, what professional end of tenancy cleans cover, and what still catches tenants out.
5 min read
Getting your deposit back: cleaning disputes and evidence
Why cleaning is the most common deposit deduction, what fair wear and tear really means, and the evidence that wins disputes.
5 min read
How much does a Home Report cost?
Typical Home Report prices in Scotland in 2026 by property value, what the fee includes, and why going cheap on it can cost a sale.
5 min read
Home Reports: what sellers and buyers each pay for
Who commissions and pays for the Home Report, what buyers can rely on, and when a buyer still needs their own survey on top.
5 min read
What's in a Home Report: the three parts explained
The Single Survey, Energy Report and Property Questionnaire explained - what each covers, how to read the condition ratings, and what's not included.
6 min read
When the Home Report valuation comes in low
What a low Home Report valuation means for sellers and buyers, how it collides with offers over, and the practical ways deals still get done.
5 min read
Improving your home.
How much does a party wall award cost in 2026?
Typical party wall surveyor fees, what drives the price up or down, who pays, and how to keep costs sensible on a domestic project.
6 min read
Do I need a party wall surveyor?
A plain-English test for whether your extension, loft or basement falls under the Party Wall Act - and what happens if you ignore it.
5 min read
Party wall notices: how to serve one (and how to respond)
The three types of party wall notice, notice periods, what to include, and your options if you've received one from a neighbour.
7 min read
Can we use one agreed party wall surveyor?
How the agreed surveyor route works under the Party Wall Act, how much it saves, when it's the right call and when separate surveyors are genuinely wiser.
5 min read
How much does an architect cost?
Typical UK architect fees in 2026: fixed-fee drawings, percentage fees for fuller services, and how to compare quotes that include different amounts of work.
6 min read
Architect vs architectural technologist vs plan drawer
Who's actually allowed to call themselves an architect, what technologists and designers do well, and how to pick the right professional for your project and budget.
6 min read
What an architect does at each stage of your project
From first sketches to site visits: the stages of an architect's involvement, what you get at each one, and where you can sensibly stop.
6 min read
Do I need planning permission for my extension?
Permitted development rules for extensions in plain English: the size limits, the exceptions, and how to find out for certain before you spend on drawings.
6 min read
How much does an asbestos survey cost?
Typical asbestos survey prices for homes in 2026, what sampling adds, and when a survey is legally required before work starts.
5 min read
Management vs refurbishment asbestos surveys
The two survey types explained: what each is for, what each costs, and why builders ask for the refurbishment survey before touching a pre-2000 home.
5 min read
What happens during an asbestos survey
How a domestic asbestos survey runs: where surveyors look, how sampling and lab analysis work, and what the report and register mean.
5 min read
Found asbestos in your home: what now?
Why asbestos in good condition is usually left alone, when removal is genuinely needed, and the licensed work you must never DIY.
6 min read
Structural calculations for an extension, explained
What structural calculations cover, when building control demands them, what they cost, and how engineers fit into your extension team.
5 min read
Around the home.
Deep clean vs regular clean: what you're actually buying
The real difference between a deep clean and a regular clean, what each costs, and which jobs justify the bigger bill.
5 min read
How much does a Help to Buy valuation cost?
What a RICS valuation for repaying your Help to Buy equity loan costs in 2026, the rules the valuer must meet, and how long the figure stays valid.
5 min read
Do I need a RICS valuation to repay Help to Buy?
When a RICS valuation is compulsory for redeeming your equity loan, when a sale price stands in for it, and why an estate agent appraisal never counts.
5 min read
How repaying your Help to Buy loan works
The equity loan redemption process step by step: valuation, application, solicitor, completion - with realistic timings and the deadlines that matter.
6 min read
Disagree with your Help to Buy valuation? Your options
What to do when the RICS valuation feels wrong: how to challenge it, when a second valuation helps, and how timing changes what you owe.
5 min read
Condensation, penetrating or rising damp: which is it?
How to tell the three kinds of damp apart, why most 'rising damp' is condensation, and which fixes match which problem.
6 min read
Cracks in your walls: when to worry
Which cracks are normal, which patterns point to movement or subsidence, and when a structural engineer's opinion is worth every penny.
6 min read
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