Consultation on the Home Report - Analysis of Responses

Footnotes

1. These responses have been considered separately by the relevant Scottish Government officials.

2. For information, the insurance valuation and market valuation is included as part of the Single Survey. However the generic Mortgage Valuation Report is separate and is not a legal requirement of the Single Survey at the point of which the Home Report is commissioned.

3. The redress issue is discussed further at Question 16 (paragraphs 3.63-3.68 of this report).

4. As noted by some respondents, the Sustainable Housing Strategy suggested moving the EPC to the front of the Home Report document.

5. EPC started to contain Green Deal information from January 2013 and should now contain this information if relevant.

6. This comment is assumed to refer to a Scheme 3 Building Survey, as opposed to the Single Survey element of the Home Report survey which is broadly equivalent to the Scheme 2 Homebuyers Survey which was the standard product provided by surveyors before the Home Report was introduced.

7. All Single Surveys must have a valuation. Although it is not mandatory, many will contain a mortgagability statement (a generic Mortgage Valuation Report). The mortgageability statement has been drawn up by RICS and the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

8. Balancing Risk and Reward: Recommendations for a Sustainable Valuation Profession in the UK. Available at: http://www.rics.org/Global/RICS-Balancing-Risk-Reward-Sustainable-Valuation-Report.pdf

9. In fact this requirement is already in place, with Rule 9 of the RICS Code of Conduct for firms requiring them to have adequate and appropriate levels of Professional Indemnity Insurance.

10. There is a general principle of 'buyer beware' in Scots Law. This means that responsibility for assessing the condition of property and identifying any defects rests with the buyer.

11. Question 12 of the existing Property Questionnaire covers factoring charges.