How we inspect a property before we take it on
Before we offer a figure on a house, someone walks it properly. Here is exactly what we look at, what changes the number, and what makes us say no.
A guaranteed rent offer is a promise to pay you every month whether or not anyone is staying. We can only make that promise on a property we understand, so the survey visit is not a formality. It usually takes about an hour.
The building itself
- Roof, gutters and external walls — anything likely to become a structural claim inside the term.
- Damp: meter readings in the usual places, not a glance at the skirting.
- Boiler age, service history and radiator coverage. Heating failures cause more disruption than anything else.
- Electrics: consumer unit, EICR status and date, sockets per room.
- Windows, locks, and whether every bedroom has a compliant means of escape.
The layout
Bedroom count matters less than usable bedroom count. A box room that will not take a double is not a fourth bedroom for our purposes. We also look at whether there is a second WC, whether the kitchen can serve a household of five or six, and whether there is somewhere to put a washing machine and a dryer.
Compliance paperwork
Gas safety, EICR, EPC rating, and whether the property sits inside a selective or additional licensing area. We handle licensing where it applies, but we need to know before we quote, because it changes our cost base.
What raises the figure
- Parking, especially off-street.
- A genuine fourth or fifth double bedroom.
- Two bathrooms, or a downstairs WC.
- A recently serviced boiler and a current EICR.
- Proximity to a hospital, a major employer or a motorway junction.
What we say no to
Unresolved structural movement. Active damp with no clear cause. Properties where a lease or mortgage prohibits the use. Houses so far from any demand centre that we could not fill them across any of our three channels. We would rather tell you on the day than agree a figure we cannot sustain.
What you get afterwards
A written figure, the term we are offering, and a plain list of anything we would need doing before we take it on — with a note of what we would cover ourselves. No obligation either way.