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So you’ve done the hard work of finding your new home, agreeing a price with the vendor, working out how you’re going to pay for it, and now you’re waiting for the surveyor to go around and agree with you that your new home is worth the money and that it is 100% sound. Or is it? Often the survey report reads as though the surveyor went to a different property!

Buyers worry that a fault they knew nothing about will be uncovered, and the seller worries about the cost of repairs - and will the mortgage society put a retention figure on it?

Whilst work needed can sometimes be used to reduce the price, what if the seller cannot afford to drop further?

And a retention means that the buyer is not offered the full amount of money to fund the purchase, unless they have savings, and first time buyers have usually spent any savings as their deposit.

Costs aside, the survey report often brings up terms never before heard to the first-time property owner. What exactly is rising damp? And what can a death watch beetle do to you?

Mortgage surveyors would not be doing their job properly if they glossed over every point of concern they saw, and are bound to be very conservative in their opinions. The additional ‘specialist’ reports they often recommend can delay the purchase, but it’s best to find out the full extent of any problems before you sign the final paperwork, then at least you know what you’re in for.

On thesurveysays.co.uk we hope to dispel some of these fears, and explain what is going on with your new home, and whether or not you should really be worried.

Please use our Ask Us section if your report mentions something we’ve omitted – we are constantly improving this site!