Surveyor
To avoid buying a home that will cost you far more than you expected in repairs, you should always get a survey completed before making an offer. Insurance companies and/or your mortgage lender may also require a survey. A surveyor will look at the structural soundness of the house and how well the systems within it—such as the heating, central air conditioning and plumbing—are working. If you discover costly problems, you may want to negotiate a better price for the home with the seller. In the U.K., the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors certifies surveyors who have agreed to a code of ethics and best practices.
The system of surveying a potential home is less established in other countries and is done on a more ad hoc basis. In India, for example, many home loan companies provide a service to applicants whereby they send in-house experts to scrutinize the property.
