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Q | | When will I need a Home Report for the property I am selling? |
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A | | Home Reports will be required for all residential properties marketed and sold in Scotland from 1st December 2008. |
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Q | | Why are Home Reports being put in place? |
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A | | Home Reports are being introduced to help provide prospective buyers with more detailed information upfront before offers are made and expenses incurred. |
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Q | | What does a Home Report consist of? |
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A | | The Home Report contains three key documents to provide details on the condition of the house to prospective buyers and allow an informed decision to be made. These documents are: - Single Survey
This will be completed by a surveyor and provides details on the accessibility, value and condition of the property.
- Energy Report
This will be completed by a surveyor and will contain details of the property’s current energy rating and recommendations on how this could be improved.
- Property Questionnaire
This will be completed by the seller and provides the estate agency/ the prospective buyers/ their solicitors and the surveyor conducting the other elements of the Home Report (i.e. Single Survey & Energy Report) with useful information about the property. This information will include details of any extension or building work that has been done to the property, the property’s council tax band and parking facilities.
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Q | | If my house is already on the market before December 1st do I still need a Home Report? |
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A | | No, if your home is already for sale prior to December 1st you do not require a Home Report. Although you will not require a Home Report you will need to obtain an Energy Performance Certificate ("EPC") if your house will still be on the market after January 4, 2009. This is because there is a separate duty arising from European law to make the EPC available to any prospective buyer of the house after January 4, 2009. |
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Q | | How much will a Home Report cost and who pays? |
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A | | The seller of a property is responsible for the cost of a Home Report. The fee scale for the Single Survey and the Energy Report will be set by the surveying firm according to the size of the property. The Property Questionnaire document which his carried out by the seller incurs no external costs. |
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Q | | How soon do I have to provide a potential buyer with the Home Report for my property? |
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A | | A seller is required to produce a Home Report within nine days of a prospective buyer making a request for it. |
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Q | | How ‘old’ can the Home Report documents be when my property is put on the market? |
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A | | The government legislation says that the Home Report documents should be no more than 12 weeks old when the house is put on the market. |
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Q | | Will the Home Reports have an expiry date? |
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A | | The government legislation does not impose a set shelf life for the Home Reports. The need for the documents to be refreshed will be decided upon on a case by case basis. |
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