Why should you have your house valued by a chartered surveyor?

How much would it cost to rebuild your home completely in the event of catastrophic damage, putting it beyond repair? If you own your own home, you need to have an accurate valuation of what it would cost to reinstate it, in the event of a fire, for example, so you can be sure you have the correct level of insurance cover.

What do reinstatement costs include?

The rebuild, or reinstatement costs, are not the same as the market value of your house which is what you need to know when it comes time to sell it. The reinstatement figure includes the labour costs and materials costs too. As well as the cost of the actual physical construction of a new home, the rebuild figure should include any professional fees you would need and also should cover the costs of clearing the site before a rebuild could take place.

If your home is not a traditionally built house (for example, it’s not built in brick or stone with a tiled or slate covered roof) or it has special architectural features or is a listed building, always seek expert advice from a professional chartered surveyor.

Find a chartered surveyor to conduct a valuation

Whatever type of home you own, an in-depth valuation, carried out by a RICS qualified surveyor, is the only way to be sure that have enough cover, in the event that you need to make a claim.

New home owners should be able to find their rebuild cost on their mortgage valuation. However, if that document is now several years old, the figure will be outdated. Although these costs are index linked to include inflation provision, with labour and materials costs continuing to skyrocket, it’s really important to check you are still adequately insured.

It is important to remember that if you are under-insured, then any claim you need to make may result in less payout than is required to repair the damage.

In the event that the declared rebuild cost is actually too high, you should also check that you are not consequently over-insured, which would mean you would be paying more than you needed to on your building insurance premiums. You should check the rebuild cost of your home every time you renew your insurance cover.

Our team of RICS Registered Valuers can provide detailed, evidence-based robust valuation advice for all types of residential and commercial property. Contact us to find out more.