If you are a homeowner or landlord then the idea of a house MOT may be a concept that is alien to you. But how many of you have a car and think nothing of sending it to your local garage for your annual MOT? After all, apart from being a legal requirement, having your vehicle regularly checked by experienced professionals is the best way to diagnose and pre-empt potential issues before they become serious problems that could affect the safety and performance of the vehicle. So if you treat your car with such care and attention, surely it goes to reason that your home also deserves a regular check-up from property experts? Your home is undoubtedly one of the largest investments you are likely to make in your lifetime, worth many times more than your car. Just like a car, many issues that can blight a property are nearly always avoidable, so long as they are detected and addressed before they become a serious problem. All potential problems with a property will always leave telltale signs that an expert can identify.
Enter House MOT, a unique but essential property health solution where a professional surveyor will fully assess your property, identifying any areas that may show the telltale signs that there is an issue to be addressed. The best part? Our house MOT service is delivered virtually via your smartphone or tablet device. One of our trusted surveyors will call you at a time that is convenient for you and then guide you through the property so they can view all areas through the camera on your chosen device. A full assessment will be undertaken and usually only takes around 20 minutes to complete, with the results being analysed by our team. We will then create a detailed report that is itemised in order of the severity of any potential problems and send this to you via email (with a paper copy available if requested).
At this point, you may ask why a virtual house MOT is a better option than employing a property surveyor who can actually visit your property? Well, a property surveyor will be restricted on what they actually look for. They usually only inspect the external and interior areas that are immediately available to view (especially if they are assessing the building when you are not there), whereas with the virtual service our team can instruct you to point your camera in all of the nooks and crannies that a property surveyor could miss. It is a very sensory experience with right leading questions asked to get the right results. This offers a complete overview of the entire property and any issues that may need addressing. Also, a property surveyor is normally only employed during the sales process of a property. If you have owned the building for a long period there may be issues that have become critical during that time, but which would have been picked up in the early stages by us had you given your house a regular house MOT. If a problem is in the critical stage it will cost a lot more to fix than if it had been caught early. The final advantage of using our virtual house MOT service is the convenience it offers. With the assessment only taking 20 minutes on average and performed remotely by utilising your chosen device’s camera, you can book a time that suits you. With the recent pandemic forcing many of us to reassess our interactions with strangers, especially in our own homes, this virtual solution is the ideal way to have property inspected safely.
What will a house MOT tell me?
A house MOT is designed to offer an accurate and unbiased report on every single potential issue that your property may have. Common areas of concern are dampness, mould, pipes leaking, boiler/ electrical issues, subsidence, and cracks in the brickwork/ render. Our expert surveyor will also examine the exterior of your property via the camera on your device to check for loose roof tiles, leadwork, gutters, brickwork etc. and external entry points to the building. Once everything has been checked and assessed we will get to work on our report which will detail any issue. And just like a car MOT, it may be that there are no significant areas of concern. Should this be the case then we will issue you with a ‘Certificate of Condition’, which will show that your property has a clean bill of health. Should there be any issues that need addressing then we will highlight these on the report so you have a clear idea of what needs to be fixed to be able to pass your house MOT. You are free to hire your own contractors to carry out any repairs or work as you see fit, as an independent unbiased entity we do not recommend third parties.
So now you know why regular house MOTs are so important for your property, why not get in touch with our expert team and book an appointment? Remember, by spotting potential problems early you will avoid the vastly increased cost that you may incur should that problem become critical!