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Prestwick and Troon are both towns on the west coast of Ayrshire with a combined population of roughly 30,000 people. The Ayr office of Allied Surveyors covers these areas and their surrounding villages. Recently, properties for sale in Prestwick and Troon are commanding sale prices in excess of Home Report values. This is primarily fuelled by a lack of stock coming to the market in the form of new homes. Potential sellers are also holding off putting their properties on the market because of a lack of choice of property for either “trading up” or “downsizing”, further exacerbating the issue. Average sale prices in Prestwick according to Rightmove are £159,916 and for Troon £188,232. However, actual sale prices are likely to be significantly in excess of these figures in, particularly attractive areas.
The area is awash with amenities and attractions which further boost the popularity of the towns. In particular, Troon is home of the Royal Troon Golf Course, one of the hosts to the Open Golf Championship. Indeed, Prestwick and Troon are home to many other golf clubs and the wider Ayrshire area is home to nearly 50 courses. Near Prestwick is Ayr Racecourse which is Scotland’s only Grade 1 track and has been voted Scotland’s best racecourse nineteen times to date. It has been designated a five-star visitor attraction by Visit Scotland.
Further boosting the popularity of the towns is the nearby abundance of good schools and transport links. Troon and Prestwick have reputable primary schools on their doorsteps and are well within the catchment area for reputable secondary schools such as Kyle Academy, Wellington School and Prestwick Academy. Regular trains to and from Glasgow make it relatively easy to commute.
For the foreseeable future, the market in 2018 in the Prestwick and Troon areas, in particular, is likely to remain strong.
Home Reports
Since 1 December 2008, it has been a legal requirement for the seller of a residential property to obtain a Home Report before marketing the property (there are a small number of exceptions such as sales of new build properties and private sales.)
The Home Report is usually arranged through the selling agent or solicitor but it is perfectly acceptable for the seller to arrange it themselves. The seller is responsible for the cost of the Home Report which ranges from £360 (inc VAT) to over £1,000 depending on the value of the property. However, this cost will be somewhat negated by the fact the seller, most likely, will not have to pay for a survey for the property they will be purchasing (assuming it is in Scotland).
The Home Report includes far more information than the Mortgage Valuations which approximately 90% of purchaser relied on before Home Reports existed. The information in a Home Report is split into four sections:
The Single Survey
This forms the majority of the report. Part one of the Single Survey is basically a description of the property including the construction, the heating system, garages/outbuildings and garden ground. Part two of the Single Survey is probably the key part of the report as it provides a condition review with the various parts of the property being given a condition rating from a ‘1’, which means ‘no immediate action or repair is needed’ to a ‘3’ which means an ‘urgent repair or replacement is needed now’. A category ‘2’ covers repairs which will require future attention.
The Market Value is also included in the Single Survey.
The Energy Performance Certificate (EPC)
This document provides an ‘Energy Rating’ based on items such as the construction method, the heating system, insulation levels and even the number of low energy light bulbs. The EPC provides useful information about what works could be carried out to a property to make it more energy efficient.
The Property Questionnaire
The document is provided by the seller and includes useful information such as the service providers, the Council Tax banding and whether any alterations have been carried out to the property.
The Mortgage Valuation (MV)
The MV is a summary of the rest of the report which is used for lending purposes. If the purchaser of the property needs a mortgage, the lender can ask the surveyor to provide a transcription of the MV which it then uses to help it make a lending decision. Allied Surveyors Scotland is on all the major lending panels so can provide MV transcriptions to all the major lenders.
Some of the regulations surrounding Home Reports include:
1 – The Home Report must be no more than 12 weeks old when the property is first marketed.
2 – The property can be taken off the market for up to four weeks without having to arrange a new Home Report.
3 – The Home Report does not need renewing if the property is continuously marketed. If it takes longer than three months to sell the property, a Replacement Home Report may be required for lending purposes but this will only be needed at the time of sale, not every three months.
There are far more regulations surrounding Home Reports. Further information can be found at this website:
www.gov.scot/Topics/Built-Environment/Housing/BuyingSelling/Home-Report
Further Information
If you would like any further information or would like to arrange a Home Report, please do not hesitate to contact us at our closest office. Details as follows:
Address – 3 Alloway Street, Ayr, KA7 1SP
Phone – 01292 260 509
Email – ayr@alliedsurveyorsscotland.com
Web – www.alliedsurveyorsscotland.com
Home Report Quotation
If you would like a quote for a Home Report please contact the office or click on this link: