A buyer's survey contains a line recommending a specialist damp report. She has three weeks to exchange, a lender waiting and no idea whether this is a minor note or the reason to walk away.
Meanwhile an owner has a stain on a chimney breast that appeared after the storm and has read enough online to be thoroughly alarmed.
What enquirers ask
They usually ask what causes damp, whether it is serious, whether it is rising damp, what an investigation involves, how much it costs, how long it takes, whether a report is accepted by a lender, whether treatment is included, how long repairs take and whether the property is still worth buying.
Never diagnose
A photograph shows a stain. A meter shows a reading. Neither identifies a cause, and suggesting one online leads an owner into unnecessary work or away from a genuine problem. The only correct answer is that it needs investigating.
Example conversations
These scripts use information a practice might publish. Your answers should come from your own pages.
Buyer: My survey says I need a damp report. What does that involve? Assistant: The damp investigation page explains what the inspection covers, including moisture readings, external inspection of rainwater goods and ground levels, and internal checks. It also gives the fee and the report turnaround. Could you tell me the property address and your exchange date, so the team can advise on timing?
Owner: Is this rising damp? There is a tide mark on the wall. Assistant: A mark like that can have several causes and needs someone to look at it properly, so I cannot say. The page explains how the surveyor investigates and what the report will tell you, including what repairs would be needed. Would you like to arrange an inspection?
Buyer: Will the report be accepted by my lender? Assistant: The page explains what the report contains and the qualifications the surveyor holds. Whether a particular lender accepts it is for the lender to confirm, and the team can discuss what is usually required.
Independence is the selling point
A surveyor who does not sell treatment has no reason to recommend one. Saying so plainly distinguishes an independent practice from a free survey offered by a company that installs the remedy.
Timescales matter in a purchase
Buyers have deadlines and lenders waiting. Publishing how quickly an inspection can be arranged and the report issued is what wins the instruction.
Explain what the report gives them
A cause, a recommended remedy, an indication of cost and something they can take to a seller. Buyers are often really asking whether this gives them grounds to renegotiate.
Timber and woodworm need the same restraint
Whether an infestation is active is a judgement from an inspection, not from holes in a beam. The same non-diagnostic approach applies.
Capture the practical details
Address, property age and type, when the problem appeared, whether it follows weather, whether there is a survey already and any deadline.
Commercial work behaves differently
Lease-driven enquiries are covered in commercial survey and dilapidations enquiries.
Timing questions dominate every practice
They are covered in timing and report questions surveyors answer weekly.
Worried people need a particular tone
The handling is much like how veterinary clinics handle worried pet owners, and property assessments for business owners follow commercial solar enquiries from business owners.
Getting started
Publish what an investigation covers, the fee, turnaround and your independence, then capture addresses and deadlines at any hour. SpideyChat for surveyors and architects answers from your published pages and never diagnoses. Try SpideyChat on your own site, or read about capture on the features page.