Over 7m UK homeowners have taken a serious financial risk by choosing not to have a survey completed on their current property, reveals new research from Churchill Home Insurance. This includes 3.5m people who did not have any type of independent checks completed and 3.6m who assumed a mortgage valuation was sufficient.

With the price of property stretching many home owners’ budgets, it appears people are scaling back on the level of surveys completed on their property pre-purchase and choosing to go down the cheapest route. The number of people having at least a base level survey has increased over time, from 63% 20 years ago to 91% in the last 12 months. The number of homeowners, however, having the comprehensive building survey has reduced significantly, from 28% 20 years ago to just 6% in the last 12 months.

Martin Scott, head of Churchill home insurance said: “It’s encouraging to see the number of people having a survey has increased over time. Only by having a qualified surveyor assess a property are prospective buyers fully informed of the true state of that property, so it is an essential part of the buying process. Those relying on a mortgage valuation alone should be wary as this is just a cursory look at a property from a mortgage lender to assess how much it is worth, not a survey looking at the state of the property.”