Step-by-Step Survey Process

Before appointing a surveyor, clarify what you are buying and why. Your purpose and property type determine what kind of survey will actually protect you.

• Clarify your plan: Are you buying a home, holiday property, or investment?
• Identify the property type: Apartment, house, land, or development plot.
• House or apartment: Usually requires building, structural, and legality checks.
• Land: Usually requires boundary and topographic survey work.

A survey is most useful once you are serious about a specific property but before signing the main contract.

• View more than once: Visit the property at different times if possible.
• Check basics yourself: Look for damp, cracks, noise, access, and surrounding conditions.
• Do not rush to sign: Once you are close to agreeing terms, this is when the survey should happen.

Your surveyor should be independent from the seller, developer, estate agent, or any party with an interest in the sale.

• Choose a licensed surveyor: Avoid relying on the seller’s or developer’s recommended “friend”.
• Confirm the scope: Structure, damp, roof, insulation, and visible defects.
• Check legality concerns: Ask whether they will flag illegal extensions or permit issues.
• Request repair guidance: The report should indicate likely repair scale or cost range where possible.
• Agree in writing: Confirm scope, fee, and timeline before the inspection.

Your lawyer and surveyor check different but connected parts of the purchase. Their findings should be considered together.

• Lawyer checks: Title deeds, permits, mortgages, planning issues, and contract protections.
• Surveyor checks: Physical condition, defects, build quality, repairs, and technical risks.
• Shared findings: Ask both professionals to compare notes where physical issues may also create legal issues.

During the site visit, the surveyor will inspect the property’s visible condition and identify warning signs.

• Internal and external checks: Walls, roof, balconies, basement, terraces, and external areas.
• Common defects: Damp, mould, cracks, corrosion, leaks, and poor workmanship.
• Cyprus-specific risks: Flat roofs, drainage, water ingress, terraces, and coastal corrosion.
• Unapproved structures: Extra rooms, pergolas, closed balconies, roof terraces, or other additions.
• Buyer attendance: You do not have to attend, but being there can help you understand the findings better.

A good survey report should be clear, practical, and useful for decision-making.

• Condition summary: Overall rating such as good, fair, or poor.
• Photo evidence: Defects should be documented with images where possible.
• Priority level: Urgent and non-urgent issues should be separated.
• Risk areas: Damp, structural movement, coastal corrosion, leaks, or workmanship issues.
• Repair guidance: Indicative repair cost or at least order-of-magnitude estimate.

Once the report is ready, review it with your surveyor and lawyer before making a final decision.

• Proceed as planned: Suitable if the issues are minor or expected.
• Renegotiate price: Use repair costs and risk findings as evidence.
• Request seller repairs: Ask for specific items to be fixed before completion.
• Walk away: Consider this if defects are serious or legal status is messy.

Even if you proceed with the purchase, the report remains useful after completion.

• Maintenance roadmap: Use the report to plan repairs over time.
• Prioritise works: Roof, damp treatment, insulation, and drainage should be scheduled logically.
• Investment planning: For rental property, factor repairs into yield calculations.
• Future resale: Keeping records of repairs and improvements can help later resale confidence.

• You like the property and are close to agreeing a price.
• Before signing the main Contract of Sale.
• Alternatively, only sign with a clear “subject to survey” condition.
• In parallel with your lawyer’s legal due diligence.
• Before final payment, completion, or irreversible commitments.