Lockwood Chartered Surveyors

Lockwood Chartered Surveyors is an independent residential surveying practice with over 50 years of experience. We cover Norfolk and Suffolk.

Why choose Lockwood Chartered Surveyors?

We are knowledgeable and highly qualified, providing a personable, responsive and impartial service to our clients, carrying out a variety of RICS accredited residential services throughout Norfolk and Suffolk.
We are a small local practice based in south Norfolk.
We have over 50 years of combined experience in the property industry with a broad knowledge of the local area and the different property types and their defects.
We are specialists in pre-purchase (Level 2 & Level 3) surveys and the valuation of residential properties.
We comply with the stringent guidelines set out by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to produce comprehensive and understandable reports.
We have a proven record of delivering quality advice to our clients.
We are approachable.
We remain on hand to answer queries following receipt of your report.
Our fees are competitive and value based.

By instructing a RICS Home Survey with Lockwood Chartered Surveyors you can feel fully reassured that you're dealing with a professional, experienced and knowledgeable chartered surveyor who will guide you through the process. Our comprehensive yet easy to understand reports will help you make a more reasoned and informed decision about your purchase. Unsure which survey is right for you and the property. Click here to find out more.

Our typical working area is shown below:

Do I need a survey?

Your home is likely to be one of the most expensive purchases you ever make, and so understandably you will want to know as much about the property before you buy it. We know that, on average, people spend around £5,750 putting things right in their home within the first 12 months. If that’s not an expense you’re expecting, it can be a blow to your cashflow.

As an example, when "putting things right," specific structural and maintenance issues often incur the following average costs:

Structural Repairs: Typically average around £6,000.
Full Rewiring: Between £3,000 and £8,500 for a standard 3-bedroom house.
New Boiler/Heating System: Average installation costs range from £2,700 to £5,500.
Roof Replacement: Ranges from £4,500 to £18,000 depending on the property size.
Damp Proofing: Can cost up to £16,000 for severe cases, with a typical starting range of £2,750.

* above figures based upon costings in 2025.

When should I arrange my survey?

Once your offer has been accepted you should instruct a survey. We will undertake a detailed and impartial inspection of the property to identify items of disrepair and structural issues that may need to be addressed, and advise on the risk of hidden defects that could be problematic and or be costly. The survey will describe the construction of the property and will advise of ongoing future maintenance of the property. There is also a section in the survey for your legal adviser. Following receipt of the report we are at the end of the phone to answer any queries.

Is a mortgage valuation a survey?

No a mortgage valuation is not a survey and cannot be relied upon by you, the purchaser, it is for the lenders interest.

Gone are the days of Drive Past valuations. If anything the risk to the general public is increasing. With the advancement in recent years of computer generated valuations there has been an accelerated shift by mortgage lenders towards desktop (remote) valuations and their own in house automated valuations. This means that your future home is not physically inspected, instead the property is valued and underwritten remotely and significant costly defects could be going unnoticed. Even if the property does get the benefit of a physical inspection by a valuation surveyor, this is only a cursory inspection and does not go in to the same level of detail as a RICS Home Survey.

Typically what may a survey highlight?

Some of the costly issues which we have helped our clients with include; non-compliant private drainage systems, roofing issues, leaning chimneys, penetrating damp, rising damp, condensation, asbestos, wet rot, Japanese Knotweed. The list goes on. Some of the specific cases are shown below.