Martin & Mortimer Independent Chartered Surveyors and Valuers

Thank you for taking the time to visit our website. The aim of our site is to provide useful, unbiased information and advice on a wide range of property related matters. We hope you will find the information helpful.  Please do not hesitate to contact us for further clarification.

As you will see from the following pages, our specialisation is in residential property. We also provide a range of survey and valuation advice for commercial premises.

Seven good reasons to have a survey

1. Research conducted in 2008 by Which? magazine found that one in five buyers who commissioned a survey saved an average of £2000 on the asking price.
2. Which? also found that one in four buyers who did not obtain a survey had to pay over £2000 rectifying issues that would have been identified in a survey and for one in ten buyers it was more than £10,000.
3. Research by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2010 has backed up findings by Which?.
4. Which? research also showed that, on average, every newly-built house has 80 defects.
5. As from May 2011, a mortgage valuer no longer has to inspect the roof space when undertaking a valuation for mortgage purposes. Even more reason to commission your own independent survey.
6. There are, on average, 37,000 subsidence claims in any one year.
7. A mortgage valuation is not a survey. It will not tell you what is right and wrong with the property. The valuer is only interested in identifying issues which are relevant to the mortgage company and their lending policy. The Council of Mortgage Lenders provides the following advise to lenders, brokers and other conveyancing professionals:

'4.4 We recommend that you should advise the borrower that there may be defects in the property which are not revealed by the inspection carried out by our valuer and there may be omissions or inaccuracies in the report which do not matter to us, but which would matter to the borrower. We recommend that, if we send a copy of the valuation report that we have obtained, you should advise the borrower that the borrower should not rely on the report in deciding whether to proceed with the purchase and that he obtains his own more detailed report on the condition and value of the property, based on a fuller inspection, to enable him to decide whether the property is suitable for his purposes.'

Our Promise

• To provide the best possible, independent, advice about surveys and the options available to you.
• To tell you if you need other related professionals rather than a surveyor.
• To provide an accurate and independent assessment of the property tailored to your needs.
• To avoid 'defensive reporting', 'caveats' and unnecessary reliance on 'specialists'.
• To avoid technical 'jargon' and ensure that you are able to speak with your surveyor directly.
• To look at the property in as much detail as possible and to provide the best possible advice.
• At all times to act in a professional manner and to follow the rules and regulations of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

What our Clients say "Thanks so much - I am recommending you to all and sundry...you have been so helpful throughout!" "I just wanted to write and say thankyou for your help...." "I feel I was treated exceptionally well by Martin and Mortimer...." "I wouldn't hesitate in recommending other homebuyers to enlist you...." "I felt that I should take the time to say thankyou as I was so impressed...." "I would not hesitate to recommend you to friends and colleagues alike...."

Central to our philosophy is the importance of being independent. Whilst many surveyors say they are independent,  they pay estate agents 'referral fees' for exclusive recommendation. In most cases, you will not be made aware of this by either the estate agent or the surveyor and you should ask yourself 'why? Is the advice I am getting really independent? Why are the fees not being discolsed if surveyor and estate agent have nothing to hide?' Not only is non-disclosure of payment/receipt of referral fees against professional rules and morally questionable, it may also be illegal under the UK Bribery Act. Always ask and obtain confirmation in writing that there are no financial links between the estate agent and the surveyor being recommended. Only in this way can you be assured of fully independent advice.

Offices throughout East Anglia - Ely, Cromer and Norwich.