Surveyors, estate agents and lawyers have told MSPs of their opposition to a plan to introduce compulsory 'seller surveys' in Scotland.   The group of experts claim a single survey will increase sellers' costs and make some houses unmarketable.

The Scottish Executive has decided to press ahead with a compulsory survey scheme similar to those in England.    The decision comes in spite of a pilot voluntary scheme in the main cities only attracting 74 home owners since its start in July last year.

Ministers believe single surveys will avoid the waste of multiple surveys and unrealistic 'offers over' figures.   But in evidence to the Scottish Parliament's Communities Committee, the idea of seller surveys was rejected by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors, the Association of Estate Agents and the Law Society.   They claim the up-front cost of surveys of between £500 and £800 will reduce the number of homes on the market, lead to fewer and bigger estate agents, more conflicts of interest, higher fees and ultimately leave some properties unmarketable.

But the executive argues that a single survey scheme will give owners the chance to fix problems before the for sale sign goes up, and aims to discourage artificially low asking prices as the valuation will be known beforehand.

Source : BBC NEWS