The chartered surveyor is inviting brokers to get in touch to arrange a free training session, which it says can help to improve conversion rates, client confidence and customer outcomes.

Arnold & Baldwin has been at the forefront of raising standards within the industry, working alongside other industries to deliver improvements to the home buying and selling process with close involvement in the Home Buying and Selling Group and the development of the new RICS Home Survey Standard.

Joe Arnold, managing director of Arnold & Baldwin, said: “A well-managed and well-communicated survey can actually help to hold a deal together, showing that there is nothing to hide when it comes to the condition of the property.

“Increasingly lenders are turning to automated valuations based on statistical trends and often no surveyor enters the building to inspect the actual condition of the property.

“In this situation, whose responsibility is it to ensure that the buyer has fully considered the undertaking that they are entering?

“As a broker, you secure the finance your client needs to buy the property, but if that purchase leads to unquantifiable costs in the future, your clients’ finances are going to be considerably damaged. So, you have a responsibility to make your client aware of the risks as a purchaser, not just as a borrower.

“And you also have an opportunity here to improve your customer outcomes, client confidence, and your conversion rates.”