Victoria Shaw

Writer

Victoria Shaw

Victoria researches and writes guides for Top Rated Surveyors, turning prices, rules and official guidance into plain advice for homeowners. She grows tomatoes in a very small greenhouse.

Articles by Victoria Shaw

Illustration of a desk with a blank report on a clipboard, a tape measure, a model house, a laptop and a magnifying glass over a blank card.

What Is an RPSA Surveyor and Why Does It Matter?

What the Residential Property Surveyors Association is, its five survey products, its code of conduct, free consumer arbitration, how to check a membership number and what membership does not prove.

Illustration of a garden plot with a survey tripod, measuring pole, marker pegs and a rolled plan.

Land Surveyor Cost and What Each Type of Survey Costs

What each type of land survey typically costs in 2026, what pushes the fee up, why prices differ between surveyors and how to compare quotes for the same deliverable.

Illustration of a brick house with a laser distance meter, rolled blank plans, tape measure and hard hat.

Measured Building Survey Cost and When You Need Floor Plans

What a measured building survey produces, when you need one, typical 2026 starting prices, what drives the fee up and how to compare quotes for floor plans, elevations and sections.

Illustration of a desk with a blank framed certificate, a tape measure, a clipboard, a model house and a magnifying glass.

What Is RICS and Why Does It Matter?

What RICS is, what AssocRICS, MRICS and FRICS mean, who can say chartered, how a member differs from a regulated firm, where complaints go and what RICS cannot do, such as award compensation.

Illustration of a brick house with a rear extension and a roll of plans on a trestle table.

Buying a House With an Extension That Was Never Signed Off

What a missing Building Regulations certificate means for a buyer, the options (copy certificate, regularisation, indemnity insurance), and what a surveyor can and cannot tell you about the work.

Illustration of three differently built houses with a magnifying glass above them.

Buying a Non Standard Construction Home and Getting It Surveyed

What non standard construction means, why some homes are harder to mortgage, which RICS survey level suits them and how to involve your mortgage broker and conveyancer early.

Illustration of a garden fence between two houses with a tied folder and a pair of scales.

What Happens When a Neighbour Dissents to a Party Wall Notice

What a dissent or silence from your neighbour means, how the agreed surveyor or two surveyors route works, what an award contains, who pays and how to appeal.

Illustration of a clipboard, tape measure and hard hat on a drawing table in front of a house drawing

What a Building Surveyor Does and When Homeowners Need One

What a building surveyor does, how the job differs from building control and structural engineers, and the situations where a homeowner or buyer needs one.

Illustration of a notepad checklist with a pen and phone on a kitchen table

Questions to Ask a Surveyor Before and After Your Survey

The questions worth asking a surveyor before you book and after you read the report, with the answers that tell you they are qualified and the report fits your home.

Illustration of a drain inspection camera and cable beside an open manhole in a garden

CCTV Drain Survey Cost and When Buyers Should Get One

What a CCTV drain survey shows, why a standard home survey does not cover drains, what it typically costs and when buyers should get one.

Illustration of woodworm exit holes in old floorboards

Woodworm in Your Home and When It Really Needs Treatment

How to recognise woodworm, why you should find out whether it is still active before paying for treatment, who to ask and what surveys and treatment typically cost.

Illustration of a new-build house with keys on the doorstep

Help to Buy Valuation When You Repay Your Equity Loan

Who can carry out a Help to Buy valuation, the Homes England criteria the report must meet, how long it lasts, what to do if it expires and what the valuation typically costs.

Illustration of a house beside a large tree with roots near the foundations

Signs of Subsidence and When to Get a Subsidence Survey

The signs of subsidence, which cracks are usually harmless, what to do first, and how a subsidence survey and repair usually work.

Illustration of a Scottish stone house with three report folders

What a Home Report in Scotland Costs and How Long It Lasts

What a Home Report in Scotland contains, what it typically costs in 2026, who pays and how long it stays valid once your home is for sale.

Illustration of a house with a blank For Sale board

Do You Need a Survey When Buying a House?

A survey is optional when you buy a house, but a mortgage valuation will not protect you. Here is when you need one and who arranges it.