RICS Level 2 Survey in CF46

A RICS Level 2 Home Survey - formerly known as the HomeBuyer Report - is designed for conventionally built properties in a reasonable condition. It is the most widely used survey type in the UK and is appropriate for the majority of CF46's housing stock: the terraced and semi-detached properties that make up most of the area's sales. Given that CF46 properties are likely to have a significant proportion built before 1945, a Level 2 survey is particularly well-suited to the area.

During a single visit, our inspector examines every accessible and visible part of the property in a systematic sequence. The inspection covers the outside of the building first - the roof, chimney stacks, external walls, and drainage - before moving through the interior room by room to assess ceilings, walls, floors, windows, and fitted services. Each element is assigned a condition rating and the findings are compiled into a standardised RICS report, which you receive digitally within five working days.

• Roof coverings, ridge tiles, chimney stacks, and flashings
• External walls, window frames, doors, and render
• Internal walls, ceilings, and floor structures
• Loft spaces and roof voids where safely accessible
• Cellar and basement areas where accessible
• Plumbing, heating, drainage, and electrics (visual inspection)
• Outbuildings, garden structures, and boundary features
• Damp, structural movement, and environmental risk factors

The environmental risk section of our CF46 reports consistently highlights two key areas: ground stability relating to the area's coal mining history, and the general advice to buyers to obtain specialist searches through their solicitor. Our report gives you the physical condition picture; your solicitor's searches provide the legal, environmental, and ground-risk framework around it. Together, these two layers of due diligence give you a comprehensive picture before you exchange contracts.

Treharris is fundamentally shaped by its coal mining past. The Deep Navigation Colliery, which operated for much of the 20th century, was one of the most productive in the South Wales coalfield, and the legacy of that industrial history remains relevant to property buyers in CF46 today. Former mine workings beneath the ground can cause surface subsidence - ground settlement that produces cracking, movement, and in serious cases structural failure in properties built above.

Mining subsidence in former coalfield areas does not always manifest immediately after a mine closes. Ground movement can emerge decades later as underground voids settle, water tables rise after pumping ceases, and worked seams compress over time. This means that a property that has shown no signs of movement for many years may still be in an area where ground risk needs to be formally assessed. A coal authority mining search, obtained through your solicitor as part of the conveyancing process, is the appropriate tool for this assessment.

Our Level 2 survey and a mining search serve different but complementary functions. The survey assesses the physical structure of the property as it stands today - examining existing cracks, movement patterns, and settlement in walls, floors, and ceilings. The mining search tells you what is known about the ground beneath the property from a risk perspective. We recommend both for every CF46 purchase. Many mortgage lenders also require a mining search before issuing a formal mortgage offer for properties in former coalfield areas, so establish this with your lender early in the process.

Where our CF46 surveys identify crack patterns or deformation consistent with ground movement - particularly diagonal cracking in corners of openings, or stepped cracks following mortar joints in brick or stonework - we rate these clearly and advise whether a structural engineer's assessment is warranted as a follow-up step before exchange.

The older terraced housing that makes up the majority of CF46's residential stock has well-understood characteristics that produce consistent inspection findings. Solid-wall construction, slate roofs, chimney stacks, and suspended timber floors at ground level are the four structural elements our inspectors focus on most carefully in this area, as they are the components most commonly associated with Condition Rating 2 and 3 findings.

Damp is the finding most frequently identified across CF46's older properties. Solid masonry walls without the protection of a cavity can draw moisture from the ground and from external exposure. In ground-floor rooms, rising damp often presents as tide marks, salt deposits, and deteriorated plasterwork on lower sections of walls. In upper rooms and at roof level, penetrating damp from defective flashings and pointing drives moisture inward. Our inspectors use a combination of visual assessment and moisture reading equipment to evaluate damp severity and identify its likely source.

Roofs are assessed carefully in every CF46 inspection. Welsh slate roofs are resilient when maintained but can deteriorate rapidly once individual slates slip or break and the exposed felt or boarding beneath begins to fail. Ridge tiles, which rely on mortar bedding that weathers over decades, are a common failure point - loose or missing ridge tiles allow water ingress that can affect the roof structure and the ceilings below. Chimney stacks, common in CF46's terraced properties, require particular attention to flashings, pointing, and pot condition.

• Rising and penetrating damp through solid masonry walls
• Deteriorated slate roofing with slipped slates and failed ridge mortar
• Lead flashing failure at chimney stacks and valley gutters
• Timber rot in ground-floor suspended floor joists and bearers
• Woodworm activity in roof timbers and floor structures
• Condensation and mould growth in bathrooms and kitchens
• Outdated electrical consumer units and wiring needing upgrade
• Settlement cracking - particularly relevant in former mining areas

Electrical condition deserves specific mention for CF46 buyers. Properties that have not had a full rewire within the past 30 to 40 years may have consumer units and cable insulation that no longer meet current safety standards. Our Level 2 survey includes a visual assessment of accessible electrical installations, and we flag clearly where a full electrical installation condition report (EICR) from a registered electrician would be a prudent additional step.

The CF46 market has shown some softening since the 2022 peak, with current average prices of £179,400 sitting 6% below the £190,557 peak recorded that year. With 130 sales in the past 12 months - a decrease of nearly 18% from the year before - the market is more measured than at its height, which means buyers are in a stronger position to negotiate and to take their time over due diligence before committing to a purchase.

Treharris and the surrounding CF46 area offer attractive value for buyers priced out of busier South Wales markets. Good transport links to Cardiff and Swansea, proximity to Taff Bargoed Park and the Brecon Beacons, and leisure amenities including the Summit Centre - home to one of the largest indoor climbing walls in the UK - make the area genuinely appealing to buyers seeking space and access to the outdoors at an accessible price point.

Terraced homes at £124,215 on average and semi-detached properties at £187,448 are the core of CF46's transaction market. At these price points, a Level 2 survey costing around £384 represents a very small outlay relative to the purchase commitment. The survey regularly identifies defects that justify price reductions from the seller - and in a market where buyers have more negotiating leverage than in the peak years, a surveyor's report provides exactly the kind of documented evidence that supports a well-founded request for a price adjustment.

Larger detached properties in CF46 average £345,921 and include properties at Heather Court and The Ferns in Quakers Yard, where guide prices reach £450,000 to £499,995. At these values, the case for a Level 2 survey is equally clear - the cost is proportionate and the value of independent inspection before committing is unambiguous. We can discuss whether a Level 2 or Level 3 survey is more appropriate for higher-value or more complex properties on request.