Tony Swainston Building Surveyor

I was hoping to buy a quaint cottage that was over 150 years old, hence I needed to get a thorough survey done so that I knew just what I was letting myself in for. The nearest Which trusted trader was Tony, & luckily he was willing to travel to Cambridgeshire to do a survey; he carefully explained the various survey types & sent me examples of reports, to help me choose the right one. Tony also asked that I highlight any particular concerns I had about the cottage prior to his visit, so that he could check these out during the survey. On survey day, I met him on site for the last half hour, & he gave me a brief resume of his findings, showing me what he had found. The report was very thorough, with photos to help understand the defects found & also suggested remedial work – very helpful to ensure that one can confidently approach trades people. It also contained a lot of pre-researched information & maps, including historical & flood risk maps. Tony found a major problem with the property that I was totally unaware of, & he advised me how much it might cost to resolve; he was also happy to take my calls, once I had been able to research potential solutions, to help me make an informed decision whether to proceed with the purchase. Unfortunately, the quotes I obtained came in at top end of his estimates, so I had to make the difficult decision to withdraw from the purchase. Therefore, I’m back searching for my next home, and Tony can expect a call from me when I find it!

We were really pleased to find an excellent surveyor like Tony. He is extremely thorough with his work. He is not only professional but really friendly and make you feel very comfortable chatting with him. We were given an option to meet him at the property which was an excellent idea as we wouldn't have so much understanding reading the report itself. He also offered to take calls if we there was any queries from the report. We just felt we had a good personal service. He explained in lay terms to make us understand and we felt we learned many new things which would help us in future. Tony is a good value for money and I will have no hesitation to recommend him to my family and friends.

We cannot praise Tony enough - he really is brilliant. Tony is extremely thorough and his attention to detail is second to none. He goes above and beyond to investigate every nook and cranny of a house, spending many more hours at a property than other surveyors. What we loved most about Tony was that he offered to meet us at the property at the end of the survey, so that he could explain his findings. He walked us around the property, and even drew diagrams for us. Nothing was too much trouble and we felt we understood everything really well. He was also happy to answer additional queries on the phone later - nothing was too much trouble! Such a refreshing change from other surveyors we’ve used before. We commissioned Tony twice, both times for a full building survey. The first time, he found a series of major issues in a property and we decided not to buy it on the strength of his findings. When he came to survey the second property, he found no major issues but gave us really great detailed advice about possible improvements we could make. We feel so lucky to have found Tony. We would choose him every time over a cheaper surveyor - he can potentially save you tens of thousands in the long run and is worth every penny.

We wanted a Specific Defect Report on our house. Tony came round and was very clear in his explanations and shared his comprehensive knowledge of both causes and ways to fix defects. We felt the fee was a bit expensive but worth it.

Tony Swainston carried out a survey on the home we plan to sell. Tony’s work is exceptional. His knowledge of property condition, building, and areas related to building surveys, is encyclopaedic. His approach is thorough, measured, thoughtful and guided by careful research. Tony spent hours going over every bit of our house and garden. His use of technology is strong – he videos and talks through commentary which he later uses to refer to and interpret in greater depth. Tony’s attention to detail is second to none and the conclusions he comes to are informative and helpful. I know that the research he did away from our property was also thorough and effective. Tony spent a long time talking us through his findings. He has also since been a great help in answering questions subsequent to our arranging for some work to be done on our house as a result of his survey. The report is clear, well written and of great use. I showed a relevant section to our local council building control surveyor, who told me that Tony was evidently extremely expert in his area. It is without hesitation that I recommend Tony Swainston as a building surveyor. He is professional, committed, thorough and extremely generous with his knowledge.

My wife and I instructed Tony to carry out a survey on a property we were purchasing earlier this year and we did this due to the reviews on Trusted Traders. I can say that we completely agree with the previously posted comments and found Tony to be extremely professional, helpful and thorough throw out the entire process. I personally spoke to him on the phone on several occasions about certain issues found in the survey and also asking for advice which was freely given, informative and balanced. Unfortunately this purchase fell through and we are still searching for our next property but when we find it we will definitely be instructing Tony to carry out the survey. Highly recommended.

Tony has performed two home condition surveys for me in North and South London. If I ever need future surveys performed, I will be asking Tony to do them, without a moment's hesitation. I have used surveyors prior to Tony but Tony is in a different league to them. He clearly has a passion for his work and where others would spend 2 hours inspecting a property, Tony will take 5-6 hours. No stone (to the extent is is relevant to the survey) will be left unturned. At the end of the survey, Tony offers a 30 minute debrief onsite to talk through any concerns he has identified, which is very helpful before the report itself is produced. Given Tony's detail focused nature, his reports are not produced overnight and take 5-10 working days but the end result is as detailed as can be but understandable by a layperson. Tony's willingness to assist does not end at the point the survey has been produced. In my case, having identified a potential issue, he contacted the relevant parties to investigate the issue further and followed up with the relevant authorities himself, saving me a job that would be difficult for a layperson. Tony's fees are reasonable considering the effort he goes to. I have been charged more for poorer quality reports by other surveyors. It is worth noting that my conveyancing solicitor (in business since the early 1980s) told me that Tony's reports are the best he has ever seen and has started to refer his clients to Tony for their survey needs.

Tony came to my 1900's flat to investigate and give advice / recommendations (followed 2 days later by a report / email) to resolve a persistent damp problem in an internal wall. We were at the flat for about 2 hours. He was also happy to answer some subsequent questions I had after our face to face meeting. Various things had been done in the past as well as recently in attempts to resolve the long standing damp problem. The problem, as Tony explained to me appears to be a more complex situation. This is due to refurbishment works done to the rest of the flat over the years which inadvertently had not considered the impact those works would have on the property. Tony was most helpful, easy to talk to and helped me understand the very likely contributing factors to the damp problem and also gave clear recommendations what needs doing to put things right. In order to come to this conclusion, Tony went beyond the immediate brief of the task in order to clarify the wider scenario for me. He was very professional and thorough, clearly enjoys his work and is keen to ensure that he has done his job well. I would highly recommend Tony for any survey.

After getting four quotes we instructed Tony to conduct a Home Condition Report for a 1970s house that we were intending to buy. Reasons we chose Tony were that we wanted a good inspection of the roof and Tony uses WiFi cameras on poles and a drone to inspect inaccessible places, puts (good quality.) photos into the report as visual evidence, requests the property owners to complete a supplementary questionnaire. In the past we have had MRICS surveys so I read up about the schemes through which Tony qualified and was satisfied. Tony was very proactive in asking for specifics that we would like him to look into and was equally proactive in addressing these including finding additional info online. The report itself was absolutely excellent, far more thorough than our past MRICS Home Buyers Reports, excellent photographic evidence, great layout, clearly written in plain English. It does take longer to produce so if you're in a rush, it's worth checking when Tony will produce it. We waited two weeks. Tony gave great advice on follow-on inspections and also on how to build evidence to renegotiate the purchase price. The owners accepted our revised offer without debate, in part I believe because of the strength of evidence from the survey report and the follow-on inspections that we commissioned on Tony's advice. We saved 5X the survey cost on the renegotiated price. Final proof of the pudding: I've just recommended Tony to a good friend who is buying a house.

Tony conducted two surveys for us in quick succession as we had to make decisions about how to move forward. He was really easy to deal with, followed up for us with tricky agents and kept us in the loop at all times. His surveys were very thorough and made us feel completely informed about all aspects of the houses we were looking at. It was a great comfort to us as first time buyers to have such a friendly surveyor who was able to help guide us through the various issues we would need to contend with.