Every snag, pinned and graded.

A snagging inspection identifies defects ("snags") in a new-build home before the buyer accepts the keys or before the developer's defect-liability period ends. The report lists each defect with location, photo evidence, urgency and recommended remedial action — used by the buyer to challenge the developer.

The buyer (the snagging inspector's client), the developer, the site manager, often a solicitor and sometimes a warranty provider (NHBC, LABC, Premier Guarantee). The PDF is structured so each party can find what they need without re-reading the whole document.

A typical new-build pre-completion inspection finds between 30 and 150 snags, depending on property size and how close to completion the property is at the time of the visit. A four-bed detached commonly has 40–80 on a first walk — cosmetic items (skirting gaps, paint damage, unfinished joints) and minor construction defects (sealant gaps, stiff window handles, loose socket plates). With the builder's phone-first capture, 40 snags takes around 75 minutes on-site including photos and urgency ratings.

A typical four-bed pre-completion inspection takes 90 minutes to three hours on-site, depending on the number of snags and how thoroughly each room is checked. With capture mode — location pinned, camera integrated, urgency set in two taps — on-site capture for 40 snags runs to around 75 minutes. The report generates in one click, so same-day delivery is realistic: inspect in the morning, send the PDF before lunch.

Every room and element: externals (brickwork, render, guttering, driveway, boundaries), ground floor (kitchen units, worktops, flooring, skirting, socket plates, plastering), first floor (bedrooms, bathrooms, staircase, landing, loft hatch), services (consumer unit, boiler, ventilation, sockets and switches tested) and visible roof (tiles, flashings, soffits). Each defect should carry an urgency grade and a photo. The builder's pre-defined locations mirror this checklist so defects flow to the right room without manual tagging.

A HomeBuyer Survey (RICS Level 2) is a condition report by a RICS-qualified surveyor on any residential property, using RICS condition ratings (1, 2, 3) across set elements — primarily used to assess structural and legal risks before exchange. A snagging report is specific to new-builds: cosmetic and construction defects room by room, urgency grades, remediation status tracked through developer visits. A RICS surveyor can carry out both, and some buyers commission a combined visit — a HomeBuyer Survey on the structure alongside a snagging inspection on the finish. Both report types live in the same Home.co.uk surveyor account.

An 11-month inspection takes place just before the developer's one-year defect-liability period ends — typically around 11 months after legal completion. It is the buyer's last formal opportunity to raise defects the developer is contractually required to fix under the new-build warranty. The builder records the inspection type — pre-completion, 11-month, 2-year warranty walk-through or a custom label — in the report header so the developer and warranty provider know which stage of the cycle each report covers.

Yes. Select NHBC as the warranty provider when you set up the report and the cover-letter framing adjusts accordingly; the same applies to LABC Warranty, Premier Guarantee and ICW. If a defect escalates to a formal warranty claim, the structured format — reference numbers, timestamped status updates, grouped photo evidence — provides the documentation trail the warranty provider expects.

A warranty escalation requires three things: evidence that specific defects were reported within the covered period, a record that the developer had reasonable opportunity to remedy them, and clear documentation of what remains unresolved. The builder creates all three: reference numbers trace each defect from first report to resolution or escalation, timestamps confirm when each snag was recorded, and the status lifecycle shows which items stayed open despite developer visits — with dates. The warranty provider selection frames the cover letter to the relevant scheme.

Your position rests on what you recorded at the time of inspection. Each snag is timestamped at capture with the description you entered, the photos you took and the urgency you assigned. That record cannot be retroactively altered, and reference numbers stay stable across re-issues — so you can point to snag 1.1.3 and show exactly what was found, when and with what evidence. If it escalates to your PI insurer, this structured audit trail is substantially stronger than a photo folder and a Word document with tracked changes.

Yes. The same report supports multiple visits — mark snags as resolved, add new ones, re-issue the PDF. The status lifecycle (Pending → In Progress → Resolved with date) means a single report carries the full remediation history across several developer visits without losing the original snag references.

Yes. The capture interface is designed for phone and tablet first — desk view is the after-the-walk review. On your phone you can log snags, take photos and set urgency ratings entirely from the on-site capture screen, offline if needed.

No fixed limit per snag or per report. Wide shots, close-ups, ruler-for-scale, before-and-after — all photos group under the snag in the PDF appendix, so a single critical defect can carry ten photos if it needs them.

The default export is a branded PDF. A Word (.docx) export is also available for firms that need to send an editable document to developer site teams that prefer to mark up and email back.

Yes — every generated report has a secure share link the buyer can open without creating an account. The link can be revoked by the surveyor at any time.

A Word template is static: you type defects in, drag photos in and format everything manually. The builder captures defects in a structured record, assigns unique reference numbers automatically, groups photos under each snag and produces the PDF in seconds. The biggest difference shows on re-walks — updating a Word document across multiple visits usually means re-authoring it; structured software updates status fields and re-issues the same document with original reference numbers intact.

A template is a pre-formatted Word or Excel document for recording new-build defects. It saves some initial formatting time but requires manual photo insertion, has no automatic reference numbering, and means re-authoring from scratch on every re-walk. Software replaces the template: structured capture on your phone, photos attaching automatically, and a branded PDF in one click — with statuses updated and re-issued across the remediation cycle rather than rewritten.

The Snagging Report Builder is built around structured location-based capture and clean PDF output rather than AI automation — your own urgency judgements and defect descriptions drive the report. The platform's AI tools (photo analysis by RICS element, dictation routing) serve the RICS Level 2 and Level 3 workflows; on a combined visit both models are available in the same account.

Yes. Custom locations handle layouts beyond a standard house — communal corridors, shared plant rooms, basements, annexes, party-wall elements. For multi-plot developments each plot is a separate report with its own reference numbers, while firm branding and inspector details carry across automatically; developer and site-manager metadata is set per-report so there is no ambiguity about which plot each PDF covers.

The Snagging Report Builder is included in every Home.co.uk surveyor account at no additional charge. No per-report fee, no photo-upload limit, no separate snagging subscription. One account covers the full toolkit — snagging, RICS report writing, AI dictation, comparable sales, property data and more — under one login.

No. Snagging is not a RICS-regulated service in the way Level 2 and Level 3 surveys are. Many snagging inspectors are experienced builders, ex-site managers, architectural technologists or construction professionals. The builder is open to any UK surveyor or snagging inspector with a Home.co.uk surveyor account; RICS credentials carry through only on the report types where they apply.

Yes. A RICS surveyor can offer snagging alongside Level 2 and Level 3 reports, in the same account, with RICS credentials, firm branding and signature carrying across both report types. Many offer a combined package — a new-build visit including both a snagging report and a Level 2 HomeBuyer Report.

Yes. The builder works for standalone snagging instructions — no RICS survey required. Many surveyors run snagging as an additional revenue stream alongside Level 2 and Level 3 work; firm branding and signature carry through to the PDF either way.

Yes — same account as the Level 2 and Level 3 Report Writers, AI dictation, comparable sales and property data. No separate login or subscription. A pre-completion snagging report and a Level 2 on the same property share the same branding and certificate with no re-keying of inspector details.

Most standalone apps are single-purpose: capture, PDF, done. The builder sits inside a full surveyor platform — combined-visit workflows, consistent firm branding across every report type, and no separate subscription. For surveyors offering snagging alongside formal survey work, one account for both is the practical advantage.

For RICS surveyors offering snagging alongside Level 2 and Level 3 work, the most practical choice is a tool inside the surveyor account you already use. For snagging-only inspectors, the features that matter are phone-first capture, no photo limit, a status lifecycle for re-walks and fast branded PDF delivery — the builder covers all four, at no additional charge.

Yes. Combined new-build instructions — snagging plus a Level 2 on the same property — create a timestamped record of defect identification and client-facing communication across multiple developer visits, which can support competency evidence submissions for residential surveying. The account history gives an auditable record of each instruction from first punch list to final resolved report.