Level 2 is the RICS Home Survey most buyers of a conventional house end up buying. The fee covers a visual inspection with condition ratings, a written report and the surveyor's liability for it. What moves the number is floor area, storeys, age and travel, in that order, and the level itself sets the floor under all of them.
Confirm it is level 2 you are being quoted
Firms still use trade names for the same product. Ask the quote to name the RICS level, because a level 1 condition report and a level 2 home survey are different documents at different prices and the names alone do not always say which.
Give the floor area, not the number of bedrooms
Bedrooms are a poor proxy for the time an inspection takes. Floor area, storeys, and whether there is a loft room, cellar or outbuilding are what the surveyor is actually pricing. Firms that receive the area quote against it; firms that receive the number of bedrooms quote against an assumption and revisit it later.
Decide about the valuation
A market valuation and reinstatement cost can usually be added to a level 2 report for a further fee. If you want it, ask for it in the quote, because adding it afterwards may mean a revisit. If the reason you want it is insurance rather than price, the reinstatement cost is the figure to ask for, and it is a different exercise from a market valuation.
Ask about the report turnaround
Turnaround is part of what you are buying when a chain is moving. Firms that guarantee a number of working days generally price that certainty in, and it is usually worth it. In a chain that is already moving, a report three days sooner is often worth more than a modest saving on the fee.
Read the exclusions against your house
Level 2 does not lift floorboards or move heavy furniture and does not test services. If the thing you are worried about sits behind one of those exclusions, either brief the surveyor about it or buy the level that can investigate.
Questions people ask about level 2 survey cost
Is a level 2 survey the same as a homebuyers report?
Yes. Level 2 of the RICS Home Survey Standard is the product firms have long sold as a homebuyer report, and the two names return the same firms.
What makes a level 2 quote go up?
Size, storeys, distance and anything that makes access slow. A large detached house two counties away is a different day's work from a flat around the corner.
Is level 2 enough for a new build?
A new build is usually a snagging question rather than a condition question, and a snagging inspection is a different instruction. If the building is under warranty, ask the surveyor which of the two answers your worry.