Breaking Property News 15/10/25

October 15, 2025

Daily bite-sized proptech and property news in partnership with Proptech-X.

 

Genie blends property inspection tech with professional surveyor support 

 Property inspection app Survey Shack has launched a new service as part of its Premium package. Genie adds expert post-inspection support from a professional surveyor to the app-guided property inspection experience.

Survey Shack is already on point when it comes to the Government’s new proposals to shake up and speed up the UK’s outdated and lengthy homebuying process. The Government proposals “will see sellers and estate agents required under the plans to provide buyers with vital information about a property upfront, including the condition of the home.”

One aim of this is to help end nasty surprises revealed by the current late stage of surveys, many of which result in costly and emotionally taxing last-minute sale and chain collapses.

Launched in October 2024, Survey Shack has already had a successful first year of giving buyers, sellers and estate agents more control over the property assessment process. The app combines surveying expertise with smart technology, offering an app-guided property inspection with step-by-step educational prompts and visual cues.

It helps the user confidently assess and understand a property, its condition and the local area at a far earlier stage in the process than a traditional survey takes place. All guidance, questions and responses have been crafted by qualified surveyors.

The new Genie service, available with the Survey Shack Premium package for under £100, adds to the app’s automated reporting by connecting the user with a professional surveyor for post-inspection clarification. The user can ask up to three specific questions, with the surveyor responding with practical guidance within 48 hours, based on the user’s queries and the relevant sections of the report.

By bringing greater clarity, the Genie service supports homebuyers to make more informed decisions. It also supports sellers and estate agents to meet the requirement in the Government’s proposed reforms that they “must publish information from searches and surveys before a property listing is published.”

Brett Ray, Founding Partner & CEO of Survey Shack, comments: “Requiring meaningful upfront information, including proportionate property condition details, helps buyers make informed offers and reduces late fall-throughs. Survey Shack was created to help today’s buyers and sellers, and to set the platform for how future generations will interact with condition inspections. Our digital tools that structure a property’s facts and images, together with Genie support offering a sensible route to professional follow up where needed, set a sale up for success from the start.”

 

Andrew Stanton Executive Editor – moving property and proptech forward. PropTech-X

Andrew Stanton

CEO & Founder Proptech-PR. Proptech Real Estate Influencer, Executive Editor of Estate Agent Networking. Leading PR consultancy in Proptech & Real Estate.

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