• BUILDING SURVEY   (commonly known as a structural survey) 

A building survey is a comprehensive inspection and a report that will provide detail of all the visible aspects of the property, including constructional elements, defects and items of disrepair. The report normally will include photographs but it will not include a valuation.  However, the report can be tailored to the requirements of the client and a valuation may be added by arrangement.

• SURVEY OF THE MAIN STRUCTURAL ELEMENTS

Effectively this is a scaled down building survey concentrating on those sections of the structure that are fundamental whilst omitting comment on less important issues.  It is more usually employed in the context of commercial buildings but it can be engaged in the inspection of a residential property.

• HOMEBUYER SURVEY AND VALUATION  (HSV)

(in the standard format of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors - RICS)The HSV is an economy service reporting upon essential problems and defects which are considered to be significant and likely to affect value.  It is suited to houses and flats of traditional construction that appear to have been maintained to a reasonable standard.

• VALUATION

A valuation may be undertaken for a variety of purposes, for example purchase, relocation, bank loan, compulsory purchase, capital gains taxation and estate duty. The report will be brief and will provide an opinion of market value as defined by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in its manual ‘Valuation Standards’. Obviously the general condition of the property is relevant to the preparation of the valuation report but the depth of inspection and reporting are limited.

• REINSTATEMENT COST ASSESSMENT FOR BUILDING INSURANCE

An assessment will advise upon the cost of re-building in the event of total loss or other insured damage sustained. It is emphasized that there will not be a direct relationship between the sum to be insured and the market value of the property.

• SCHEDULE OF CONDITION

A schedule of condition will record the state of the building at a specific time and may be supported by photographs. A schedule is normally associated with the commencement of a lease or prior to the start of adjacent construction work.

• SCHEDULE OF DILAPIDATION

A schedule of dilapidations will identify wants of repair in leased premises according to the repairing obligations within the lease.  A schedule may be provided for service upon the tenant or the landlord according to the covenants of the lease.

• LEASE RENEWALS AND RENT REVIEWS

A considerable breadth of experience backed up by our data base is applied to the negotiation of rent reviews and to the agreement of terms for the commencement of commercial leases both on behalf of landlords and of tenants.

• EXPERT WITNESS

We have considerable experience in the production of expert witness reports that are prepared to address issues relating to the valuation and the construction of buildings for the benefit of legal presentation in court or for negotiation purposes.