Our experience provides a comprehensive and professional range of services
HomeBuyers Reports
The Homebuyer Report is suitable for conventional residential properties including apartments, houses and bungalows. Its main aims are to enable you to:
- Make an informed decision of whether to purchase the property
- Consider any matters with possible legal implications that will need to be referred to your solicitor
- Take account of any repairs or replacements that the property needs
- Consider if you need any further advice before exchanging contract
- Easy to understand format
It focuses on the matters that in the surveyor’s opinion need to be dealt with or may affect the value of the property.
Residential and Commercial Building Surveys
A Building Survey is a very detailed report suitable for all buildings, but in particular for listed buildings, large, older, unusual or altered buildings or if a purchaser is planning major works.
This report gives detailed information on the structure and fabric of the property. Comments contained within this report should be similar to those within the Homebuyers Report, but expressed in more detail, advising upon the specific location of every defect, its cause and works which should be undertaken to rectify the defect
It can be used for both commercial and residential property acquisitions where it may have the following features:
- The property is an older period property
- It is in poor condition and in need of extensive repair and improvement or has been previously extensively altered in the past
- There are specific plans to extensively alter and extend the property
The survey includes:
- Information upon the construction and the material used for all the elements
- Comment upon all visible major and minor faults and their implications
- Comments upon the presence of dampness and timber defects
- Comments upon service connections and installation without undertaking test
Valuation Reports
A valuation is a limited check from a surface inspection that advises on the open market value of a property. We can provide valuations on residential property for a range of purposes to include:
- Open Market
- Probate
- Insurance Reinstatement Values
- Matrimonial
- Retrospective
- Property Development
Specific Defect Reports
A Defects Report is a focused survey that inspects a specific problem or range of problems that are suspected or already identified from previous surveys. It is quite common in the industry for surveyors to call for specialist advice which we can offer at the right price. This report looks closely at one or more defects often identified on a mortgage valuation. When house buyers are often concerned about a particular issue, this can be a useful and cost effective report, and is often the best way to solve a problem with either the sale or purchase of a property.
Excessive moisture, soil movement, foundation problems or hidden deterioration can have a significant impact on a property, and you may want to get a professional opinion that will help provide answers and explain the choices for solving the problems, and what could happen if the problem is ignored. We report on a wide range of specific defects including:
- dampness (condensation, penetrating, and rising dampness)
- decay (timber decay, rotten window frames and sills, door frames, beams etc.)
- dry rot, woodworm
- walls (cracks, bulges, movement)
- on the roof (defective roof covering)
- in the roof
- structural settlement
- subsidence
- heave
- infestation
- poor workmanship
- defective materials
- urgent matters that are a threat to the fabric of the building
Contact us for the full list of defects
We give advice on the root cause and the extent of actual or potential damage. We will also provide a range of suggestions for remedial work. The scope of this survey will be specific to your needs and, if necessary, the brief may be altered as we go, depending upon what we find.
Expert Witness Reports
As an established local practice we are recognised by many local businesses, including the legal community, as offering Expert Witness advice. We are familiar with the procedures now expected of Experts in the Court. We have experience of acting as an appointed Expert for one side or as a single joint Expert. In all cases, the overriding duty is to the Court and to ensure that we remain impartial and provide clear and definite views.
Our particular areas of expertise relate to advice on valuation of residential property.
We can provide preliminary reports that may be used to assess possible legal action or to be used to negotiate with the other party but with an objective to provide informative advice that will help reach the best and most balanced decision for a way forward.
