Estimating the value of a property is necessary for a variety of reasons, including sales listing, financing, insurance, investment and taxation. But the most common reason is to determine the purchase price of a piece of real estate property. This article will provide an introduction on building surveys and why you need it in real estate valuation.

Building surveys provides a detailed evaluation of a property through an extensive inspection. Though it is not the only type of survey available, it is the most common, especially for residential clients.

The survey helps property owners understand the condition of a property. It records the risks and potential expenditures that may be required enabling them to develop appropriate maintenance plans. It can also be prepared for homeowners and buyers, or for investors in portfolios to help inform about future investments.

Building surveys, also known as condition surveys, are generally implemented by chartered surveyors. It may be presented as a report that provides a view of the property at a particular point in time. This would include all the elements accessible and recommendations of any strategic plans for dealing with any issue that may have arisen. You can go to sites like www.woodwardsurveyors.co.uk to know more about chartered surveyors.

The most common buildings that benefit from a survey of this kind are the following:

• Buildings that are listed
• Building that are 50 years old or older
• Buildings that are for renovation or redevelopment
• Building that were altered, redeveloped or renovated
• Building with unusual construction designs or features
• Building that are being purchased

Since there is a lack of standardisation of building surveys, it is important that clients describe what they require clearly and precisely. They also need to inform them if they have any concerns about certain elements. An example would be checking electrical, heating equipments, roof or floor structure. These are usually not included in a standard building survey but it can be requested. Some, the surveyor may not be able to have access to unless they are informed in advance so they can make the necessary arrangements.

What are the objectives of a building survey and the common issues surveors identify?

The most common objective might include the following:

• Detailing the current condition of the property by highlighting areas of concern or failure.
• Analyzing the causes of deterioration, past or current.
• Analyzing the issues that need focus to avoid serious damage.
• Analyzing enquiries to prevent problems in the future.
• Citing maintenance and conservation recommendations.
• Presenting an estimate of the cost of the work required.

Surveyors should be careful when carrying out surveys. Working in high places, confined spaces, or handling dangerous materials are not habitable and can be hazardous to one’s health. They should be very careful in identifying signs of deterioration, unoccupied properties, or buildings where work is being done.

Here are the most common issues that building surveyors identify in a survey:

• The general condition of the property.
• Signs of defects.
• Structural movement.
• Signs of deterioration because of different types of damp and condensation (check here for more information)
• Deterioration because of rot and infestation.
• Air conditioning and heating ventilation services.
• Electrical, plumbing, drainage and other building services.
• Checking any alteration made to the property.
• Other environmental issues.
• Legal issues.
• Energy consumption.

Before purchasing, building or renovating a property, a condition survey is important to lay out immediate and potential problem areas. They look for evidence of deterioration, movement, areas that need replacement, areas that need of repair, and any structural failure. Essentially, surveyors are looking for any trouble that may arise before any construction even begins.

They should also identify parts of the property that has not been possible to inspect or identify issues that require further investigation by specialists.

A detailed survey of a normal house can take one day to complete. The final report can take up to 2 or more weeks to complete thereafter. Larger buildings or more complex properties may take more time.

It does not matter whether you are a potential owner, selling the property, renovating or maintaining a property, a building survey will give you a clear understanding of the property’s current condition—the structure and operating systems. It would be helpful in retrieving any evidence of issues that can alert the owners of possible problems.

This entry was posted on Thursday, February 7th, 2019 at 6:11 pm and is filed under Real Estate. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.