Archive for the ‘Must Read Issues’ Category

I will be brief:

Please study this web-site: I am a heavyweight Residential Property professional and I need help NOW. Can you help me?

My contacts and web-site generate a large number of requests for help. Often this is for free advice but I do not mind as the goodwill generated is massive and such people often then recommend me to others who do become clients of the fee earning type.

This volume of referrals means that have need a National Network of similar Surveyor/Valuers. Members of experience and professionalism who have very higher standards of customer care.

I am looking to one or two Surveyor/Valuers in each County and perhaps several in London and the bigger Cities.

Fairly minor start-up costs will be required (to be agreed, to agree service level standards and uniform documentation etc…) and then PROinspect would take a commission for anything you can take on (it would be your choice).

At this early stage I have no further written details.

If I am striking a cord with you and you can see the sense in what this opportunity offers then e-mail me in the first instance and I wil then call you to discuss.

Typical tasks would include —–

1. Seller and Purchaser Surveys
2. Market Valuations
3. Divorce Valuations
4. Specific Defect Reports
5. Expert Witness Reports
6. General Consultancy Services.

E-mail me at stuart@proinspect.co.uk

Follow the rules, use common-sense and take professional advice and you will never look back again. Here are some guidance techniques to help you survive and perhaps prosper.

1. Let us start with wanting to place your own home on the market. Go to successful local Agents first (try to find testimonials as to each Agents good record and reputation – but don’t believe everything you read on their websites).
2. At the same time consider asking for loan finance and go to at least two sources for provisional advice – perhaps even apply for a Loan Certificate in advance of selling your home so the loan finance deal can be begun asap (remember that the loan valuation is not a survey).
3. When you find a home to buy make your offer subject to loan finance/verification, subject to contract and subject to private survey.

Q1 – Which Estate Agent?

Ans 1 – Choose three local Agents (try to match your idea of who will buy your home to which Agent might most appeal to that profile of Agent: EG: if you think that a family will buy your home from your nearest Town, perhaps a family wishing to get out “of the smoke” then it might be important to choose an Agent who has a satellite Office in that Town).

Get each budding Estate Agent to commit to paper what they think they could get for your home, how soon and how they intend to market it (see below). Look very hard at their terms of business.

Q2 – Marketing Plan?

Ans 2 – Get a written commitment from the Agent about when they are going to advertise your home, how and in what papers and magazines? Perhaps even get them to understand and agree a time limited sole rights to sell your home but after that period they be dismissed and no costs or charges will be paid unless you have agreed an offer that came via their agency services. A good Agent would agree to this whereas a dodgy Agent may not. This tactic may also get the Agent to actually tell you what they really think you might achieve – the actual value rather than what they believe you want to hear.

The Agent must produce full Property Details: this must mean several colour photographs, a room layout plan, the Energy Performance Certificate and all usually provided location, features, services, dimensions etc.. for room listing data. We would also suggest that the details provide a simple listing of all guarantees and planning documents that are in your possession and are valid (why not tell potential buyers something of value to help sell the house? Why not tell potential buyers where they can safely park their cars when viewing?).

Q3 – Instructing your Estate Agent.

Ans 3 – No sell, no fee is the way to proceed. Also never give sole selling rights – at best give Agents a clear run at selling your home but retain the right, at any time frame and at no cost/penalty to you, to instruct other Agents (but do not do so yet). Also make it very clear that should somebody they introduce to you, who visits your home but does not bid and then bids AFTER you have dismissed that Agent will mean the old Agent gets no commission (you will need to specifically agree this – in writing).

Q4 – Which Solicitor?

Ans 4 – This very much depends on the type and age of your home but I am not in favour of these massive Call-Centre type regional offices, especially those that are linked to loan companies or Banks.  I am also a believer in keeping this decision out of the ambit of the estate agent as just too many potential conflicts of interest can otherwise cut in to your potential detriment. Buy and sell via an Agent but that is all – do not buy any extras.

Call Centres are fine if you have a simple home, with a registered title, nothing unusual or altered and located in an area without any flooding, coal-mining, contamination, radon gas, mundic or other such issue. However, for the most part a local, experienced but young Practice is to be preferred. A Practice that is not too busy, does its homework long before exchange of contracts is due and is well connected with local, independent Surveyors. A Practice that goes on even if the lead staff member is ill or on holiday.

Q5 – Found a home to buy? When should you instruct the loan Valuer and your private surveyor?

Ans 5 – Arrange finance first: get your offer in writing/verified after the Valuer has visited. Clear the finance with your solicitor and then ask when the solicitor thinks is the right time for the private survey. Never instruct the loan source (your mortgage Valuer) to do a simultaneous private survey with your loan valuation.

In my view the private survey can wait until the chain is complete and all loan valuations have been completed and loan offers verified by each parties legal team: by this route you are limiting the chances of survey expenses becoming abortive because a chain has fallen through.

Q6 – What type of survey should you have?

Ans 6 – This is a difficult question as it boils down to your personal bias, your budget, the type and age of home you are buying, the characteristics of the location of the home, how much information you need, what services you may wish to link to that inspection, etc…..

For a mainstream, fairly modern, good condition home of traditional construction and in a non-clay or non-high-risk position a standard Homebuyer Report is fine (the most popular form of survey in the UK).

However, it always makes sense to actually speak to a surveyor – not a solicitor, not an estate agent, not a builder, not your neighbour, not your dad, not a secretary of a surveyor. Call an actual surveyor and get him or her to recommend a survey product and want they will charge you for it. A real professional surveyor will ask you many questions before a survey is suggested to you. Don’t think they are being officious and nosy – they are trying to focus your attention on the right issues and to give you value for money.

Q7 – Can you use your private survey to re-negotiate the purchase price on your next home?

Ans 7 – Yes, you can. Once you have your private survey do not be frightened to call the surveyor to discuss the report and how you should proceed. Once you have had that discussion immediately call your solicitor and bounce the surveyors thoughts off your legal team leader. This will give you the confidence needed to get stuck in and start a process that might just save you a lot of money (this is the point where you begin to understand the benefit of a good solicitor and surveyor – they can save you thousands of pounds whereas a Call-Centre probably will not).

The rest is in the lap-of-the-gods. Good Luck.

Stuart Parrett at PROinspect Consultancy provides free advice via his website at www.proinspect.co.uk -alternatively initial calls and product quotations are also free (078 3636 3040).

What have you got to lose? A lot if you get your team choices wrong!

PROinspect – surveying to protect you and your investments.

SERVICE LEVEL CHANGES:

PROinspect are proud to announce that acting on customer feedback we have changed to way we deliver part of your Property Survey advice. Let me explain …….

If a client asks us to act for them, typically as a Consultant Surveyor upon a house purchase, we inspect-and-advise that client within a written report.

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Change 1 – we will ‘report” to that client by electronic means if at all possible.

Change 2 – if, for example, the main walls suffer from a problematic damp proof course we report the facts, the damage and the course of action that client needs to take and this in contained within our REPORT. In future we will also refer that client to our EXTENDED ADVICE “TAB” at our web-site. This area of our web-site provides the client with contextual background information and opinion plus links to others’ web-sites. By this method the client obtains a more balanced service from us, obtain a greater understanding of the defects and solutions and will therefore be better able to prioritise further actions and repairs.

Change 3 – rather than make that data confidential and only available to paying customers we have separated out the specific property data evidence and photographs etc…. but the scenario advice is freely available to any visitor to our web-site. A non-client web-reader will see advice and opinion but will not benefit from any individual property survey report, effect on premises value, mortgagability and saleability etc..

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PROinspect believe this is the way forward and is another way whereby we demonstrate our market leader, Expert status.

We still have some work to do to complete this change: we have currently scheduled the following Subject HEADINGS -

• CONDENSATION
• RISING DAMPNESS
• SUBSIDENCE
• ROOFING
• FLOOD RELIEF ISSUES
• INAPPROPRIATE WORKS
• CONSERVATION ISSUES

When we have completed all aspects of these subjects we may look to include others: IF YOU COULD HELP and submit such technical articles (on your own related Specialism) to augment this series, PROinspect would love to hear from you.

We are also looking to reciprocate business and are looking for certain types of trades and new contacts: EG: we need (1) Heating Contractors prepared to act quickly to check and test house boilers/systems in order for house price negotiations to continue, (2) Contractor underpinning and above-ground-wall-repair Specialists, (3) Chimney Sweeps, (4) Jobbing Contractors for basic maintenance repairs, (5) Flat Roof specialists, (6) Lime-Mortar repair specialists, (7) Period Timber Frame repair specialists (8) Asbestos diagnosis and testing plus reporting specialists, (9) etc………..

WE HAVE A PASSION FOR RESIDENTIAL BUILDING ISSUES, CAN YOU HELP US HELP OUR CLIENTS?

Looking for prime advice? I invite you to contact me for free further opinion and advice. Either use the CONTACT FORM above or call me on +44 (0)1489 896 174. Stuart Parrett.

When is a “new” home not worth what you paid for it?

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Buy today at, say, £250,000; sell tomorrow for less (regardless of market conditions).

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According to “new thinking” (post-Credit-Crunch) the answer is NOW – an immediate fall in reported value can be expected.

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Developers and Lenders have noted valuation inconsistencies over many years now despite their attempts to QA out certain historic bugs-in-the-system. EG: once upon a time all parties came together and established the concept of “New-Build-Premium” on brand new homes; this has since been rescinded and no longer exists.

Valuation uncertainty can be traced to many factors, such as – market volatility, poor professional direction (to Valuers), differing policies adopted by the many lenders/valuer-chains, lack of transparency on Builders’ buyer-incentives, etc…..

Indeed, Valuation nowadays seems to have drifted from a professional opinion of what the local market will bear to simply what can be inferred by comparison with historic transactions. The result? Over-cautious Valuations by “directed” Valuers (as opposed to the Valuer exercising free-will and giving a true professional opinion).

Nationwide has been operating a New Homes Valuation guidance scheme that includes an opinion of “resale value*” as well as “current value” (*market value but upon the special assumption that the property has already been occupied – for six months, at least: making the home “second hand”).

This resale value means that any element of premium being paid because the home is “new” is to be discounted from the figurework.

This is a real grey area and official guidance by Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, and others, is not entirely clear and not nearly comprehensive enough to currently protect its members from claims of negligence.

The problem for Valuers is that the second-hand market that produces comparables may not have the same design features, low-maintenance materials, low-energy-consumption figures (etc…) as the new home.

This now causes the Valuer to have to identify exactly (1) what creates the value of the new home, (2) of those factors, which are unique to the particular new home and (3) which of those factors should be excluded, (4) how is each excluded factor to be assigned an element of value, plus (5) which new home features disappear after six months (when the condition of the home is not perfect any more).

A new science is in the making – how much additional value does a door-bell create? What deduction should be included for having a non-porous driveway in a floodplain area? You could easily disappear in dispair at the complexity of these matters.

The answer is always simple – look at Valuation holistically and ensure any significant new features are then identified and considered: make notes to explain your logic, any evidence you have to support that logic and then value accordingly.

One feature that has seemingly had its own solution is the 2008 introduction of the Council of Mortgage Lenders INCENTIVES DISCLOSURE FORM. The Valuer must ask to see this document on all New Home valuations. The Form lists the sale incentives used – discounted mortgages, cash-back schemes, no-fees mortgages, free gifts, nothing to pay for a period, carpets and curtains included, etc…. However, for clients who have revealed their financial affairs to us PROinspect has seen many of these Forms and it is our opinion that the actual sale price remains less than transparent.

Another, and topical, factor to mention is that in poor market conditions Auction Sale results can be viewed as distressed-sales and not wholly indicative of the overall local marketplace (and repossessed homes can often be in poor condition).

Another problem is that the world is imperfect and knowledge is not freely shared. Each Valuer will have comparables, but not all comparables. FACT – imperfect knowledge creates valuation variations.

The latter feature is the basis of why most Loan Companies have in-house or controlled PANELS of Valuers. Each valuation instruction to a Panel Member goes with a list of known comparables.

This practice creates a closed cartel of Valuation instructions. This is not necessarily a bad thing: any system is as good as its weakness link – if the instruction data is good then the valuation opinion output is capable of being accurate.

In an ideal world all Valuations would be placed on a national database and be freely available within days of completion. Each Valuation instruction would come with all known data.

In essence valuation will have moved away from expressing a professional opinion to be replaced with data analyst skills. Is this the first shot of the creation of a two tier valuation and mortgage market – (1) 100% mortgages based upon data analyst Reports and (2) restricted mortgages based upon all other opinions?

As always, part of the answer is focused in market education: most of the public will be unaware of the politics of the art of valuation (and they may not even care about such matters) and therefore may be happy to continue to blindly accept whatever the Loan Company tell them and not elect to pay for an independent assessment of worth, perhaps also not even commissioning a private condition survey, to assess the real risks of purchase.

Credit Crunch showed how financial Institutions can be systemically rotten and not put the client first: New Home loan Valuations and Valuers are in danger of being sucked into a similar vicious cycle unless true leadership can be shown by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (the leading body that regulates Valuers) who need to rise above the dictates of the Council of Mortgage Lenders.

Special character of city “under threat”

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English Heritage says two-thirds of Conservation Areas at risk of neglect.

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This was reported – the main, front page headline – in the Winchester based Hampshire Chronicle in mid-2009.

Will the use of Article 4 Directives be extended so affected homeowners cannot even make small changes to their homes? Will Listed Building Officers use this new background influence to retrospectively demand past “improvements/works” are rescinded, new windows removed and replaced with single-glazed casements, paint colours changed, gutter types be replaced, Satellite Dishes removed or relocated, etc…… The list is potentially endless.

This opens up the old argument of just what is being protected? Also… all potential owners of Listed Buildings, or non-listed homes but within a Conservation Area, should always have a survey completed as added protection against retrospective claims (it doesn’t hold water that you didn’t do it – you are still liable).

Conservation should not mean “no change whatsoever”: districts and individual homes evolve with time and circumstances and often conservation policy and actions can cause district stagnation and either enhancement or depreciation in worth/value. A balance must be struck between parties to retain our bricks-and-mortar heritage.

In my own Town of Bishops Waltham, one of the Conservation Areas said to be “at risk”, we have several examples of such conundrums:-

High street shops have erected metal brackets to hold seasonal Christmas trees along the high street. Building Control officers sought for their removal as unauthorized development, mainly upon Listed Buildings, in a conservation area. Fortunately, common sense, for once, has intervened.

The larger, and more thorny, issue in Town at the moment revolves around a brownfield site as a possible Sainsbury superstore. Say No To Sainburys is plastered around town and feelings are running high.

Sainsburys say that nectar card analysis reveals that a large Store in town is more than required by the spending power of town residents alone and that a local store would encourage us to stop travelling to Fareham or Hedge End where giant stores abound, and are often grid-locked.

Local shops say NO, the town and high street would become a ghost town and destroy the quite charm of our market town. This NO faction, as always, are very vocal and believe the majority are against Sainburys.

Looking at this issue holistically and dispassionately, can our high street support an ever growing population with diverse needs, is parking adequate, are cars congesting what should be a pleasant shopping experience, how can our commercial centre grow and meet are needs?

The same basic underlying factors are at play –

Is the status-quo set in concrete or can a market town grow sensibly to serve residents needs? Can large changes OR many small changes be made yet not spoil the essential character of our environment?

I recently toured Asturias through to Galicia in north-west Spain, an area of small farmsteads, rural in character and with breathtaking countryside and coastlines. Change is happening big-time : a coastal motorway is opening up the region and nearly all major Towns are having ring-roads built, cobbled-stoned high-streets created, etc…. Change is a part of life and they are embracing it (probably with EC grant funding, but that is another story).

People, buildings and environments must adapt to current needs and trends if a sustainable community is to be created, one in which our children may just decide to stay in, rather than make an early bee-line to the nearest City (civilization, as only our youth see it).

Whether it is to Sainburys objectors, local Conservation Officers or a Listed Building owner, I say the same thing; be tolerant and do not shut off change for the sake of it.

Metal brackets or a fully fledge, massive Sainburys stores are matters that require proper judgement plus an empathy with not only our own needs but also those of the whole community. What does common-sense say to you – no change or evolution in a controlled fashion?

Time will tell. To change or not to change?

ARCHIVE ARTICLE THAT INCLUDES THE ONLY SURVEYOR JOKE I COULD FIND ON THE INTERNET:

MAN : This house is a ruin. I wonder what stops it from falling down.

SURVEYOR: I think the woodworm are holding hands!

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Who/What does the most damage to a home?

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Woodworm: Rot: Leaks: Frost: UV radiation: Acid rain: DIY: Cowboy-Contractors: Ground movements: Occupier neglect, ignorance & lack of maintenance: Poor design: Inappropriate materials: Storms: Damp/Condensation ?

Woodworm: Multiple forms of woodworm exist – some are “notifiable hazards”. Not usually treated until well-established. Can be costly if ignored for many years or you have Death Watch Beetle.

Rot: Basically only two main forms – Wet & Dry. Wet rot – treat/repair what you see. Dry rot – add a “0 or two” to what you think it might cost!

Contractors: Some are brilliant, some are not! Always get a recommendation – find out what is excluded/included. Always find out when payments are required.

Health & Safety is vital but it can also cause increased costs. Ignore standards and codes and YOU will be in trouble. Even simple low-costs repairs sometimes need massive access costs. Lives are lost needlessly every year because we ignore H&S!

Architects choose materials and designs that Builders must be familiar with to construct your dream home. Any mismatch of skills and understanding and the Surveyor will detect them when they become a problem later on (or advise you that XX may become a problem due to YY).

Suns rays degrade certain materials. Over-heating (thermal gain) can cause dimensional instability and cracking and inappropriate environmental standards.

Frost causes many materials to degrade or to de-laminate. Water pipes/drains can freeze and split/leak. Choose the wrong materials and early failure can occur. (Other materials within land and buildings also cause problems in differing weather or land conditions).

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The real answer to this riddle is “lack of, OR inappropriate monitoring and/or maintenance” causes the biggest problems. Any and every problem has a solution but the best answers always exist if problem diagnosis is both early and correct.

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This throws the spotlight on the -

(1)  common sense of the home owner/occupier (often DIY or Bob-the-Builder solutions make matters worse).

(2)  whether adequate insurances exist (under-insurance means your claim or claims will not be met, or only in part).

(3)  the experience and range of diagnosis tools of the Architect and/or Surveyor.

(4)  the knowledge and experience of all contractors and professionals employed to rectify the problems.

Nothing is perfect, all things degrade but the right choice of maintenance methods, choice of alterations and improvements, the choice of materials used, etc…. are all central to the quality of what you achieve with a property.

• Do you cut corners to meet your restricted budget?
• Is the cheapest contractor the best contractor?
• What alternatives to your needs may exist?
• Which is the best choice – basic repairs or green improvements to cut fuel costs?
• Have you pursued those alternatives to see if grants are available?
• Have you taken cost-v-value advice?
• Is it worth doing analysis OR would it be better to move to a better home?

The property cycle =  BUY  -  MAINTAIN  -  ALTER OR IMPROVE -  MAINTAIN  – UPGRADE & RENEW ELEMENTS  -  MAINTAIN  – MAKE A PROFIT OR LEAVE AN INHERITANCE

Your actions and decisions throughout the above property cycle will determine the eventual outcome of your initial investment in buying a home. Recessions come and go but, over the longer term, housing remains a good investment if you treat it wisely.

If you make the right decisions during your ownership of any home you will have a smile on your face: if you opt for DIY or bodged-solutions to problems, or, even worse, ignore problems or complete no maintenance at all, you enter a potential spiral of decline that may see your investment become a millstone around your neck from which you never financially or environmentally recover.

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Things to consider when investing in your next home.

• Can it be bought within budget?
• Have you the budget to maintain it?
• Have you commissioned and understood your own Surveyors Condition Report?
• Can and should you occasionally improve it to current green standards?
• Can you enlarge it if your space needs increase?
• Is there a price tone ceiling in your district (beyond this improvements may not add any value!)?
• Have you seen and understood the EPC on your potential new home?

• How exposed to frost and prevailing weather patterns is your potential next home?
• Is it within a known flood-plain?
• Does adequate, effective site/surface drainage exist?
• Has it been built upon, or next to, contaminated or filled ground?
• Can you obtain Buildings Insurance and at reasonable premiums without high excess payments?
• Is it traditionally or system built and is that method of construction mortgageable?

Do you need help in fully understanding the answers to the above information? CALL PROINSPECT.

Watch out for PCBs (POLYCHLORINATED BIPHENYLS)

Watch out for Asbestos

Watch out for Lead Paint.

Watch out for …………………..

PCBs are mixtures of up to 209 individual chlorinated organic compounds. Due to their valuable technical qualities (softeners that make sealants easier to apply and extend their durability) they have been used since 1929 and since used as a compound is many forms of insulation within Buildings (as well as being used in coolant systems, grouting and plasticisers in paint).

Since the 1970’s we now know that such PCBs have real Health & Safety risks associated with them: Environmental and Human health risks as they are very difficult to dispose of safely. PCBs have multiple ways of causing long term human health problems – one of the reasons that the Government introduced regulations that don’t allow us to simply take an unwanted refridgerator down to the local Tip.

PCBs will pass straight your skin and fibres will easily be breathed in if they are released into the air.

In Sweden, the use of PCBs was banned in 1972, with minor exceptions. A total prohition was later introduced in 1995. Home owners in Sweden are under a legal duty to audit their homes and decontaminate PCBs in all types of building erected between 1956 and 1973. This means that owners must arrange for inspection and testing using specific reporting templates. Each Buildings’ template should have been submitted to a Supervisory Authority before 30th June 2008 if an Injunction was not to be served on them (to perform that inspection and audit process and/or receive a later Fine).

PCBs in Sweden were used in Building elements such as compounds to seal movement-joints, flooring compounds, window seals and electrical capacitors (including in many fluorescent lights). PCBs are often found is fascade joints, around window and door frames, hidden underneath door thresholds, balcony junction seals, floor finishes/tiles, seals within double glazing units.

Surveyors would typically need to use gloves, protective glasses, breathing–filters etc… and any tools used to expose risk areas/element would have to be cleaned with acetone.

Early surveys revealed that PCBs had contaminated other materials in close contact and remedial works would be more extensive than at first expected.

The decontamination works have a legal deadline phased until 2013.

IN ENGLAND WE HAVE SIMILAR BUILDINGS AND SIMILAR PROBLEMS BUT WE HAVE NOT TAKEN SUCH STRINGENT ACTIONS AS IN SWEDEN.
However, we do take Health & Safety seriously and the following regulate PCBs

• The Health & Safety at Work etc Act 1974
• The Control of Substances Hazardous to Health Regulations 1994
• The Environmental Protection Act 1990

So: how can a House Surveyor help you identify and reduce these risks?

Let me be blunt – a Surveyor undertaking an ordinary home inspection, even a full Building Survey, will not be completing the degree of forensic inspection required to report meaningfully on such issues. PCB building inspections are a very specialist area of expertise, similar to Asbestos or Lead Paint Surveying, and should be arranged as an extra precautionary measure in advance of your property transactions.

In respect of identifying lead paint this is not as easy as you would first think.  Approximately 70% of UK Buildings pre-date 1970 – abt 18.5 million homes and thousands of public, school and workplace buildings – and many will have had lead-based-paint systems at sometime in their history. The problem is that if where all paint has been stripped away much of the lead will have migrated into the sub-strate (often timber) awaiting later dispersal.

In respect of asbestos PROinspect remind you that although some asbestos-containing-materials (ACMs) are “obvious” to visual means of inspection most ACMs are embedded or screened from viewing. This means that detection is a hit-and-miss affair.

Like a lot of surveying, it is the experience of the Surveyor that is the key factor. Don’t expect a Loan Valuer to identify such problems, don’t expect most House Surveyors to identify such issues. Chose your Experts wisely and after due diligence – TALK TO ACTUAL SURVEYORS (not an intermediatory or secretary) TO GET ADVICE.

Regards from Stuart Parrett at PROinspect

And finally …….

1. Knight Frank research suggests 2010 will see house prices, nationally, fall 2%.
2. Planning Application for 800 ECO Homes at Newport, IOW, has been submitted. All heating will be supplied by a Biomass centre.
3. The UK is currently producing enough electricity from wind power to serve 2.3m homes.

The lesson to be learnt is TAKE ADVICE before you commit to any property transaction, preferably from an experienced Surveyor. If you are in southern England call me or use the CONTACT FORM above. Stuart Parrett +44 (0)1489 897 164.