PROPERTY CONSULTANTS for

EXPERT WITNESS or LITIGATION REPORTS

1. Can you help me? I need a chat for general advice.
2. Can you report on XXXX to tell me if I am right and may need to sue my Builder, previous Surveyor, Valuer, Solicitor, etc…..?
3. We need a pre-part-35 CPR Report.
4. We need a part-35-CPR Single Expert Witness Report (or as a Single, Joint Expert appointment).

All of these things are different: 1 is a chat and no inspection; 2 is a survey that may lead to a provisional conclusion (but, if the case moves into the hands of Solicitors or goes to Court then your initial report will not be suitable and will need to be upgraded and altered very significantly).

Item 3 provides us with the greatest problem in “how to advise a customer”. This is because Solicitors cannot agree what common format and when such a report is needed. The problem is that such reports may lead nowhere, in which case they are best short and at low cost, whereas if they do lead into Court then they need to be capable of being upgraded to the required format and style.

Item 4 above reports that are formal, highly regulated and should only be generated by professionals trained in such matters and how are true masters of their trade: very few exist and you appoint such an Expert at your peril as they can turn a case (in either direction, for you, or against you).

An Expert Witness part-35 Civil Proceedings Rules Report must be addressed to the Court. Although you may commission it and pay for it the Expert is under a duty to report as if the Judge/Court has appointed him/her.

Such reports are complex and long and therefore expensive. Not only is all evidence to be obtained and shifted but the Expert must explain his findings and justify his conclusions. The structure of the report is regulated and a Truth Statement and other Sign-off Statements make it clear that the Expert is under a weighty duty of care to include all data and not to be unduly influenced by either party to the dispute. Strict Protocols surround all aspects of the Expert appointment, report generation and delivery of evidence.

PROinspect suggest that all customers how consider that grounds for potential litigations should first be discussed with their Solicitors BEFORE speaking to us. We have seen cases where the customer has been given the wrong initial advice and this has resulted in the cost of producing relevant Expert evidence, in the right format, being very high indeed.

Our Stuart Parrett is a member of the Academy of Experts, is a Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. He has Courtroom experience and has completed training courses in part-35-CPR Report writing and the giving of evidence in Court. For residential property matters – building disputes, contractor problems, surveyor and valuer negligence and other related matters, Stuart is considered to a be a safe pair of hands as Single/Joint Expert appointment.

Cases completed by Stuart have included:-

• Tenants failure to maintain:
• Surveyor failure to identify large quantities of hazardous material:
• Misrepresentation by a Seller of a house:
• Surveyor negligence when completing most forms of house survey product:
• Loan Valuer over-valuation cases:
• To establish where dry-rot had spread from, and why:
• Inadequate reporting standards within level 2 Homebuyer Report formats:
• Failure of a Local Authority to maintain a flat:
• Personal injury case – valuation matters to establish the lifetime effect on property decisions:
• Building damage due to works being completed in the adjoining property.

IF YOU HAVE VISITED THIS SITE TO FIND OUT THE PEDIGREE OF STUART PARRETT THE FOLLOWING MAY ALSO INTEREST YOU:-

Summary of the experience of Stuart Parrett (a provisional CV):-

NAME STUART KEVIN PARRETT FRICS, MAE, dipHI

Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Practicing member of the Academy of Experts.

Registered Home Inspector & Domestic Energy Assessor.

D.O.B. Male 12‑02‑56.

Nationality British.

Marital status Married to Penny – 2 adult children.

Professional Qualifications and Awards

19/11/80 (Professional Associate) and

13/5/87 Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (Membership No. 0057808).

12/2/96 Membership of The Academy of Experts (Membership Ref : PM1490).

2001 “Accredited” by SAVA – Surveyors and Valuers Accreditation Ltd; for Level 2 and 3 Surveys.

(Membership Ref : 0001182)

Home Inspector and Domestic Energy Assessor award by ABBE in 2007/08.

Employment Residential markets Private Practice

[1] Messrs Hall Pain & Foster, Fareham, Portsmouth, Havant,  Waterlooville. 1976 ‑ 80. Trainee Surveyor

[2] Messrs Young & White, Portsmouth. 1980 ‑ 1989. Surveyor, Senior Home Sur­veyor, Associate Partner, Equity Partner including at time of disposal of business to Cornerstone (Abbey National Estate Agents) in 1988. Eight offices inc. Portsmouth, Winchester to Southampton.

[3] 1989 to 01/03/03 : Self-employed trade styles :

Chandlers Professional and Proinspect (Home Inspector and Chartered Surveyor training). Consultant to the John Byrne Survey Centre (Wickham).

[4] 2003 to July 2008 :  Rund Partnership Ltd (Chartered Building Surveyors) Eastleigh – Director; shareholder, senior residential property Surveyor/Valuer and staff trainer.

[5] August 2008 onwards – self-employed as PROinspect Consultancy. Private sector house surveying, valuing, energy assessing, defect diagnostics, Expert Witness reports, Thermal Imaging Consultants.

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE

Summary

Long track record of working on own initiative.

Intuitive inspection and deduction/interpretation skills.

Excellent communication and report writing skills.

Highly focused and experienced in residential housing surveys.

Independent thinker.

Details/examples

Residential property market. Full Building surveys (L3), RICS Homebuyer Surveys (L2), Valuations (L1) for all purposes (valuation range predominantly up-to-£1,500,000).

Usual range of other professional work from Grant Applications (80’s), project co‑ordination plus extensive Expert Witness and other Litigation reports for Solicitor clients (with attendant Court appearances). Large amount of client Company house Part‑Exchange scheme surveying involvement. Usual random tasks such as Compulsory Purchase Acquisition claims/negotiations, Local Authority “Right to Buy” scheme negotiations, etc…

Early 1992 Inland Revenue contract work to prepare residential Council Tax Valuation Bandings in south Hampshire.

Within the practice of Young & White I was senior residential (Partner) surveyor/Valuer. This called for Practice development expertise i.e. negotiation with mortgage Lenders regarding valuation panel membership and fee scales; co‑ordinating efforts and marketing to enter new markets, producing and updating Conditions of Engagement, dealing with staff negligence cases and annual employment reviews etc….

The 1990’s, and now the new century, saw great growth in Litigation Reports required due to claims alleging professional negligence. My experience and highly active role within the profession has allowed me to specialise in this area (Expert Witness Reports).

In 2002 I have set up a subscription based internet Home Inspector Resource facility (proinspect.co.uk). To facilitate Home Information Packs plus Energy Performance Certificates this infrastructure was upgraded to PROinspect Network Portal in 2005. This has now evolved into a 2008 new business that focuses on the surveyor and general assessment of residential property.

Throughout 2002 to 2007 I helped devised both (1) National Occupational Standards for Government licensed Home Inspectors and (2) the external test/examination that all such candidates will have to take. This has led to major professional services Consultancies with the two main Home Inspector Assessment Centres in England, RICS and SAVA.

1997 to date

Seminar speaker to Chartered Surveyors and others on behalf of

• the RICS (nationally, regionally and locally) inc. as “Safe As…”
• Portsmouth University CPD Unit
• SAVA Ltd
• PROinspect.co.uk
• Legal & General Surveying Services Ltd
• CIOB
• Rund Partnership Ltd.
• BNI networking UK.

Typical subjects

• Homebuyer Survey & Valuation scheme
• Expert Witness Reports
• “How to Understand Home Surveys” – to Solicitors at in-house training sessions
• SAVA competence/assessment days
• Survey Standards, Report Writing, Accreditation, new Home Condition Report
• Surveying new buildings, surveying Services, etc….
• General Valuation issues
• Effective Report Writing
• The Art of being a Residential Surveyor
• The 2009 all-new R.I.C.S. Homebuyer Report and the NEED FOR CHANGE.
• Site Notes and the DEA
• Maximising Income as a DEA
• An Overview of Surveying Housing.

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT

1989 to date

IT and keyboard skills attained – Microsoft Word, Publisher, Outlook, Powerpoint.

Public Speaking, Mentoring Younger Surveyors and Practices, etc…

1985 to 1992

Committee member Portsmouth District Estate Agents/Surveyors Association.

1987/88 Chairman.

1991/2 and 1995/6

Chairman of Wessex Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors General Practice Division.

Committee member 1988 to 2001.

1992 to mid-2000

Member of a small team who operated a monthly Chartered Surveyors clinic at the Eastleigh offices of the Citizens Advice Bureau.

1994 to date

Member of Southampton Property Association.

1994 to 12/2000.

Wessex GP Division “Representative” to RICS GP Divisional Council. 1997 to 2000 elected to the Executive Board of the GP Division.

1999 to mid 2001

R.I.C.S. Wessex Branch Representative to General Council.

1994 to early 1999

Member of the RICS Small Practices Support Group.

1993/95

Inaugural Chairman of the Independent Surveyors Association. Created to fight “mortgage valuation placement” monopoly problems and to improve survey standards.

1997 to late 1998

Committee member of the then new Wessex Branch GP Division “CPD” Club for training purposes. This involved organising all aspects of course seminars.

1998 to 2002

Member of RICS Insurance Working Group.

1999 to 2005

Committee member of SAVA Benchmarking & Training Panel.

Consultant to SAVA Assessment Centre.

Accreditation Manager and conference leader.

2000 to 2001

Wessex RICS Branch chairman

2000 to 2002

Member of RICS South-East Regional Board.

2004

Business Management and H.I. Roadshow Consultant for RICS Safe As…. Home Inspector Assessment Centre.

2004 -2007

Working Group of A.B.B.E. (in Birmingham) regarding implementation of Home Inspector regulations, advising upon National Occupational Standards for Home Inspectors, advising on training requirements and the delivery/type of “external” test for Home Inspectors (together with populating the examination question database).

2001 – 2007 Appointments:-

• SAVA Accreditation Application Assessor for L2 and L3 grades.
• SAVA level-2 (HSV/HCR….) Workshop seminar facilitator / speaker.
• Training Consultant and Home Inspector candidate Assessor for SAVA Home Inspector Assessment Centre.
• RICS Professional Indemnity Insurance Working Group.