Posts Tagged ‘Professional Advice’

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.

Independent thought and action rely upon professional integrity and a genuine belief that the “client should come first”.

I passionately believe this is true and it drives my thinking and how I conduct my life. Recently I have self produced a YouTube video so I express my thinking to a wider audience. I invite you to take a look and give me some feedback.

To access the video click this link — http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8n5Cj5yliRI

I emphasis that as a Chartered Surveyor I am heavily regulated and abide by a Ethical Code: it is not the words that are important here as it is my believe in such matters that counts – others seem, at times, to stand for a lesser code and these are the Surveyors who get into trouble and I find myself working against them in Court.

Typically I work for Buyers but increasingly Sellers are requesting surveys. the latter to flag the home has no serious faults OR to define exactly what is wrong and so begin to manage the damage to saleability and potential purchasers expectations. As stated above I also, increasingly, work against Surveyors and Valuers when cases of alleged negligence raise their ugly heads.

So- nothing is more important to anybody involved in housing than receipt of unbiased professional advice: your own surveyor or valuer should only receive a fee or commission from YOU and nobody else (often behind the scenes commissions are paid by Surveyors/Valuers for the initial introduction from an Estate Agent – an action that I strongly object to).

Remember – a loan valuation is not a survey and you are advised to separate out the private survey from the loan valuation: why would you think that a simultaneous survey and valuation could ever be in your best interests – THINK, you are telling the loan company what is wrong with your home and they may, as a result, not issue the finance you need.

The most popular form of UK survey product is the R.I.C.S. HOMEBUYER REPORT (and Valuation) but remember the stat – only 1-in-12 home buyers take any independent professional advice on purchases.

The choice is yours: buy with good advice behind you or take a serious gamble.

Take my advice – call me find out what are your survey options – the call will cost you next to nothing and you might just save yourself a lot of money or a giant headache.

Stuart Parrett +44 (0)1489 896 174 or 078 3636 3040.

click on the links for professional advice on…

• CONDENSATION
• RISING DAMPNESS
• SUBSIDENCE
• ROOFING – LEAKS
• FLOOD RELIEF ISSUES
• INAPPROPRIATE IMPROVEMENTS
• CONSERVATION & PERIOD BUILDINGS

If you think you can help – submit comments but we do reserve the right to adapt any material submitted to us to publicise within this site. Do not submit unless you agree to this caveat/term.

If you can add to these articles PROinspect would welcome your views.

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Where would we be without trees?

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I have no objection to tree hugging although, in some cases, if the tree is too close to your home then I would advise you to get rid of the tree.

This is not being anti-tree (if there a term for this?). Instead I am simply recognizing that trees take a lot of water out of the ground and if the sub-soils heave or contract due to that influence then house stability may be compromised.

The graphic below (lifted from a national newspaper article – sorry about the jaded quality) shows “safe” distances whereby trees can safely co-exist with housing.

Approximate "safe distances" for trees to be close to housing.

If any one tree is within the “safe influencing distance” suggested then it could cause subsidence issues to your home and/or its drainage system.

Conversely, if a group of trees is clumped together they collectively could all be outside the safe distance but act as if within that safe distance.

House foundations are designed to accommodate some ground movements: in extremely bad soils (clays are the worst) foundations may have had to be especially designed and constructed to cope with such hostile conditions.

In other cases the danger that trees pose is indirect: consider tree roots being too close to a drain run (but well away from a home) – those roots can grow into the drains that then fracture and that water leakage either (1) removes fine deposits within your soil and that causes house subsidence or (2) that water swells the soil and that expansion causes soil “heave” (the opposite to subsidence) that causes the same massive damage to your home.

Removal of trees can also cause the ground to swell up (heave) and so tree removal is not something to be done without first taking professional advice.

So – foundations, trees, drains, sub-soil types and their various interactions are all connected. If you disturb that delicate balance inappropriately then you will have potential consequences that may not be insurable. On the face of such damage your insurance claims should be covered but if the insurers believe the damage was self-inflicted because you planted trees too close to your home, or removed them inappropriately, then you run the risk of your claim being reduced or completely thrown out.

This places the burden of maintaining trees firmly on landowners shoulders. Crowning, lopping, root pruning, root barriers, etc…. are all matters that may need to be considered when advising on trees.

Be warned.

If you are southern England and need advice and opinion, simply call me or use the CONTACT FORM above. Stuart Parrett.

ARCHIVE ARTICLE from late 2008

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Should You Disclose Hidden House Defects OR Is Ignorance Bliss?

“Let the Buyer Beware” is an established legal principal in our beloved Country but, in some circumstances, this is a minefield and you may best declare defects to intending purchasers.

It’s illegal for a home seller to knowingly conceal major defects. If you are unsure about whether you need to say something or not, speak to your Solicitor BEFORE you contact your Estate Agent or begin marketing.

If you are a purchaser we at PROinspect suggest you ask the Sellers specific questions – not “is anything wrong with xxxxxx” but instead something like – “The cracks to the rear wall – are these recent, have you informed your Insurers, are these getting worst or are they of a long-standing nature, how long have they been there?”

Generally, you’re responsible only for serious defects you knew about or should have known about. Therefore, it’s a good idea to have your home inspected prior to putting it on the market to figure out what needs to be repaired or replaced. But, when was the last time you knew of somebody who actually did such a thing (except for perhaps redecoration and minor issues)?

However, if you are convinced that selective repairs could cause a greater return on money spent then commission your own Surveyor to tell you what repairs are necessary and what improvements will increase the selling price. Often the good Estate Agent could tell you these secrets!

Don’t be fooled into thinking that every penny you spend will give you back two pence – often, unless you do only the right things, your spend will not affect value at all and therefore taking professional advice is a must!.

While it’s always best to disclose serious defects, it would be wise to disclose the following problems to the buyer: these are “in use” issues that perhaps would only come to light once a person starts living in your home (as opposed to matters that should surface during a Surveyor inspection):-

• Plumbing and sewage issues
• Water leakage of any type, including in basements
• Termites (rare in the UK) or other insect infestations
• Heating or air conditioning system issues
• Property drainage problems
• Foundation instabilities and/or claim history
• Problems with title to the property
• Neighbour issues that aren’t obvious (including Party Wall Act notifications/awards)
• Lead paint, asbestos, hazardous glazing, radon gas, etc……
• Homes registered under the Defective Premises Act (usually “system built” Homes).

If you disclose a defect and the buyer decides to purchase the home anyway, the seller isn’t then responsible for the consequences. A seller who doesn’t disclose known serious defects can be sued by the buyer after the defect is discovered. The seller may then be responsible for the costs of repairs and other damages resulting from the undisclosed defect.

A seller may also be ordered to take the property back if a judge “rescinds” (invalidates) the sale because the seller didn’t disclose defects. You can also be held responsible for the buyer’s claim/court/purchase costs and fees.

If the Courts decide you have been fraudulent, you may also have to pay “punitive damages” that can be very high.

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The case for buying Non-New Homes: New Home Defects Cost £30m a year!

Although many homebuyers readily pay a hefty premium for a new home to avoid the hassle of renovation when they move in, it is costing £30m a year to put right defects discovered in the first ten years after the completion of a new home.

This figure, the highest in the last few years, emerges in a report from the National House-Building Council (NHBC) which supplies the ten year warranty on the great majority of UK new homes.

Of £30m paid out in 2003-4, NHBC says £11m covered claims made within two years of moving in, while £18.3m went to owners of homes between three and ten years old. The figures appear at a sensitive time – for builders have come under fire in recent TV consumer reports for their failure to maintain building standards, or to correct defects fast enough when buyers complain.

In theory, builders should correct most defects found early on. NHBC tends to get involved when problems are longer term, or when agreement cannot be reached with a customer.

If your new home hits big trouble, there’s a one in two chance the problem is underground. Nearly half the money paid out – 49% – went on repairs to foundations, substructure and underground drains. Around 30% was needed to put right load bearing walls and floors, while 9% – about £2.7m – went on roof repairs.

NHBC also reveals that in 2003-4 a total 29 complaints went to independent arbitration and 34 were reviewed by the Financial Ombudsman Service. Of those 34 cases, the NHBC won 23 with five partially in its favour, while three were won by the complainer and in three cases a settlement was agreed.

In the last five years, the highest previous annual payout was £28m. NHBC, holding insurance reserves of £1.24 billion to cover 1.6 million homes currently protected by warranty, says complaints are “taken very seriously”.

Critics of the NHBC warranty have claimed for years it fails to protect homebuyers against building botch-ups.

But the soaring cost of putting things right comes despite the fact NHBC has 330 inspectors across the country making a total of more than one million site inspections every year.

NHBC itself thinks the weather could be partly to blame. In a statement, it said: “New homes are one of the few remaining hand built products, made up of thousands of elements and constructed outdoors in all weathers. Where a problem does occur and NHBC is involved, NHBC’s 10-year Buildmark warranty is in place to protect the homeowner and ensure the work is carried out”.

The amount NHBC paid out in claims each year should be viewed in context of the number of new homes we cover. NHBC Buildmark currently covers over 1.6m new homes – so £30m paid out last year in claims relates to over £256bn worth of property.

But there are risks the repair problem on new homes could worsen before they get better – for two reasons:-

Firstly, Government policy increasingly obliges builders to re-use “brown” land in urban centres – where risks of foundation problems are higher, depending on what was there before.

Secondly, the fear that builders face a savage squeeze on margins as house prices fall. The suspicion is that Builders can only restore profit margins by hacking back costs. That could be tricky to square with customer demands for higher quality.

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So what is PVCu?

The ‘PVC’ part of it stands for Polyvinyl Chloride. The ‘U’ stands for Un-plasticised, often wrongly called Un-modified. The terms PVCu, uPVC, PVC-U, and PVCU all essentially refer to the same product (European harminisation means most Countries now use the letters PVCu).

Poly Vinyl Chloride, which we know as everyday ‘PVC’ is modified, i.e. softened and can then be used in the manufacture of products such as hand bags, sport bags, shoes and fake leather. It is the use of this material which has made us familiar with the abbreviation ‘PVC’.

Pure PVC-U is not quite suitable for window and door profiles. A small amount of stabilisers and additives are required, the mix of which may vary slightly between different manufacturers of profiles for window and door systems, and is necessary to provide longevity, high weather and UV resistance, and also to achieve a brilliant white colour.

The basic material properties of PVCu make it ideal for window, door Conservatory applications: such properties being:-

• Does not rot or biologically decompose.
• Resistant to weathering with low maintenance requirements.
• Is tough on impact.
• Retains its shape within normal climatic temperatures.
• Fairly good insulation performance.
• Can be stiffened by interior insertion of aluminium or steel reinforcement.
• Can be reshaped at very high temperature and can therefore be recycled.
• Factory fabrication means high on-site installation speed.

PVCu lacks authenticity when it comes to the more traditional designs and note that it is not acceptable to Planning Authorities for use in Listed Buildings, and is not popular with them in Conservation Areas (it could be a criminal offence to replace say softwood windows with pvcu windows in a Listed Building!).

In a low Carbon footprint world many home-owners are now using traditional, but sustainable hardwoods instead of such synthetic materials.