Posts Tagged ‘Solicitors’

No, not a legal run-down on what to do or not to do. Instead, a few words of wisdom to help you ensure “your X, or other-half” does pull a fast-one on you as far your joint Home is concerned.

I often get calls along the lines “Mr Parrett? I saw your web-site and need some advice. Can you help me?” The following comments distill these calls for help into a few Rules to protect yourself :-

1. Never agree to anything you do not fully understand.
2. Always take legal opinion, if at all possible.
3. When the time comes to VALUE THE HOUSE the following may help you —
   • Do not panic when your “other half” starts quoting strange fictional things about the house eg: “you do know it has got subsidence and isn’t worth much?”. Rise above such tactics and do not respond.
   • If the Valuation is organised through Solicitors you may be asked to provide two names of valuers you would be happy to use. Find two local Chartered Surveyors who specialise in Valuations (call the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in London if you are stuck). I prefer smaller firms to the larger ones. The more local the better. Your legal team will negotiate with your partners legal guys until a mutually acceptable Valer is agreed.
   • If I was one of these Valuers I would pre-quote 150% of my normal Valuation fee rates and charge each party 75% of that rate (you each save 25% of a normal Valuation fee).
   • Payment would be expected “up front” as in any dispute situation.
   • If you can be on-site when the Valuer inspects this is to be preferred – in case questions arise.
   • If Solicitors are not involved then attempt to get written agreement from your partner that a particular Valuer can be instructed jointly. You would need to get fee quotes and do not forget to tell each Valuer the purpose of the Valuation (“Matrimonial Proceedings” is the terminology used and include in your instructions that it is a joint instruction and ask if two Invoices can be generated – one for each party).
   • Be friendly to the Valuer and have copies of any guarantees, plans, warranties, boiler service plan papers etc…. ready when he or she arrives.

Often when I am on-site, and usually when only one party is present (not both husband and wife), comments are made that could be construed as “attempting to get at me”. I am immune to such attempts and would say that at the human level they can easily go against the person making them. This shows that whoever you instruct must be of strong character and of robust constitution. This is yet another reason why it is vital for you to actually speak to the Valuer who is to inspect your home (and not a secretary or other such Agent or middleman).

The “good Valuer” will only include Report comment if he or she is convinced it is factual and important. However, where some doubt exists, and if the information is vital or may affect the tone of the Valuation, the information may be included but with a reference as to where it came from and why anybody reading the Report must strictly verify the information before any agreement is reached.

Valuations for Divorce or Matrimonial Proceedings are not for wimps: make sure you don’t use one.

Commenting on PROinspect Consultancy, and Stuart Parrett in particular, Dominic Beeton stated —-

On the professional side of things, I would strongly recommendStuart Parrett of ProInspect. Stuart runs a firm from Bishops Waltham. Check his web site here He is a residential surveyor who has a fervent passion for surveying and wants to share that passion with the world.  His web site is crammed full of useful articles.  If you need a surveyor who will produce a comprehensive survey report using the latest technology including thermal imaging, Stuart is your man.  He is also a really nice chap.

HIPs are dead. A new Government is in place. Power to the People seems to be high on the agenda. The Economy is stuttering forward. Our football team ….. well, enough said! What now?

Over the last few months I have helped and overseen my Parents sell their home of 48 years standing and buy a home down-market. The key areas I want to talk about include —-

1. Choosing an Estate Agent
2. Deciding what information, and in what form, we could produce to help speed a sale through.
3. The Solicitors and dealing with buyers in the chain.

Being a local Surveyor/Valuer all the Agents wanted my Parents instruction. I advised my Parents after considering who would be buying their home and matching that “profile” to the sales record and “typical profile” of each Agency. A sole agency was agreed and a marketing strategy and what advertising would be completed. That was fairly easy but it did emphasis to me that all Estate Agencies are different and use differing tactics and skills to package themselves in order to obtain selling instructions. We ignored those tactics and looked under the surface to see what real skills each Agent had. We were not displeased with our final choice – in fact the Agent was simply brilliant throughout.

Next my Parents and I sat down and filtered through vast amounts of paperwork collected over 48 years. We defined several key documents that our own Solicitors would need – Planning Permissions and related Building Regulation Control Approvals with original Plans, Guarantees etc…. Again, this was easy.

Legal FORMS duly arrived and my Parents had to tick boxes for this and that and decide what was staying and what was to be taken away with them (not always easy to decide).

Eventually, and quite quickly because we had the price right to achieve a disposal, a buyer was found: in fact the whole chain was only three properties long and the top end was “empty”. Simple? No, not quite.

The chain was assembled quickly. What then did not happen was all three Solicitors meeting to decide a plan to achieve a simple and pain free transaction and to then inform the home owners of that plan and what to do if things became problematic. Instead a date was set for exchange and only at that point did all documents get a thorough scrutiny. That scrutiny revealed that elderly Parents had missed ticking that their home had mains gas and electricity (heating was via mains gas and the utility room is dominated by a floor standing large gas boiler and flue plus the Estate Agent details state all mains services are connected + the home has light fittings and power sockets for electrical gear). My Parents buyer and legal adviser could not accept the risk that my Parents home may not have these services and exchange was delayed until they could tick the boxes and return the Form.

Next came the Tree.

Now this is a fairly massive Wellingtonia that pre-dates the house by about 100 years. It is well within “influencing distance” of the house and drains and because its roots were causing damage to the public road outside my Parents house I declared that problem to the buyer whilst also pointing out the only cracking (minor) to the house.

The buyer chose to not have any private survey completed because the house was going to be adapted, expected and very significantly refurbished after detailed Planning Permission and Building Control applications were passed.

My Parents had no knowledge of buying and selling and were highly nervous of what to expect with each solicitor delay the degree of stress increased. The delays experienced were for many causes, including some via my Parents lack of knowledge and understanding.

The house my parents were buying was empty and when exchange of contracts was finally agreed they wanted to get Builders in to complete fairly minor works such a new Sink, one room to be redecorated, minor re-wiring, etc…. but the sellers only gave us a few days to arrange and complete this. This meant that when my elderly Parents actually occupied they went into a bombsite rather than a nice interior adapted to their medical needs.

I am not ranting here: this is not a witch-hunt. Instead I am trying to square the actions and needs of many people and comparing this with the service levels we received from several sources and attempting to ask and answer “is this how people should treat each other in this new century?”.

I have not mentioned the story of how one Agent nearly sold my Parents another home only to see that Agent shot themselves in the foot and those actions costing my parents several hundred pounds is abortive fees. Indeed, the above overview only details main events – many tales of delay and outright stupidity staggered me then and now.

HIPs were poorly designed and lacked the one thing that could have added true value to data exchange – a seller survey that the buyer could rely upon and sue if found to be bias or inaccurate.

In my simple, humble opinion, many changes are needed to regulate buying/selling and to put service levels and common sense at the heart of things.

Buyers must prove they have approved/sufficient funds available before any sale can be agreed. Yes, this means Mortgage Certificates need to be introduced coupled with a professional assessment of what value that persons existing home may achieve shortly. By this method an Agent and Seller could assess the real, effective buyers.

Agent Details should be of greater detail and anything printed thereon should be guaranteed (honest errors excepted) by that Agent before they can market any home. HIPs had a high legal content but the data was presented in a gooble-de-gook way. Environmental Data was similarly presented such that at one stage my own business was getting multiple phone calls each week from buyers asking for a translation service! If the usual legal Forms were also prepared by sellers, and checked/verified by solicitors, BEFORE the home reached the market then the period between “offered accepted” and “exchange” would greatly shortened and both hassle and red-tape would be reduced.

I do not hold to the view that this causes unnecessary costs and delays to marketing homes. Of course I am biased in favour of seller surveys but the over “greater good” is served if such changes were made. It just cries out to me that the existing selling system we have reverted to simply panders to the Agents rather serving the client, the great British Public, buyers and sellers.

Mortgage Lenders and Solicitors plus my own controlling body, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors have a great deal to answer for in turning the defunct HIP opportunity to achieve real social change into a farce that was eventually scraped. If the public truly believes our current house buying system and both Agency and Legal service standards are adequate then, like Diego Maradona, I will run naked through the streets of my home town.

I would love the hear your views if you have recently bought and/or sold your home and especially if you had problems that required solutions to be found.

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:-

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

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NAME STUART KEVIN PARRETT FRICS, MAE, dipHI

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Fellow of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors.

Practicing member of the Academy of Experts.

Registered Home Inspector & Domestic Energy Assessor.

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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.

NEED ADVICE?

Try the SEARCH Box facility (below, left), click on an Article Heading (below, left) or simply read on….

• BUILDING SURVEYS with or without VALUATION advice
• HOME VALUATIONS by an RICS Registered Valuer
  
• HOMEBUYER REPORTS or SELLER SURVEYS
• AUCTION or QUICK-WALK-THROUGH Appraisals
  
• Update your BUILDING INSURANCE SUM INSURED
• Is DAMP REALLY DAMP or actually CONDENSATION as a result of your lifestyle?
• Is that CRACK the beginnings of SUBSIDENCE?
• Divorce or Negligence Court-Compliant EXPERT WITNESS Reports/Valuations.

Hello, I’m Stuart Parrett. I am a truly independent, knowledgeable and experienced Chartered Surveyor and housing specialist. I am in the PEOPLE and HOMES Business where Information Discovery is all important.

I survey homes for faults and worth/value but it is not what I do but HOW that separates PROinspect from competitor surveyors.

THE HOUSE DOCTOR IS IN:

HOW CAN I HELP YOU?

SOMETHING of VALUE for you —-

1-  Do you have a SEPTIC TANK DRAINAGE system?

NEW Environmental Permitting Regulations cover even old septic tanks, which may previously have escaped regulation, but are now controlled and must be formally registered with the Environment Agency by 1^st January 2012. Failure to register is a criminal offense. Click this link PrivateDrainageChanges2012 for an Environment Agency Brochure that explains all.

2-  CONDENSATION SEASON IS UPON US – have you looked in the back of the wardrobe recently or in “that corner”?

Cold = drop in dew point = cold surfaces will attract condensate: Quick Fix – create airflows and reduce the amount of vapour in the air. Longer Term Fix = Raise the wall temperature by lining it with XXXX; properly kill off mould spores; introduce sensors that apply venting or temperature changes to the environment. Simple.

What often works is opening the window for as long as possible during and after sleeping/baths/showers/cooking (this removes water vapour that then cannot condense on your clothes and walls). You loose heat during this process and so you need to learn how to achieve these goals intelligently without icicles forming on your nose.

For more information on me, my CV etc… – click here and scroll down. Alternatively, look me in the eye by watching a short VIDEO – CLICK HERE. TheHouseSurveyor at YouTube will also deliver several important messages for those looking to purchase or those you wish to become Residential Surveyors and/or Valuers.

Those who have kindly provided testimonials for me say that I can be considered a safe pair of hands, somebody who is a real communicator and a provider of detailed and robust opinions.

Good reasons for using me in the central south coast area include that I take the time to listen to you and then help you make the right choice of survey product and have it completed at the right time. After this I genuinely communicate with you and don’t simply mail a report to you and that is it. No, I am always available for questions and meetings because you need to be re-assured your purchase is both a wise investment and you are not buying a problem.

I protect the biggest investment you’ll ever make in your life – your home – and I work with you every step of the way…..

I’ve brought together a lot of valuable information to help you organise property problems, alterations, private surveys and other services surrounding ownership, maintenance, sales, purchases and Expert Witness Reports.

CALL ME for a free chat and advice on 078 3636 3040 —

• THE GOLDEN RULES OF SELF-PROTECTION DURING HOME BUYING =

1. When your “offer” has been accepted make sure you already have a loan deal secured in principle
2. Make sure you DO NOT agree to a combined Loan Valuation and Private Survey
3. Actually speak to a Surveyor (PROinspect down south) – do not accept an Assistant or a Secretary
4. Find out your Survey Product options, fee costs and the manner in dealing with any special concerns you have
5. Do not fall for quick deals or “linked” services often packaged by costly middlemen Agencies.

STUART PARRETT

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Browse the site and when you’re ready to ask for advice give me a call or fill in the Form on the right. To get the best out of us you need to be briefed as to your options, survey costs and a lot more. As a starting point be as specific as you can as to what you need from us – use the CONTACT FORM (top right on your screen): EG: Detached house – perhaps 50 years old – £400,000 agreed – Building Survey with Valuation needed – being sold by XXX Estate Agents.

PROinspect are led by Stuart Parrett who has an unrivalled pedigree as a specialist Home Surveyor of over 35 years Hampshire experience.

If you wish to read even more of my views on a host of house and survey matters go to ezinearticles.com by clicking of the above icon. Or follow me at Twitter (@SurveyAuthority).