Posts Tagged ‘Surveyor’

Let me grab your attention……….

Which of these is the most astonishing statistic or comment (all are true)?

• Only about 1-in-10 home buyers get a private survey completed.
• Only 28% of Listed Buildings are insured: 55% are under-insured.
• 25% of all land is not “registered” despite registration starting in 1925.
• UK Housing stock is the oldest in the developed world.
• Only 1% of our housing stock is EPC Rated “A” or “B”.
• In 2001 new house building fell to its lowest level since the war.
• Social demographics reveal that although one-person-homes made up 19% of total housing stock in 1971, this stat increased to 31% last year (2010).
• Houses (NOT flats) represent 82% of the dwelling stock in England.

To me, two statistics leap out of the screen and shout at me:-

As a Surveyor I just do not comprehend why 9 out of 10 homebuyers do not get unbiased, independent Survey opinion. Surveys have proved to save buyers money (typically a x5 saving in relation to fee costs, perhaps a great deal more).

As a home owner and residential Surveyor I also find it staggering that only 1% of our total housing stock is reasonably good in saving energy or reducing carbon emissions.

It may surprise some readers that the trends towards desktop valuations, as opposed to visit-the-home-and-produce-a-real-valuation, is rapidly gathering pace such that soon buyers will not have anyone look at their purchases unless they can be educated NOW and elect to pay for independent opinion (always separate the loan/mortgage valuation from the private survey – these are two separate matters and only one is a “survey”; the survey should be completed after the Loan Valuation and loan offer is received, in writing ).

At any one time the forces and influences that combine to determine value or worth of an asset are shifting. Today we are entering a period of years whereby carbon footprint and energy performance profile will assert themselves and create a valuation premium.

Like it or not we will all need to far better understand the process of home buying and just what actually creates value.

All the usual candidates remain: a “top five” may look something like this–
1. Location
2. Condition
3. Size
4. Features
5. Modernity (in some cases)

However, word is out NOW that two new candidates are in the top five listing. These are:-
• Carbon footprint to build, plus
• Carbon and Energy footprint to live in.

These factors create “sustainability” and that state may help save our planet and help us save money (energy costs) into the long term future.

Fit-in-Tariffs and RHI (Renewable Heating Initiative) are just two examples of current schemes whereby the Government will underwrite an annual income to you if you change away from, or significantly reduce your consumption of, fossil fuels.

A Home Valuer must nowadays consider and reflect upon whether your home was carbon neutral in its creation and also whether it has a zero-carbon in-use footprint. Did non-sustainable trees and resources need to be expended to produce the home AND/OR can the home produce energy savings (or even create an energy flow into the national grid – an income stream) by clever design, systems and gizmos?

From now onwards these latter mentioned matters will rise and rise and create a new slice of home value leaving your own existing outdated home on the floor as far as “worth” is concerned. This process will be slow but would be kick started if loan and mortgage rates were switched to be lower if your home actually sold energy to, rather than used energy from, the national grid. Differentiation in favour of green homes cannot now be too far away.

Beauty, they say, is in the eye of the beholder. Buyers looking at identical homes, but where one has a Government backed 25 year income stream attached to it and will probably sell for a higher capital sum will be considered more valuable today. For buyers to see the worth of such new initiatives means they must understand what is happening around them and this can only start by education: reading this article marks the start of that process.

So: Read the EPC (Energy Performance Certificate) on the home you wish to buy (this remains a mandatory document on any sell or letting in England). Find out how, and at what costs and future benefits, you could improve the structure and its services to create income and higher value/worth. Plan how and when you could achieve this.

Take energy seriously and take extra value from it.

Why choose an independent House Surveyor? Why choose PROinspect?

To those who have experienced the reasons why a Surveyor can make a big difference to a housing transaction I apologise for wasting your time. For those who look for cheapness and do not care who acts for them may I suggest you slow down and study the advice given below.

Blue sky thinking shouldn't be rushed. Choose your Surveyor wisely.

 

All Home Condition Surveyors should be at least working to a basic level of competence, carry at least the minimum level of insurances and have kept themselves reasonably up-to-date professionally and technically: the latest buzz words being Technical Due Diligence, or TDD.

Therefore, on the face of any one particular housing deal all Surveyors are equal.

WRONG. Some are more equal than others and provide a truly exceptional level of service designed to aid you to a swift and knowledgeable exchange of contracts with you in full control. Some are stuck in one gear and no matter what you want and need you will get what they always do: often this type of Surveyor is difficult to contact and is “protected” from client calls by a host of secretaries and customer services people (try attempting to actually talk to such a beast and you will see what I mean).

If all Surveyors train and generally work to a similar standard why do I need a better standard? Credit Crunch should have taught you what Bankers think of customers and how they cannot even make loans and mortgages on terms that most of us could even dream of finding acceptable. Self-interest is what I am defining: interests of the Bank are more valuable than mere customers interests. The same can be said of a lot of Surveyors.

What you need is a professional adviser who understands you, why you need a survey, what is happening in the marketplace and “know” the home type you are buying. Somebody who understands how most purchasers will not appreciate the mechanics of the chain of things that could go wrong and what can be done to protect their interests.

So what do I do that is over-and-above what the average Surveyor does?

1. I never accept a survey instruction without first personally talking to the client to ensure the product they asked for is relevant to the property and their budget. Other survey product options may be applicable.
2. I visit every relevant web-site that may give free data on the home being purchased so I have more that a cursory knowledge of the building and its history even before I see it. This allows me to easily focus on key issues and so better manage my time on your behalf. I even personalise my Site Notes template to reflect that initial property and risk-management data.
3. Where possible I interview the seller so I obtain detailed information on alterations, service histories, problems and possible disputes. This level of service acts as the eyes of the Solicitor acting for our clients.
4. In preparing your Report I pitch the words I use to my assessment of each clients technical property understanding: in other words I design advice to suit each client, as all clients are different.
5. I make sure you know that once you have your Report I am available to explain things to you, if you need that re-assurance.
6. If you need advice on what courses of action you could take I will advise you of your options.
7. If you need advice upon what Contractors to use I will make recommendations.
8. If your Solicitors or loan source need additional advice or information I can provide it.
9. If you need robust opinion to help re-negotiate the purchased price, just ask.

In other words, for the price of a survey you get a full Consultancy Service thrown in. I will not leave you stranded.

Practical, good communication is just as important to us as it should be to you. Our high service level not only helps you but also the seller because our actions do make the difference between actually buying and dropping out because “it all got too complicated”.

To some, our high service level is difficult to appreciate or understand. To those we have helped by these service standards we have customers for life and we have proved to be life-savers in a world of doom-and-gloom.

House of Horrors OR Home Sweet Home? The choice starts with who you allow to act for you. Do not get misled into requesting a simultaneous loan valuation and private survey: this is not the route to take for several reasons. Call us and we will explain.

Finally, let me provide a few examples of professionals who have been negligent and who cost clients thousands of wasted pounds:-

• Surveyor could not tell if the loft excrement was from vermin or bats: it was the latter and this caused redevelopment to be delayed nearly two years – (= technical incompetence).
• Valuer who over-valued a home by 55% – (= lack of local knowledge and quality control).
• Surveyor who did not detect that a house had been structurally underpinned three times: the effect of this was the client bought at an inflated price and was then denied Insurance cover and cannot now find a buyer at all – (technical and professional incompetence).
• A flooring contractor who laid a solid floor topped with hardwood: both failed and required replacement – (technical incompetence).
• A Solicitor who negligently conveyed a home that the seller could not then dispose of – (technical and professional incompetence).
• A Surveyor who did not know the difference between traditional construction and a home now designated as defective under late 20^th century legislation and is only worth half of what was paid for it – (technical and professional incompetence).

PROinspect have acted as Experts in preparing Court cases or in preparing evidence for Insurers in these and many other such cases. We are as pleased to act for you, an individual, as for acting for a large Company. Our standards do not vary.

High fee cost? Well no; we hope we are not cheap but above all we plan to be the best value-for-money. Many say we are safe-pair-of-hands in a wicked world.

Why chose an independent Home Condition Surveyor? It pays to not take the chance that cheap may be beautiful. You need expertise and certainty. We provide professionalism and robust, practical help.

I was asked to advise, value and survey a large, prominent Building on the River Meon in Hampshire. The history of the building was diverse and complex and included Insurance Claim underpinning, Flooding and much alteration. This was not a job for an outsider or novice:-

My client kindly commented, after exchange of contracts, as follows:-

I am happy to recommend Stuart Parrett unequivocally. His professionalism and experience, diplomacy and tenacity really shone through on our difficult and complicated purchase.  He was spot on with his valuation and uncovered lots of issues with the property that a less thorough surveyor may have missed. We have purchased with our eyes open and at the right price… thanks to Stuart.

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

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.

THIS WAS E-MAILED RECENTLY – ANOTHER SATISFIED CUSTOMER!

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.

Surveyors get told to do all sorts of things and at all sorts of times but do you know the options available to you? Do you know how to get the best out of a Surveyor? Do you know when it might be best to speak to a Surveyor?

Everybody seems to think differently when it comes to what to expect of a House Surveyor. Here I outline what I think you might need to know for the most common case scenarios.

1. Thinking of Selling? One option is to consider placing a Home Condition Report (HCR) within the Home Information Pack (HIP) on your home. The same Surveyor could also complete the Energy Performance Certificate (EPC). The HCR is something a potential purchaser, and the Mortgage Valuer/Company, can rely upon and sue the Surveyor if it is negligent. You may think a HCR is a good idea if you wanted to prove your home was in good condition OR if it had serious problems and you wanted to define those problems so bidders did not make over-cautious purchase bids to you.
2. If you own a home that is “System Built” (or is registered under the Defective Premises Act 1972) again you may wish to consider the benefit of a Sellers Survey (HCR) to attempt to remove some of the stigma that can attach to such homes.
3. If you are considering buying a home at Auction you have a greater number of survey options. On the one-hand you don’t want to waste too much money and so you might wish to consider simply asking a Surveyor to walk around the home with you to discuss what he is seeing and to verify no major defects exist. Such a “look around” is not a proper survey but provided you can accept that the Surveyor will not produce a written report and cannot accept any liability for such a restricted inspection then you are on track to buy that bargain and have reduced your risks considerably. Alternatively, you could ask a Surveyor to produce a R.I.C.S. Homebuyers Report (that includes a Valuation opinion).
4. Buying any type or size of Home – remember you always have the option to ask a Surveyor to take an informal look around for you (often with you so you can ask questions etc…). This may be termed a pre-survey meeting at the premises. PROinspect have 15 inspections products and so we can cover nearly every customers request for surveys.
5. Buying a fairly simple, modern home – The most popular survey product in the UK is the R.I.C.S. Homebuyer Report (2010 version) – termed the HOMEBUYER REPORT (HBR). This is a product designed by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and is the middle-tier product designed to be brief but factual. It includes a proper site inspection, survey report on condition, market valuation and an estimate of the Rebuild Cost of the building for insurance purposes. The HBR is termed a Level 2 survey product.
6. Buying a larger, expensive or Period home, perhaps in a Conservation Area or one that is Listed – Your options are a Level 2 survey product such as the Homebuyer Report (if the Surveyor thinks this is wise) or a full Building Survey with or without Market Valuation and/or Rebuild Cost assessment. A Building Survey is a top-of-the-range product and I add a word of caution- (1) only experienced surveyors should be completing such products and (2) many products exist that look like Building Surveys but are not. MAKE SURE your Surveyor comes recommended and that you have spoken to the Surveyor – one to one – before you proceed so you can get some idea of his Professionalism and general attitude.

The Golden Rules are –

• Instruct a Surveyor when your solicitor gives the OK after your loan valuation has been completed and your mortgage finance is verified (not simply offered, subject to terms).
• Always speak to the Surveyor who is to inspect your new home: do not be palmed off with only speaking to a secretary, junior assistant or office manager.
• Ask for a survey product recommendation AFTER you have provided full details of the property you are buying (age, price, number of bedrooms, address, etc…).
• Make sure your Surveyor is locally based, knows of the property construction type and is generally experienced both professionally and locally.
• Make sure you will be able to speak directly with your Surveyor after he has delivered your Report.

If your home/property is in southern England I invite you to call me to discuss your exact needs. Stuart Parrett +44 (0)1489 896 174.

Before you call Countrywide Surveyors, Ekins Surveyors, Allied Surveyors or Local Surveyors Direct you might want to think about several matters first:

1. Can you actually talk to a Surveyor, the one that will do your survey? You need to gauge if they are sensible and businesslike and you will probably have certain concerns you need to communicate to the Surveyor.
2. Have they asked the all-important-essential-questions BEFORE they assessed what you actually need?
3. Is the Surveyor not only qualified and insured but also fully knowledgeable in the geographic district of the house you are buying?
4. This is the clincher – does the Surveyor complete at least twice as many surveys as simple loan valuations alone? This will tell you if he/she is a jack-of-all-trades or a specialist Surveyor, as opposed to a Valuer who happens to do a few surveys.
5. If they simply asked you for the value of the home, or how many bedrooms there are, then you know they are going to standardise whatever they do for you and not personalising their service to your needs.

If all the above are satisfactory to you, and the fee quote is reasonable then you are in business: if not, call PROinspect immediately

Stuart Parrett FRICS, MAE, dipHI

As only a small minority of buyers have any private survey we at PROinspect are concerned for thePublic. HIPs were to have Sellers Surveys, the best thing possible for buyers, but disinformation and politics managed to knock it out of sight.

So What do you need to do – When and How?

Don’t ring a Surveyor and say “I need a survey, how much do you charge?”. This does not give the Surveyor a chance to understand what you are buying and making a recommendation on the best survey product. The Surveyor could, in many scenarios, save you many pounds if you will only take the time to listen.

It all starts with how you approach your private Surveyor………..

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What are you buying – House Bungalow Flat.

How old is it? – Victorian Modern 1930′s etc….

How big is it? – No of Bedrooms? No of reception rooms? etc….

What is its general state? – Modernised? Well presented? Derelict?

What price have you offered OR what is the Asking Price?

Where is it? – Which Town or Post Code etc….

Do you have specific plans for the home?

Do you have specific concerns about anything?

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These matters allow the Surveyor to understand YOU and what you are BUYING. Once you have agreed the survey product and a fee cost and issued an clear instruction for us to proceed we will need the following type of data from you:-

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Required Customer Information

PROinspect and our customers must communicate and agree at least the following data and terms:

1. Client name and full address (if more than one person then multiple data is needed).
2. Home, work and mobile call details of each client.
3. Preferred E-mail address of each client.
4. Full address of home to be inspected (including post code).
5. Home access method and details (typically an Estate Agents full details).
6. If a home HIP exists – the full reference number of that document in sufficient detail to allow us to download it.
7. If the client knows what survey product they need then please provide the NAME of that product OR tell us what is worrying you about the home.
8. What extras to the standard service level are needed?
9. Fee agreement – the sum, how and when it will be paid etc… We usually require full payment before we submit our Report or findings to the customer.
10. The urgency of the transaction (do you have any pre-agreed deadlines?).
11. Full details of your solicitor (including call number, name and personal e-mail address).

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PROinspect will then e-mail or mail our verification, business Terms, product scheme, Conditions plus fee Invoice.

We will contact the Agent or Home Owner and do all that is necessary to inspect the premises and to report to you. Once you have our verified Fee Quotation and Terms/Conditions, and have indicated your full agreement o our service(s), then we do everything leaving you free of the stress and worry of having to organize anything.

It really is simple – if you are looking, or live in, Southern England call me for further advice and opinion.  +44 (0)1489 896 174 or use the CONTACT FORM above. Stuart Parrett.