Downsizing your house and
home review and how
we can help you

Independent Building Surveyors

If you are in the process of purchasing or selling a property whether you are downsizing or not we can provide help and advice with regard to pre-sale building surveys, structural surveys, home buyers reports, independent valuations, property surveys, engineers reports, structural reports, specific defects report or any other property matters.

What do the circles and ovals mean in our building surveys?

In our building surveys and structural surveys the circles and ovals are a system that we used to highlight property problem areas so that you are not left wondering what the property problem is. In addition to this if the survey photographs do not we believe explain the property problem enough together with our survey report we also add in one of our own survey sketches.

Many photographs and surveying sketches

We use throughout our survey reports to make them as clear as possible many photographs and surveying sketches. Whilst the emphasis will always be on encapsulating the Good, Bad and Ugly within our Executive Summary section words are enhanced with photographs from a very powerful optical zoom camera. We also have our own unique set of survey sketches to make the property problem crystal clear. We literally have commissioned hundreds of our own survey sketches developed over many years depicting property issues.

Decision to Sell your current home?

Selling a property is a big decision and after living in the same house for many years the decision to move and downsize is a life changing one. Over the years we often tend to collect items and store them in cupboards, loft space and cellars these together with furniture will need to be sorted through, which can be time consuming and furniture that will no longer be required or will be too big will need to be sold, given to family/friends or charity.

When surveying properties we as independent Surveyors often find many stored items particularly in loft space which limits our view when carrying out full structural surveys hiding for example the common rafters which could have signs of dampness. We can find properties whereby the seller has piled boxes or placed furniture strategically to hide dampness in walls for example. Having an independent Surveyor carry out your property survey is so important when deciding to purchase a property or not as structural issues can be costly and be problematic.

Essential property criteria

1. Semi-detached or detached bungalow as this is their retirement home being at low level will help with future maintenance of the property as well as helping should their mobility deteriorate in the future.

2. A location close to their children and grandchildren in London with the Home Counties a preference such as Hertfordshire.

3. Two bedrooms.

4. A fair size garden but not too big.

5. A garage.

Desirable property criteria

1. Chain free would be ideal as this will make the move more straightforward and quicker.

2. Three bedrooms with one with an en suite.

3. PVC double glazed windows.

When properties have new double glazed windows we always recommend that they have trickle vents which help with air circulation in the property.

Any transferable guarantees with double glazed windows should be gained from the owners as sealed double glazed units can fail; particularly as a result of poor workmanship during installation. Failure of the seal leads to condensation between the two panes of glass and simply replacing the affected units may not provide a satisfactory long-term solution. Generally it is considered that double glazed units have a life of about ten years.

4. Good internal decoration.

To be able to move into a property with very little internal redecoration required would be a bonus but a need to be wary of properties where the current owner has ‘painted to sell' could be a way of them trying to hide latent defects. Another good reason why having an independent Surveyor carry out a residential building survey on your behalf prior to committing to purchase.

Always meet your Surveyor at the property

When you enlist the help of an independent Surveyor to help you with your decision to buy or not to buy a property we always recommend that you take the time to go along to the property to meet the Surveyor. A meeting with the Surveyor can help as you can talk to them about any property issues as well as pointing out your concerns and aspirations for the property.

As Surveyors we can help and advise on any future plans to extend or amend a property as we have experience of property development.

We often meet our clients at properties and have found some clients very enthusiastic even climbing into the roof space to help hold a torch when we are inspecting roof timbers and running taps in different rooms when we are viewing the drainage. When carrying out structural surveys we are always happy to see our clients as the decision to purchase a property is such an important and costly one it is always good to talk through any property issues face to face.

Cash property purchase

A cash purchase of a property is always a good situation to be in as this will help to speed up the process of purchasing a new home as you will not be dependent upon a mortgage lender. The decision is of course an important choice parting with your life savings for a dream property so a structural survey is essential to make sure that the property is structurally sound and there are no hidden property issues.

Roof issues

The structural survey of the bungalow highlighted the property had issues with its roof which in the future would be costly. The roof was the original roof without a protective underlayer. Without a protective underlayer wind driven rain can get into the structure although the majority of the time this may not be an issue it is a concern.

In the case of the bungalow there was some movement noted to the roof tiles which combined with the lack of protective underlayer will mean that dampness is an issue.

Re-roofing is a costly expense and a reduction on the asking price was sought due to this issue along with other property issues.