Case Studies…

I was recently asked to review an in-depth building survey for a potential property purchase. The prospective buyer had paid over £1,000 + VAT for what appeared to be a comprehensive report of more than 100 pages.

On first impression, it looked impressive.

On closer inspection, however, much of the report consisted of generic information and recommendations that responsibility for significant parts of the building should be passed on to other professionals.

The purchaser was advised to seek further input from:

A structural engineer

A damp-proofing contractor

A pest-control company

An electrician

A plumbing and heating engineer

A roofing contractor

A drainage company

A roof-treatment specialist

A window company

A solicitor to verify planning compliance

A solicitor to verify Building Regulations compliance

A fire-safety professional to assess the third-storey protected means of escape and detection systems

…and the list continued.

The report had identified evidence of woodworm and some internal damp, but many of the questions that actually mattered to the buyer remained unanswered.

That’s where we were asked to help.

We interrogated the property’s planning history and Building Regulations records through the council portal.

We physically inspected the property to establish whether the roof coverings appeared to have been replaced when the loft extension was constructed.

We inspected the protected means of escape, including the relevant doors, smoke seals, closers and visible fire-protection measures.

We carried out a simple bung-and-hold test on the drainage.

We checked the operation and condition of the windows.

Rather than simply recommending another electrician or gas engineer, we asked to see the relevant electrical inspection/testing documentation and gas safety records.

And so on.

None of this is rocket science.

But it does require a knowing eye, practical building experience and the willingness to actually investigate what is in front of you.

There is absolutely a place for chartered surveyors, structural engineers and other specialists — and where something genuinely falls outside our competence or requires specialist investigation, we’ll say so.

But sometimes a prospective purchaser doesn’t need another 100 pages of caveats.

They need someone with years of hands-on construction experience to walk the building, look at the evidence, ask the right questions and give them a practical, no-nonsense and honest opinion before they commit to buying it.

David Lux

Lux Spaces