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FAQ |
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1. What is a building survey ?
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2. What does a survey include ?
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3. Can a building fail a survey ?
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4. Can I inspect the building myself ?
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5. What will the survey cost ?
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6. My property is not suited to the Sales and
Purchase Agreement but I don’t want to incur the cost of a full building
survey, is there an alternative ?
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7. I am happy with the overall condition of the
property but there is one fault that I want advice upon, can you help ?
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8. I want to serve notice as a landlord/tenant
due to disrepair, can you help me ?
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9. Can you define the meaning of Defect Liability
Period (DLP) Inspection ?
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10. I plan to convert/extend the property when I buy
it. Can you advise upon the feasibility ?
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11. I am particularly concerned that there may be
faults to hidden areas, can you advise me
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12. What are the limitations of your inspection
?
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13. Should I attend the survey ?
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14. Are you able to provide advice upon repairs or
alterations to the property ?
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15. Do you handle the process of defect rectification
?
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16. Can you give professional advice on the areas
involving structural such as major cracks on building, road resurfacing
?
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17. What are the tools that you used for building
inspection ?
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18. Do you have professional indemnity insurance
?
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19. Can the Building Inspector’s Report being used in
the Tribunal for Homebuyer Claims ?
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20. Is it worth the cost ?
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21. I've been offered a cheap deal if I have my
valuation and survey done by the same company/person. ?
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1. What is a building survey?
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A building survey is a detailed survey carried out by a Building Surveyor in
order to assess the condition and dilapidation of the buildings, in particular,
the structure, fabrics and components, finishes, services and safety
requirements.
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2. What does a survey include?
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A complete survey includes a visual examination of the building and its systems
from top to bottom. It can also include the entire property including such
items as the grounds, outbuildings and fencing. The surveyor evaluates and
reports on the construction and condition of what can be seen and operated of
the structure, roof, foundation, plumbing, drainage, heating system,
insulation, walls, windows, doors and such-like. Only those items that are
visible and accessible and operable by normal means are included in the report.
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3. Can a building fail a survey?
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No. A professional survey is simply an examination of the current condition of
your prospective building purchase. A surveyor, therefore, will not pass or
fail a building, but will simply describe its construction and condition and
will indicate which items will be in need of minor or major maintenance,
repairs or replacement.
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4. Can I inspect the building myself?
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Even the most experienced building or home owner lacks the knowledge and
expertise of a qualified surveyor who has surveyed hundreds, and perhaps
thousands of homes and buildings in their career. A surveyor is equally
familiar with the critical elements of construction and with the proper
installation, maintenance and inter-relationships of these elements. Above all,
most buyers find it difficult to remain completely objective and unemotional
about the building they really want and this may lead to a poor assessment.
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5. What will the survey cost?
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The survey fee for a typical single-family house or commercial building varies
geographically, as does the cost of housing. Similarly, within a geographic
area the survey fees charged by different survey services may vary depending
upon the size of the building, particular features of the building, age, type
of structure, etc. However, the cost should not be a factor in the decision
whether or not to have a survey. You might save many times the cost of the
survey if you are able to negotiate a lower cost or have the vendor perform
repairs based on significant problems revealed by the surveyor.
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6. My property is not suited to the Sales and Purchase Agreement but
I don’t want to incur the cost of a full building survey, is there an alternative?
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Yes, we can provide a Material and Quality Specification Report, this is tailor
made to your requirements and focuses on the main elements of the building,
often the walls, roofs and floors
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7. I am happy with the overall condition of the property but there
is one fault that I want advice upon, can you help?
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Yes, we can tailor make a limited report to advise you upon a specific problem
(e.g. a damp spot, crack, continuous leakage problem, building settlement due
to illegal extension).
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8. I want to serve notice as a landlord/tenant due to disrepair, can
you help me?
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Yes, we can prepare a Schedule of Dilapidations for service on the
landlord/tenant. Negotiations can be undertaken on your behalf.
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9. Can you define the meaning of Defect Liability Period (DLP)
Inspection ?
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This is actually like warranty of services provided by Developer to the
purchaser after buying a home. Basically, the period is in between 18 – 24
months after purchasing. During this period, the developer would be required to
rectify any defect at their cost. It is very advisable to the you as a property
buyer to appoint us to carry out a proper inspection when you takes Vacant
Possession of your property.
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10. I plan to convert/extend the property when I buy it. Can you advise
upon the feasibility?
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Yes, we can normally incorporate advice within a report. In the case of a
homebuyers’ report, this is an extra service and we can incorporate the
information in an accompanying letter. There may be an additional charge for
this service. Please discuss it with us before we carry out our inspection
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11. I am particularly concerned that there may be faults to hidden areas,
can you advise me?
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It depends whether we can gain access to areas concealed. This is an aspect you
need to discuss with the occupier before our visit. For example, it may be
possible to remove fitted carpets or form a hatch into a roof space in order to
allow the access of a surveyor.
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12. What are the limitations of your inspection?
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Our conditions of engagement set out the practical limitations of our
inspection. In the case of each individual instruction we will set out our
Scope of Services, so as to avoid misunderstanding. It would be impractical to
examine every detail of the structure without partially dismantling it, which
destroys what it is sought to preserve. Most sellers would not permit such
damage! A surveyor cannot risk damaging someone else's property. It may not be
practicable to lift floorboards covered with parquet or vinyl which is stuck
down, or to move heavy items of furniture or safes. If windows have been
screwed up or are stuck fast with paint opening them might cause damage. We
will make any limitations clear in our report.
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13. Should I attend the survey?
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It is not necessary for you to be present for the survey. But it can be useful
if the surveyor’s report contains a number of items which need addressing, for
the surveyor to talk you through those issues at the property. By having the
surveyor do this and by you asking questions, you will learn more about the new
building and any issues and will get some tips on general maintenance -
information that will be of great help to you if you go ahead with the
purchase.
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14. Are you able to provide advice upon repairs or alterations to the
property?
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Yes, we can provide feasibility studies, engage builders and supervise works.
We have a list of suitable contractors.
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15. Do you handle the process of defect rectification?
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Yes, we provide defects inspection and direct rectification for your easiness
as we also give warranty to you for our service and materials.
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16. Can you give professional advice on the areas involving
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structural such as major cracks on building, road resurfacing? Of course we can
advise you professionally based on visual inspections as it is crucial for us
to put things in the right perspective. However, if there is a need to do a
testing or evaluation by structural engineer, we would advise you to do so
where necessary.
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17. What are the tools that you used for building inspection?
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Besides of visual camera and laser distance, we also use damp meter to measure
the dampness level on the walls too. Many other specific tools are used but
depends on the scope of works and situation. The most important tool is
actually the experience, technique and well-trained eyes of the building
inspector to identify defects and potential problem areas.
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18. Do you have professional indemnity insurance?
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It is not a defects insurance policy but is a protection against claims for
negligence. That is if we were to fall below the standard of skill and care
reasonably to be expected of a competent registered surveyor.
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19. Can the Building Inspector’s Report being used in the Tribunal for
Homebuyer Claims?
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We are professional and registered Building Surveyor who remains unbiased to
the client as a third party and our inspection reports are objectively
comprehensive according to the guidelines of checklist. The report would list
down all the defects identified and their possible causes.
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20. Is it worth the cost?
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We believe it is. If significant defects are discovered then, depending upon
market conditions, the purchaser is given the opportunity to renegotiate the
purchase price to reflect the necessary repair cost. We are looking for defects
and potential defects which may give rise to unexpected or unwelcome
expenditure. Property is a mixed bag. Of the very many surveys we carry out
each year there are some spectacular examples of seriously defective property
which justify the very many other surveys which reveal no significant defects
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21. I've been offered a cheap deal if I have my valuation and survey done
by the same company/person.
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The problem with doing this is the surveyor has to have very different skills
to both value the property and survey it. The Royal Institution of Chartered
Surveyors recognises this and have two different divisions which are trained in
different ways. They also have different qualifications although confusingly
they are both called Chartered Surveyors. Valuers are called chartered
valuation surveyors and building surveyors are called chartered building
surveyors.
Many valuers are not that comfortable carrying out surveys of any sort and more
specifically not comfortable carrying out building surveys. Commercial
pressures mean they are being forced into now doing building surveys as well as
valuation surveys - the deal where the survey and valuation come cheaper is one
such instance. In our experience this tactic is often used by valuation
companies (often owned by the mortgage companies and estate agents as a way of
keeping staff fully employed - we once heard it said that it’s like asking your
doctor to pull your teeth out - you should use a specialist!)
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