Yesterday’s downpour involved a trip up into the loft to check for signs of water ingress around the chimney, which we know is a potential problem. It showed up in the survey we comissioned prior to purchasing the house.

A question I am frequently asked by clients is “Do I really need a survey?” On the one hand this is a ludicrous question when for a fraction of 1% of the cost of the property, you could have real peace of mind and confidence that your investment is safe. On the other hand, press reports about nightmare property purchases are not uncommon, where the surveyor has not been held liable for items missed in the report. It’s true that surveyor’s reports are only a snapshot in time and are full of caveats and disclaimers. So are they worth the money and what line should you take when purchasing property?

Currently only 1 in 5 purchasers opt for a more detailed survey than the basic valuation  which is insisted on by the morgage lender. Although you pay for this type of survey it is intended for the benefit of your lender to ensure that their investment is safe. They instruct the surveyor and you are unlikely to have any contact with him or her. He or she may never visit the property. Drive by or desk top valuations are commonplace. 4 out of 5 purchasers rely on this when deciding whether to invest hundreds of thousands of pounds in a property. Frightening isn’t it!

If you opt for the next level of survey (the Homebuyer’s Report) bear in mind that if this is booked by your morgage lender you may be paying extra for the privilege. My advice would be to get the basic valuation and then to commission your own survey from an independantly recommended surveyor. By taking this course of action you can set up a dialogue with the surveyor and determine the scope of the survey.

If you have owned a string of similar properties in the past then an opportunity to have a close look around may be enough to set your mind at rest but for most people a survey from an expert is the way to go. My advice is this:-

• Decide on the level of survey you need which for more modern properties may well be a Homebuyer’s Report
• Approach a smaller practice for flexibility. You  may then be able to opt for a purely verbal report (cheaper) or meet the surveyor to decide the scope or discuss the findings.
• For older properties a full structural survey is advisable but choose a surveyor who has experience of the kind of property you’re thinking of buying. Remember if you intend carrying out extensive work on the property, the surveyor may well prove useful to you in the future and starting to build an effective working relationship with someone you can trust is important.
• Remember that despite their bad press, surveyors are impartial, do operate under a strict professional code of conduct, are required to have insurance and  a clearly defined complaints procedure. So you do have some protection.
• Make sure that the following areas are within the scope of the survey for these are the most revealing and potentially the most expensive to put right…

           Structual soundness eg look for signs of subsidence and settlement.

           Condition of roof, particularly effectiveness in channelling away rainwater.

           Management of damp eg inspect the render, plaster, wall coverings and  damp  proof course.

           Condition of brickwork and pointing including chimney structure.

           Condition of woodwork eg doors, windows, roof timbers, floorboards.

           Condition of electrics and boiler.

           Condition of drains

I’m not in favour of taking on a property with the crossed fingers approach to the future but it is important to take control and be sensible about the scope of the survey you require. Know what you’re paying for and pay for what’s important.

Until next week.

Cally

My children are of the country variety - happier outdoors building dens and getting down and dirty than surgically attached to computer or play station. As a result, when we moved house a few years ago and were priced out of our village, our proximity to woods, fields and rivers was the decidng factor when compromises had to be made. Even clients with considerably more cash than we were able to muster have to make some compromises when it comes to finding a suitable property.

 Current market conditions suggest that thinking medium to long term is what we have to do now. Think home not investment. Last year my mantra was buy the worst house on the best street; this year it’s  you can change most things about a property …..but not the location. It’s important to get it right whether that’s being close to open space or in the thick of things in a market town or city. If you are interested in getting a better work/life balance then an easy journey to work will affect your ideal location. Equally if getting your children into the right school is your aim, living close by will enable them to walk there.

It’s easy to be seduced by a skillfully designed interior or kerb appeal on the estate agent’s details but most househunters find that two minutes after arriving at a property it either feels right or it doesn’t. One of the benefits of engaging a good relocation agent is that you don’t have to go through the pain barrier of endless wasted trips to houses which look ideal on paper but will never suit you. And having found the right location they can help you see how to mould something unpromising (and therefore affordable) into your ‘dream home’. Oh how I love my job!

Some of my clients do think carefully about the potential to add value to a property but most are just looking for the right home and heart wins out over head every time.  Beware ignoring your gut instincts because you’re guaranteed to be moving again within a couple of years even if you completely remodel the interior and spend a fortune in the process. It just won’t feel like home. I start out with a lengthy client wishlist when looking for a property but I know full well that most items will tend to evaporate in the light of finding the right location.

This week’s  photo is a lovely view over Wiltshire fields and I guess many of you wouldn’t really care what the property was like if you could wake up to this.  It’s not the view from my back door, in case you were wondering. But I have spent a couple of hours outside painting the back doors today listening to my folk musician neighbour practising on his accordian. It makes painting a lot more bearable and as compromise houses go, this one is in a pretty good location for me!.

Today I’m negotiating on the purchase of a ‘project house’ - you know, the kind that needs “modernisation” in the language of the estate agents. Actually this one is not all that bad but it will require my clients to share their living space with a team of builders for a few months if they are to create the living space they desire. It’s a great idea to add value to a property by increasing the square footage and it’s also good to be able to put your stamp onto a property but the reality of living with builders for months on end, especially if you have a young family hits hard. It’s almost three years since we completed our own building project. At the time our three children were all under five. Our builders were great and we knew exactly what to expect. Even so, four months without access to the garden, severely restricted downstairs living space and dust took its toll.

So what can you do to survive a building project?

• Effective communication is the key to a successful project. Talk to your neighbours about what is happening on a regular basis and talk to your builders.  This ensures that everyone is aware of what’s going on and any problems can be sorted out early and easily. Clients who employ me to manage a project often bemoan previous projects where the builders didn’t turn up at eight every morning or left early. It’s a fact of life that builders do not work conventional hours. They have several jobs on the go at once and  will be looking to book up their next job. Their work is physical and some tasks cannot be completed in all weathers or until some trades have finished. Aim to know what the general shape of the project will be and what will be happening week by week. Then you can monitor whether it’s on schedule. If you’ve built up a good rapport with your team they’ll make an effort for you. Equally if you’ve communicated with your neighbours they won’t add to your stress by complaining about absolutely everything.
• Move into temporary accommodation. This is the most expensive option unless you have a friend who wants you to house sit for a few months. It is less stressful and your project could progress more quickly provided that you are still around to manage the project or employ a project manager to do it for you. Even if you can’t afford it, take the opportunity to get away from the building for weekends by staying with friends and relatives. It helps you keep everything in perspective and allows you to relax in comfortable surroundings. We had an arrangement with friends to stay at their houses if they were away for the weekend. Never underestimate the value of a good soak in a bath you haven’t had to scrub before you get in!
• If you stay put throughout the project try to separate the building work from the rest of the house as much as possible. Use plastic sheeting to tape up doorways or windows.
• Be clear about your expectations that the builders keep the site as tidy as possible. It’s important for safety as well as your state of mind.
• Park well away from the building work. Ask the builders not to block access to your property and ensure that you know when they need unrestricted access.
• If you will be without a kitchen at any point get the builders to set up a temporary kitchen space if possible using your old sink, units and work surfaces.
• If you are blessed with more than one, allocate one WC for the builders and one for you.
• Knock through from an extension or loft conversion to the main house at the last possible moment. This will help to limit mess and draughts. Friends of ours recently took on a loft conversion project. Their builders arrived and left via the roof and scaffolding until the final stages. Totally stress free.
• Be prepared to lower your standards for a while. There will be mess and dust. Things will be a little more chaotic than usual. Decide on your bottom line and when it all gets too much have a plan of action for destressing.
• Be hospitable but remember you’re not running a cafe. My builders had access to the kettle, tea and coffee every day and home made cake twice a week.

Hope your building projects progress smoothly.

Until next week.

Cally

Sometimes my job is more relationship counsellor than relocation agent or project manager……and never more so than when couples or families are looking for a new home. Numerous studies have revealed that when it comes to finding a house,although the man looks after the financial side, it’s the woman who makes the final decision about which house to buy.

In my experience men and women have very different approaches to the whole process of finding a new home. Whilst she would rather move in to a house which is as near as possible to her ‘dream’, he likes a ‘project’. Price per square foot is important to him whilst she craves light, airy spaces and storage. She looks closely at the potential of the kitchen and the location whilst he spends his time checking the water pressure, looking for dry rot and tapping walls……..oh, and checking out the garage. It all seems to hark back to his traditional role as provider of safe haven for his family and hers as nurturing home maker.

I am the last person to accept traditional and very stereotypical roles - and of course there are exceptions but I speak from experience. Just last night after we returned from a family jaunt to the Wiltshire/Dorset border we checked out the details of a property we both liked the look of. I looked first at the photos of the kitchen (big enough for mass catering), the garden (potential for kitchen garden, hens, a pig and still big enough for dens/rugby practice and all the accompaniments of family life) whilst my husband drooled over floor plans and the outbuildings and decided whether it offered good value for money.

I guess I’m in a good position to steer a successful course between the his and hers approach. As a surveyor I’m pretty hard nosed about value for money, the maintenance issues which need to be addressed and the realities of taking on a project, both positive and negative. But as a woman I’ll always have an eye on whether a property will make a suitable home for my clients.

Until next week.

Cally

Congratulations to Frances and Rosada whose comments on the blog have earned them a copy of David Ireland’s fabulously informative book “How to Rescue a House”. I will be contacting you both shortly to arrange postage of your prizes.

I do hope you’ll keep on contributing - even without such an incentive. 

Cally