Building surveys of upmarket houses

Recent building surveys have included a Category A listed historic house of considerable charm. The house had evolved over many centuries and had been subject to a major refurbishment 15 years ago. Striking a balance between realism and a sympathetic and knowledgeable view of such buildings is always tricky. Surveyors who do not undertake building refurbishment and conservation work, as we do, are often tempted to report defensively giving an unduly gloomy assessment, but this is hardly professional or helpful to the client. At the same time the true cost of rectifying deficiencies can come as a surprise to the lay client. In this instance we were able to undertake a thorough inspection of the building at short notice and quickly provide a detailed report and extensive photographs to our client based in America by email attachment.

Another property surveyed was a handsome Georgian townhouse recently refurbished by a developer. Our client was understandably anxious to ensure that the very big cheque he was about to write was money well spent and was prepared to do a thorough job of his "due diligence". This proved to be a very revealing exercise.