What are dilapidation reports? A Dilapidation Survey is carried out by an independent surveyor on behalf of a landlord or property manager. It’s designed to carefully, expertly assess the condition of a commercial property. Dilapidation reports are used to…

We saw an unexpected rise in the property market during the second half of 2020, as house prices kept on rising despite the dampening effect of covid. So will it carry on, even though the government’s stamp duty reduction…

Things are a bit different if you live in a rural area. But life in London during lockdown has proved difficult for many people. Staying home in a space that isn’t quite big enough has left thousands of us…

Do you want to know how to extend a leasehold? First, you need to make sure you’re eligible, in other words, you have owned the leasehold property for at least two years. Then you need to follow a set…

As capital-based chartered surveyors, London is our focus. We have watched the Covid crisis unfold and we’ve seen how the virus is affecting the city’s property market. Here’s a run-down of the current situation, plus…

There are several types of property valuation, used for different purposes. We thought it’d be useful to take a look at the general terms and conditions behind a residential property valuation, so you know the thinking that sits behind…

The Covid-19 crisis has changed the world, and those changes are still taking place. At the same time, as predicted by estate agents, September is likely to drive the biggest hike in property sales the UK has seen since…

When you’re buying a property it’s vital to pin down a fair price, and for that, you need a valuation. So which is best, a lender’s valuation or one carried out by independent property valuers? What is…

As you know, as the owner of a leasehold flat, somebody else – the freeholder or landlord – owns the building itself and the common areas like hallways. That’s why leaseholders have to pay service charges, insurance, ground rent and…

The Leasehold Reform Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 sets out the valuation principles used to calculate the cost of lease extension on a leasehold property, usually a flat. The law sets out a complicated process designed to keep things…

As an experienced party wall surveyor in London, we come across some proper horrors. Over the years we’ve heard of plenty of incredibly dangerous building projects without party wall agreements and others that have gone wrong despite a perfectly…

Basement extensions are a great way to add extra space to your home, often enough space that you don’t need to move house. You might want to add an extra living room, bedroom or guest annex, perhaps a games…

A damaged chimney stack produces a less effective fire. It can leave you with a greater risk of unwanted fires starting, and of carbon monoxide poisoning. But the biggest danger of all is the risk of falling masonry, simply because…

A professional freehold valuation reveals how much it’ll cost the leaseholders to buy the freehold of their building, for example, a block of flats. But there’s another, more unusual type of freehold, the freehold flat, and it can…

In an ideal world, it shouldn’t happen. You ought to be able to move into a new-build home without any problems, a beautiful building crafted with care to the standard you expect. But in the real world, a…

You’re developing a property or fixing something that’s gone wrong. A good party wall surveyor will make sure the party wall element of your project is legal, you follow the regulations and everything is done safely. A valuation…

According to a 2018 article on the This Is Money website, one in five home sellers has experienced a sale gone wrong and on average a collapsed sale costs the seller £2,727. More than 300,000 property transactions collapse…

If you’re buying a flat or apartment it might well be leasehold, where you own the lease of the property but not the actual freehold. The difference? Picture an empty box. As a freeholder you own the whole box…

If you’ve ever had anything to do with a party wall, you’ll already know complicated things can get, and what you need to do to in advance. If not, it’s wise to be prepared. Here are some…

Full and detailed property surveys are really handy things. They’re about much more than establishing a fair market value for a property you want to buy or sell, a snapshot of the way things are now. You can also…

RICS valuations are carried out by surveyors registered with the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors. As a professional body, RICS provides valuation services to the highest global standards. You can rely on RICS surveyors to deliver a valuation that’s…

We’re a RICS valuer and we’re proud of it. But what, exactly, does that mean for us and therefore for you? It means that the fully independent quality assurance process that companies like us go through to achieve…

You can, of course, just go ahead and buy a house or flat without any kind of survey. Although if you need a mortgage your lender will almost certainly insist you have a mortgage survey done, simply so they fully…

According to GoodMove more than a quarter of house sales fell through at the end of 2015 because of bad news in surveys. If you’ve ever had a survey done on a property, you’ll know what it can…

Watch the UK’s property and land markets for any length of time and you soon realise they’re in a constant state of flux, always changing. Within that constant state of national change there are loads of smaller changes…

Whatever kind of support you need when developing a property, working on a party wall, buying a property or selling one, it makes sense to have a reliable, professional RICS surveyor on your side, someone with the right qualifications, experience…

Basement and other subterranean developments have proved a strong trend in recent years, closely associated with London. The trend has increased significantly over the past five years thanks to a hike in land and property prices in the capital, which…

As a trusted party wall surveyor, we always keep a close eye on the news from our sector. We know how important it is to stay ahead and note any developments, whether they’re from a regulatory perspective, something to…

Are you a London landlord? If so, you’ll want to achieve the right rent for your investment, something both equitable and profitable. As a tenant in the capital, is your rent you’re paying appropriate for the property, its…

Your estate agent could stick their finger in the air and make a guess. You could look at similar properties in the same area and have a stab at a valuation. But the only real way to get a valuation…

A lease gives you the legal right to use a property for a period of time. As the lease gets shorter, its value decreases. The shorter it gets, the more it costs to extend. It can be a challenge to…

Vibrant, buzzing London is in a state of perpetual change, a place where buildings come up and down, homes are extended outwards, upwards and downwards, and property is so costly that everyone’s on a mission to find or create…