Surveys & Condition
Damp findings are three different problems in one word
A survey noting damp could mean condensation, penetration or rising damp, and they cost wildly different amounts to fix.
Piet Vermeulen
Surveys writer, The Property Decision
Piet trained as a building surveyor and writes about what a condition report does and does not cover.
Contact Piet through our contact page — mark your message for their attention and it will be passed on.
13 articles
Renting
Deposits, notice and the paperwork tenants should keep
Most tenancy disputes are evidential. The tenant with dated photographs and written records usually prevails.
Renting
Sharing a tenancy: what joint and several liability means
In a joint tenancy each sharer is liable for all of the rent, not their share of it. That one fact drives most house-share disputes.
Surveys & Condition
The three different numbers all called a valuation
A lender valuation, a market appraisal and a formal surveyor valuation answer different questions and rarely agree.
Surveys & Condition
Subsidence, heave and settlement are three different events
They involve ground moving down, up, or a new building bedding in, and their remedies and costs are unrelated.
Surveys & Condition
Non-standard construction and what it means for you
A building not made of masonry cavity walls is not necessarily worse, and it is treated differently by lenders, insurers and…
Surveys & Condition
Flood, ground and environmental risk before you commit
Some risks attach to the land rather than the building, and they are researched through searches rather than through an inspection.
Surveys & Condition
Electrics, heating and drainage: the specialist reports
A general survey observes the services and recommends testing. Those tests are separate instructions with separate certificates.
Renting
Guarantors: what signing for someone else commits you to
A guarantor is not a character reference. It is a financial commitment that can outlast the tenancy and the friendship behind it.
Renting
Renewing, rolling on or leaving at the end of a fixed term
A fixed term ending is a decision point with three outcomes, and doing nothing is one of them. The default is not always the…
Surveys & Condition
Asbestos in a house is a management problem
Asbestos in good condition and left alone is generally not the emergency people assume. The risk comes from disturbing it.
Surveys & Condition
Flat roofs age differently from pitched ones
A flat roof is not a failed pitched roof. It is a different system with a different lifespan and a different set of failure points.
Surveys & Condition
Off-mains drainage: septic tanks and treatment plants
A property not connected to a public sewer has a small treatment works in the garden. It has rules, costs and a service schedule.