Building Condition Surveys – FAQs

Row of Properties

Commercial property surveys are a key part of Squarepoint’s building services portfolio; they are among the most important professional investigations we carry out for our commercial clients. In this blog post, we’ve put together some of the most frequently asked questions about Building Condition Surveys and reports.

What is a Building Condition Survey?

A Condition Survey is used to identify building defects so that a brief can be developed for planned preventative and corrective repairs. This can be a standalone service or form part of the decision process for drawing up specifications of works for residential property assets or larger commercial premises.

Condition Surveys can be quite detailed, with each building element being described in depth in terms of its current state of repair. The exact scope of any inspection and report is agreed upon at the outset, on a case-by-case basis.

Why carry out a Building Condition Survey?

A Condition Survey describes current defects and takes a look at longer-term liabilities, which can be used to draw up a schedule of repairs and detailed work specifications.

Typically, a survey is needed in order to complete a Planned Maintenance Programme (PMP), an annual schedule of maintenance specified for each building element, in order of priority, with clear costings and timetables.

Alternative purposes for carrying out a Building Condition Survey may include due diligence and statutory compliance, fit-out feasibility studies or six-facet surveying.

Who commissions a Building Condition Survey?

It is a fundamental requirement for any commercial property owner to gain a full understanding of the condition of the building(s), so that appropriate and effective maintenance schedules can be devised. Our Condition Surveys are often undertaken on behalf of the larger owners of commercial properties or residential blocks.

A survey may be commissioned by

  • Proprietors of commercial premises such as single offices or retail units
  • Lessees or commercial tenants with a liability to maintain the property they occupy
  • Property owners or investors with large portfolios of residential or commercial developments, including landlords and housing associations.

Our Condition Survey Reports

The Squarepoint approach to commercial surveying is highly client-focused. We fully appreciate that a bespoke report tailored to individual property assets as well as the commercial requirements of the client has the most value.

Our commercial Building Condition Surveys deliver a valuable overview investigation into the overall condition and state of repair of a building, reporting on

  • The current condition of the building
  • Immediate concerns
  • Recommendations for further action
  • Overview costings for remedial works
  • Data for making the business case

If you’re not sure whether you need a Building Condition Survey or a different type of investigation or wish to discuss your property requirement with a RICs accredited surveyor, please get in touch.

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Fast and friendly service with an extremely thorough survey. The Surveyor’s phone call to explain the findings of the report, before the official survey was sent, was invaluable.

I used Squarepoint for a party wall agreement. From my initial conversation with Eve through to Adam completing the party wall award, the process was smooth, professional and timely given the challenges of COVID lockdown. Thank you for your great service.

Really helpful team at Squarepoint, on hand to help with any queries and take you through the whole process clearly and at a pace guided by you. Our party wall surveyor, Adam, was great at communicating and efficient throughout  the whole process, could not ask for more.

I had been hunting for a simple job that required a surveyor’s expertise, but had been struggling to find trust throughout my enquiries, until I spoke to Adam.

The advice simply and honestly given by Adam on our first call was remarkable. His friendly but competent application and manner made it easy for me to hire him, and not only did he more than deliver on the required services, but his price was the most competitive I could find. Would highly recommend Eve and Adam at Squarepoint.”

 

I recently hired Adam to help with a party wall award required on both sides of my terraced house.

He was able to liaise with both parties to answer their initial questions/concerns, which led to them both appointing him as the agreed surveyor, which saved me time and money.

Adam prepared the final award comprehensively and quickly. I would thoroughly recommend him and his friendly Admin assistant Eve.

From the very first time I called Scott, he was very attentive to my requirements for a building survey. From the outset he noted down my areas of concern, updated me with progress prior to the survey and gave me a thorough debrief after the survey. The quality of his report was excellent, very easy to understand and, importantly, comprehensive.

I was extremely pleased with the excellent service provided by Scott Buchanan of Squarepoint Chartered Surveyors, and  I hope to contact yourselves in due course with a view to getting further advice.

Working with Adam Graham at Squarepoint was a very smooth and easy process. He was always clear and thorough in our communication and provided very detailed advice. I would highly recommend Squarepoint!”

The team at Squarepoint were very helpful, knowledgeable and understanding when dealing with my loft conversion and party wall agreement.”

We have used Squarepoint Chartered Surveyors at several of our Parishes and have found them to be very efficient in the production of reports on a variety of issues such as building condition surveys and PPM, defect investigations and Party Wall matters.”