Survey Services by RSAM in Devon and Cornwall

At RSAM Chartered Surveyors our surveyor provides building surveys on all types of residential housing and other property and commercial property for a variety of purposes across the catchment area.

RSAM Building Surveys

At RSAM Chartered Surveyors, our surveyors are able to provide building surveys on all types of residential property for a variety of purposes across RSAM.

The local Devon and Cornwall section of the practice covers all aspects of assisting clients with building surveys, home surveys, house purchase surveys and homebuyer style reports to assist a property purchaser.

These were formerly known as

Structural Surveys

and are the most comprehensive type of non-invasive survey inspection of a house, home or other property you can have. As a visitor to the property that is usually a building not owned by the client, the surveyor cannot cause damage to the property. We can however examine a lot more than somebody viewing the property with an eye to purchasing the property. Based on our training and experience in building construction, the survey will enable us to write a full survey report to advise the property purchaser.

Any property that is older than 1900 or is a period and/or listed structure is recommended to have a full building survey.

Home Purchaser Report

There are several variations on name of this kind of survey. These include:

Homebuyers Report

House Purchase Survey

Major Defects Report

These are the most common kind of report carried out on properties typically built from 1900 onwards. These are a survey inspection of all the easily accessible parts of the property which will include such areas as the roofspace. For most more modern properties, this will be the most typical kind of home survey which will put a property purchasers’ mind at ease with a survey inspection and report being provided, often with a list of property defects and an indication of how important these would be to a typical property purchaser.

Building Reinstatement Valuations

Buildings Reinstatement Valuations or replacement buildings insurance valuations of period property to blocks of apartments and flats are carried out for private clients and for management companies and managing agents.

Getting a Buildings Reinstatement Valuation will make sure you only pay for the level of insurance needed to rebuild your property. It does not automatically mean your premiums will increase, and could even save you money if you’ve been over-insured in the past.

Whatever type of building you own, it’s important that the property is insured for the full cost of rebuilding it over the entire lifetime of your policy.

An incorrect insurance valuation can result in a serious financial loss. Your insurance protection may not cover all of your repair costs and could leave you substantially out of pocket.

Insurers could refuse to pay a claim in full if the ‘Buildings Declared Value’ is incorrect.

A correct valuation is just as important in the case of buildings where there are multiple flats. Correctly assessing the rebuild costs of a block of flats is complex and you should always seek expert advice. Insurers require a block of flats to be insured for an amount equivalent to the combined rebuild cost.

The total rebuild cost of a building can be very different to the ‘market value’ of the building or, in the case of a block of flats, on the combined ‘market value’. This will be referred to on your policy documents as ‘the buildings sum insured’ or the ‘buildings declared value’.

The insurer could reduce your claim in proportion to any under-insurance of the building. For instance, only 50% of your claim might be paid if the building is valued at 50% of the correct value.

Most insurance policies will allow for the Buildings Declared Value to increase over time, but this is only helpful if the policy is based on an accurate valuation. The buildings valuation should be carried out by a Chartered Surveyor with experience of insurance valuations.

To ensure you maintain the full insurance cover needed, the valuation should be updated approximately every three to five years. This is because insurers index-link the sum insured based on national indices. The actual cost of rebuilding the property can vary on a regional basis so, over time, the rebuild value may vary from the building’s true valuation.

These are some of the points that need to be considered to arrive at the correct figure.

When you take out or renew a policy, you are usually required to provide a Buildings Declared Value. This value is the rebuilding cost at the date of inception or renewal of the policy, without providing for future inflation. The insurer will usually calculate an allowance for future inflation during the period of the insurance and during any rebuilding period. This is normally a percentage of the declared value in the range of 25-50%, and varies by insurer.

The insurance policy will cover an insured sum equal to the Buildings Declared Value, plus this percentage. The percentage uplift to cover inflation is a great protection for you against future, unpredictable inflation, you are still at risk if the original declared value is incorrect.

The policy wording can vary between insurers, but there are some additional rebuilding costs that should be considered in addition to the main structure of the building. Examples of these are:

Leaseholder improvements to their own flats
Communal contents
Outbuildings including garages, bin sheds, bicycle parks
Underground pipes and sewers for which you are responsible
Roads, paths and landscaping

It is necessary to allow for the cost of removing any debris, and provide for additional statutory requirements and the fees of architects, surveyors and engineers.

New buildings are not generally subject to VAT but repairs will be, so VAT should be included in the Buildings Declared Valuation.

We can also help property purchasers. An accurate buildings reinstatement valuation or insurance valuation can be incorporated into a building survey for a property purchaser. We are able to discuss your individual requirements with you at any time.

Due to the requirements of testing procedures for external cladding following the Grenfell Tower tragedy and report, we do not carry out reinstatement valuations on blocks greater than five storeys.

A Buildings Declared Valuation calculates the cost of rebuilding the building. So, if the sum insured is not enough to pay for the rebuild you, and any fellow leaseholders in the event of a block of apartments, would be liable to pay the shortfall from your own funds. If you are a director of a Residents’ Management Company or Right to Manage Company, you are also likely to be liable for any inadequacies in the sum insured.

Party Wall Advice

The Party Wall Act provides a legal framework for preventing disputes and resolving building and boundary problems between neighbours. This includes new builds, extensions, conversions and building repairs as well as boundary walls and excavations which can affect neighbouring properties.

Every adjoining owner or neighbouring property has rights or responsibilities under the Party Wall Act. In a typical domestic scenario, this is usually limited to one other party but, in larger commercial developments in built up areas like RSAM, the Party Wall Act can affect multiple adjoining owners.

In such cases, the process of serving notices, mediating disputes and issuing Party Wall awards can be complex, lengthy and expensive. At RSAM Surveyors, we offer Chartered Surveyors able to work on your project to ensure the demands of the Party Wall Act are dealt with thoroughly and efficiently.

If your neighbour is carrying out building work up to your boundary line, they are required under the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 to issue a formal notice and allow you time to object.
If you want to dispute the works our surveyor can help you manage the process effectively and avoid damage. If you’re the party wanting to build, we can help you proceed as smoothly as possible, whilst fulfilling your legal obligations.

To protect both the party carrying out the works (known as the ‘Building owner’) and the neighbour (known as the ‘adjoining owner’), it is often good practice to prepare a schedule of condition that can be referred to in the event of a dispute.

If we are instructed to act a single surveyor to assist with a party wall development, we work as though no one party is the client despite the building owner being responsible for our fees. We act as though the buildings are our client’s and we do the right thing by the building having regard to the whole proposal and all the likely scenarios.

Other Survey Types

A number of other building surveys and property inspections can be carried out but involve confirmation with our Chartered surveyor. These include:

Major Elements Surveys

Acquisition Advice Inspections

Schedule of Condition Surveys

Photographic Schedule of Condition Surveys

and several other variations. It is recomended that you call us to discuss the most appropriate type of property survey or inspection that suits you as a client.

Why choose RSAM Surveyors for your Building Survey?

We always provide:

An independent expert survey, not biased by any external force.
A thorough, comprehensive service – not a rushed survey by your mortgage valuer.
A personal service from an approachable, qualified local based professional.