We offer detailed Building Surveys or Homebuyer Reports for prospective purchasers of houses and flats, undertaken by our locally experienced Chartered Building Surveyors. Your home purchase is probably your most expensive investment. A pre-purchase survey can save you unexpected expense that a simple mortgage valuation will not identify.
We aim to be clear and conclusive, try to avoid jargon, and tailor our report to the property rather than rely on standard phrasing and caveats. We know clients need advice and reassurance so we are always pleased to discuss our findings with you, in addition to providing the written report.
Formal valuations are available for tax, probate, marital, lease extension and similar needs. Our multi-disciplined practice will guide you through the property ownership process.
A detailed Building Survey, or Homebuyer Report, on your house or flat will provide essential information on the building’s condition. Your home is probably the most expensive investment. A pre-purchase survey can save you from unexpected expense that a simple mortgage valuation would not identify.
Our RICS Registered Valuers provide formal opinions of market values for residential properties. These may be necessary for various purposes including inheritance tax (probate), marital (divorce) settlements, or other litigation. We can also advise the premium payable for leasehold extensions and enfranchisement. Properties should be adequately insured and we can assess the rebuilding cost you should declare.
We provide a personal service to our clients, recognising they seek advice and reassurance so we are always available to discuss our findings, in addition to providing the written report.
Contact us now to discuss which form of survey or valuation is recommended for your needs.
Curchod & Co’s Chartered Surveyors are experienced in the local housing market. Our RICS Registered Valuer will provide an impartial professional opinion.
We will require to briefly view the house or flat so we can understand it’s general size, quality and location, but this is not a survey. We then appraise the property against comparable information from other homes that have recently sold making appropriate allowances. A short report summarises the matters we consider to affect the value. We are always happy to discuss and justify our opinion.
Market valuations of residential property are often required for matters such as:
Our valuations follow the RICS Valuation – Global Standards 2017 criteria, often referred to as the Red Book. It provides an opinion of value for which the property would have been sold between a willing buyer and willing seller. It does not consider any special interest or conditional offers, but must reflect development potential if buyers would proceed unconditionally. The market value should not be confused with an estate agency asking price.
It is important to ensure you have adequate insurance cover in case your home is damaged or destroyed by fire, flood, storm, subsidence or other peril. If your property is underinsured, you may not be fully compensated if you need to claim. If you declare too high an insurance value, you may be paying unneeded premiums. Many website calculators will not include all the factors necessary for an accurate rebuilding cost assessment.
Curchod & Co will visit your property to understand it’s general size, standards of construction, quality of fittings such as kitchen and bathrooms. We consider issues that might affect building costs such as difficult site access. We use Building Cost Information Service (BCIS) data, also used by the Association of British Insurers which we adjust to reflect your specific property.
Overview:
Many flats, and a few houses, are owned by a lease which will eventually expire. As the term becomes shorter the owner will see a drop in their property’s value. This situation is reversible, but can be costly. Curchod & Co are experienced in valuing the premiums payable to the landlord, by the leaseholder. We can assist with negotiations on the values between landlord and tenant, and encourage a settlement, although we have made representations at Tribunal.
Legislation including the Leasehold Reform, Housing & Urban Development Act 1993 and the Commonhold and Leasehold Reform Act 2002, together with Tribunal and some Court rulings, provides a basis for the extension of leases, or a freehold purchase. Lease extensions on flats normally add 90 years to the existing unexpired lease, reducing the ground rent to zero. The flat must have been owned for at least 2 years. For enfranchisement there are many rules including that there must be at least 2 flats, at least 50% of leaseholders must participate each of whom may own no more than 2 flats no more than 25% of the floor area can be non-residential (shops and offices), the freeholder cannot be a resident of a properties with less than five flats that were converted by that freeholder.
Overview:
We're an independent practice established in 1938 providing commercial property expertise to a broad range of institutional and private clients. With offices in Weybridge, Woking, Farnham and Camberley our highly skilled and driven team comprehensively cover commercial property agency, property management and building surveying services in Surrey, North Hampshire and the South-East region.
Meet the team