Even if you receive verbal consent at this stage, you still need to serve the notice and obtain written consent. To be helpful, there’s no reason why you could not write a consent letter which your neighbour can just sign but you need to make sure that your neighbour understands what you are planning to do and what they are signing – if your neighbour is a frail, 102 year old widow and they give consent without consulting anyone, you could be accused of taking advantage of your position when her 25 stone, 32 year old grandson finds out what you got her to sign. In cases like this, you may consider it worthwhile to employ a Surveyor just so, if disputes arise later, you can prove that you have not taken advantage of your neighbour’s ignorance.

Party wall problems? Here are several advices: What is not covered by the Act? The Act relates only to certain specific types of work and is permissive in nature. It should not be seen as a method of objecting to or preventing works and it is not intended to be applied to minor jobs that do not affect the structural integrity or loading of a party wall. It is generally agreed that works such as fixing plug sockets, screwing in shelving or replastering walls are minor works and do not require a notice. Notices: The workings of the Act are always instigated by the of issuing notices. This is the first stage of the process and, without the issue of valid notices, no further action can be taken under the provision of the Act. Written notice must be served on adjoining owners at least two months before starting any party wall works (one month for works to the line of junction or excavations). All adjoining owners must be served a notice and there are likely to be instances where there is more than one adjoining property and more than one owner of each property (ie: if the adjoining property is split into flats and owned on a leasehold basis, notices will be required to both leaseholder and freeholder of all flats affected by the works). Works to a party wall, or those affecting a ceiling or floor, will also require a notice to adjoining owners living above or below.

If you have items lying around or blocking spaces or areas of the property where problems have arisen in the past, it is important that you expose these areas so that the surveyor can assess the area and potentially come up with a solution to the problem. You should avoid looking to hide any problem areas and instead focus on decluttering your property.

It may be that you have been living in the house for a while and the property has become subject to general wear and tear. Instead of fixing up the property, you have decided to move on. This may decrease the value of your home as many buyers will look at the property as how ‘liveable’ it will be upon buying. If changes need to be made before a potential buyer can properly live in a property, this will make them less likely to buy it.

The most comprehensive report currently available from the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) suite of building surveys, based around what was formally known as a Full Structural Survey and is now known as a Level 3 survey. A RICS Building Survey is a through internal and external investigations of all the assessable areas of a building. This is then reviewed with information about the construction of the building and any information about extensions, modifications that need to be addressed. This is all then assessed in the RICS Home Surveys Suites traffic light system with each item given a rating based on its current condition and a detailed description will be given as well as advice from your surveyor on how and when to address them appropriately. Read extra info on Building Surveyor Canterbury.

The Party wall act, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 act to give its full name is a piece of legislation that was mainly transferred from Part VI of London Building Acts (amendment) Act 1939, it applies in England and Wales. The main purpose of the act is to provide a framework for amicably preventing and resolving disputes between neighbours in relation to Party Walls, boundary Walls and Excavations near neighbouring buildings. Building owners are given statutory rights that did not exist in existing common law, when undertaking certain types of construction as defined by the Act. As well as these rights it obliges Building owners to give appropriate notice and for the relevant notice period if they intend on carrying out the defined work.

Party Wall Surveyors, will deal with disputes by issuing an Award. Party Wall Award(s) are ways of dealing with disputes under the Party Wall etc. Act. At Home Heroes we are able to work on your behalf both before the need for a party wall surveyor by preparing and serving notice and once a dispute is deemed, we have experience working as building owners, adjoining owners and even an agreed surveyor. A property survey is a key stage during the the conveyancing process for any buyer. The results help you decide whether you should proceed with the purchase at the current asking price, negotiate with the seller due to defects or even pull out from the whole deal all together. As one of the most comprehensive surveys available, more often than not a building survey will be requested by potential buyers of your property. It is a wide range inspection of the entirety of a property done in more specific depth than a Homebuyers Report or a Mortgage Valuation. A Building Survey’s purpose is to give a detailed report of the condition of the property in question.

Home and building survey tips and tricks : Go back to your Roots, Trees next to your home can give a lovely ‘rural’ feel to the property, and we love them, she even has a pear tree growing right outside her house. But, she didn’t buy the property without checking first that the roots weren’t causing any structural damage to the property’s foundations. Make sure Windows are Doors are Water and Wind Tight, If you have wooden windows, check they are painted properly, sealed and there are no cracks in the windows that would allow any wind or water to get through. If they are plastic and double glazed, check they are well fitted and there are no draughts coming through. Make sure that the glazing meets current standards. Find additional details at home-heroes.co.uk.