IJF‘s people have been undertaking building surveys for over thirty years and are highly experienced in every possible property sector, every possible building type and every possible survey type. Working in partnership with you, not only can we provide all of the following survey types in any property sector, we will do so with passion and enthusiasm as we know just how important and valuable these premises are to you.
Have you identified a problem in your building, perhaps a crack or a damp patch on the wall but don’t know how it got there? Perhaps pieces of concrete are falling off your structure, potentially causing damage to adjacent property or striking people. Do you own a large housing portfolio and require peace of mind that your stock does not suffer from health threatening mould growth or have received a compliant from the tenant or an instruction from the Housing Regulator of Social Housing? IJF will undertake a Technical Investigation Survey that will diagnose such defects and confirm cost effective and practical remedies. If you do nothing now, the resulting consequential damage may increase your problems and your costs so let IJF act as your building doctor.
Condition Surveys may be required for any building type and within any property sector, each having a specific rationale. Do you have a single building or a large portfolio or stock? If so, IJF can help identify your various maintenance cost liabilities including, for example, backlog, current and future, through the drilling down of individual building and services’ components and transferring this into a well presented, meaningful report to suit your needs. This report will ensure you can make perfectly well informed decisions, possibly even to such an extent that you decide to dispose of your property, stock or portfolio. The survey helps form the basis for an Asset Management Plan, again something that IJF can prepare or assist you with. The surveys will be undertaken in a way that suits you, should you have existing asset management software. IJF can also advise on the purchase of such software, having the experience of working in the software development industry. We specialise in stock condition surveys with our MD, Ian Filkins, managing and procuring projects for social landlords having tens of thousands strong portfolios.
A Pre-Acquisition Survey helps you consider the various liabilities associated with a property purchase. Such liabilities include current and future maintenance costs as well as statutory, legislative and health and safety requirements. The report will provide clear, concise and well presented information to suit your needs, helping you make the correct decision – essential due diligence!
Our Measured Surveys could be an essential part of a wider project or survey commission. The resulting drawing or sketch will be presented in a way that suits your needs, whether that be a 2D floor plan, elevation or section, or a 3D visual that often helps Board members or other senior colleagues to fully appreciate your building. We undertake land surveys, often required prior to construction or to appreciate the topography of the site or specific elements within it.
As an owner or manager of a single property or a large portfolio, you should ensure that there is adequate insurance cover for the cost of rebuilding in the event of a fire or other specified peril. IJF can undertake a Property Reinstatement Cost Assessment for insurance purposes that will help you identify the appropriate level of cover. This is important so that it is clear that you are not unnecessarily paying too large a premium, or alternatively that you have comfort that an insurance claim would not be refused because the premium was too low. The recommended service is an initial full property assessment, followed by reassessment every three years. Quick informal assessments used for guidance purposes also often prove useful but these do not provide the detail of the full and recommended assessment.
If you are planning a housing development, do you require a Life Cycle Costing Appraisal? Using the Homes and Communities Agency’s (HCA) latest toolkit, this is a process that identifies all the development costs from acquisition, through to installation and future operational maintenance, over the next sixty years. It should demonstrate value for money for the development when compared against industry benchmarks and as an Asset Manager within your organisation, this will greatly assist with your audit compliance.