How Measured Building Surveys Enhance Real Estate Valuations

When valuing property, whether for a purchaser, a seller, an investor, or a developer, it’s essential to have a precise and accurate picture of what you are buying. Our Measured Building Survey services at Blackacre Surveyors delivers those needs and more; its detailed and accurate information is second to none. We provide an objective and precise understanding of the building, including its scale, structure, and layout. We utilise the latest leading-edge technology and analysis, giving those serious about the valuation process a valuable service.

What Is a Measured Building Survey?

Measured Building Surveys are a thoroughly measured description of a property’s physical characteristics. This includes accurate floor plans, elevations, and sections that capture and describe every building feature. 3D Laser scanning, GPS, and photogrammetry provide a more precise and detailed survey than conventional practices in the field. If you need to understand space in its entirety, be it planimetrically or in 3-dimensions, a Measured Building Survey will provide that detail unmatched anywhere.

Why Choose Blackacre’s Measured Building Surveys for Real Estate Valuations?

A dependable service relies on accessing all relevant property information when making sound real estate valuation decisions. Our Measured Building Surveys at Blackacre Surveyors remove the guesswork, offering a reliable foundation for real estate decisions. Here’s how our surveys can translate into real estate success:

1. Floor Space Calculations for Unmatched Accuracy

Floor area accuracy is critical to a correct valuation of commercial real estate, which is why Measured Building Surveys provide recorded dimensions and an accurate building scale. Don’t let inaccurate measurements misrepresent the accurate scale of the property, leading to an incorrect valuation and years of financial consequences.

2. Structural Insights That Make a Difference

But it’s a bit more than square footage. The number and quality of walls, windows, and other vital structures matter. You understand walls can be shabby, while windows might be draughty, crooked, or old. Consequently, many of the reports from these surveys detail these aspects of the property – its repairs and renovations, the upgrades undergone and the architectural features worth knowing about, the quirks and the extras, which might add charisma and perhaps some extra value to the market.

3. Building Buyer Confidence with Clear, Reliable Data

All other things being equal, buyers want a good deal. They want to think of themselves as buying at a price that reflects the value of what they are buying. Blackacre’s thorough survey assures them they are buying something with a clear and complete picture of an actual parcel of land. The clarity that survey-driven certainty provides will be associated in the minds of buyers with a faster and easier sale and a perception of more excellent value.

4. Strategic Space Utilisation for Developers and Investors

When it came time for renovations or redevelopment, at Blackacre’s Surveyors we provide an unmistakable sense of the layout of the underlying property; detailed floor plans enables developers to make informed decisions about how to best make use of the property’s space, increasing its utility and value, and at the same time, taking advantage of the information being presented in a more usable fashion.

5. Planning Upgrades with a Data-Driven Approach

Its age and wear may increase or decrease the value of a property, and the value of a building may also be determined more conspicuously by running refurbishment projects that may improve a building’s valuation functionally and aesthetically. Whether a property age imperceptibly or a refurbishment deems a visible improvement in a building, as with Measured Building Surveys from Blackacre, an owner may always find a specific point to start updating a property in these surveys. From foundations to the roof and from the façade to the floor, a Measured Building Survey may also highlight to an owner the most appropriate reparations and aesthetic restorations.

Technology at the Core of Blackacre’s Surveys

Advanced technology makes Blackacre’s Measured Building Surveys more reliable than ever. Using laser scanning, we can capture millions of points in a couple of minutes, helping us create a 100 percent accurate digital model of your building, even if you have never needed to reduce the property measurement data in the first place. Places such as rooftops that are difficult to reach can be diligently mapped using drones. Our certified experts provide Blackacre’s advanced technology, and our comprehensive knowledge in this field helps you to acquaint yourself with the most reliable survey ever.

Choose Blackacre Surveyors for Property Valuations You Can Trust

A Measured Building Survey from us at Blackacre Surveyors gives the information all parties require to determine the value of a piece of real estate. When buying, selling, or at every point in between, a Measured Building Survey from Blackacre ensures a valuation is informed, accurate, and reflects the actual value of your property. Trust Blackacre to give you clarity and certainty regarding property transactions.

Please contact us at info@blackacresurveyors.com or call us at 0203 476 9561.

Common Issues Found in Listed Building Surveys

Listed buildings are unique pieces of history, full of charm and character. However, owning one can come with many challenges, especially when it comes to upkeep. Conducting a listed building survey is an essential step for anyone looking to buy or restore these historical properties. At Blackacre Surveyors, we specialise in listed building surveys, helping clients identify issues and protect the building’s heritage while making it safe and livable. Here’s an overview of the most common problems discovered in listed building surveys.

1. Structural Deterioration

Structural issues, like cracks in the walls, roof sagging, or signs of foundation shifts, are common in older buildings. Years of wear, weather, and sometimes poor repairs can leave structures in fragile condition.

2. Damp and Moisture Problems

Defects & dampness is a persistent problem in listed buildings due to older drainage systems. Moisture buildup can lead to mould, rotting wood, and even structural damage.

3. Outdated Electrical and Plumbing Systems

Many listed buildings have electrical and plumbing systems that were installed long ago and no longer meet modern safety standards. These outdated systems can pose fire and water hazards.

4. Timber Decay and Infestation

Timber elements, such as beams and floors, are often affected by decay or pests like woodworms. This weakens the structure and may require urgent repair.

5. Inadequate Insulation

Many listed buildings lack insulation, making them cold and expensive to heat. However, adding insulation can be tricky, as it may disrupt the building’s original features.

6. Heritage Restrictions and Regulations

Making changes to a listed building isn’t always straightforward. Heritage laws often restrict certain alterations, meaning you need permission for almost any significant work.

7. Cracked or Damaged Walls

Cracks in walls may be minor, but they can sometimes indicate larger structural problems. These cracks, if left untreated, can worsen and lead to serious damage.

Tips for a Successful Listed Building Survey

• Work with Experts: A listed building survey requires professionals who understand the specific needs of historical properties. At Blackacre Surveyors, our team has extensive experience with these structures, so you can trust us to provide detailed and reliable assessments.
• Plan for Costs: Repairs on listed buildings can be more costly due to the need for specialised materials and techniques. With our expertise, Blackacre can provide realistic estimates, helping you prepare financially for your project.
• Look for Financial Help: Some local heritage organisations offer grants for listed buildings. At Blackacre, we can point you in the right direction for potential funding.
• Communicate with Local Authorities: At Blackacre, we maintain open communication with planning authorities to make the approval process as smooth as possible, saving you time and stress.

Conclusion

Owning a listed building comes with responsibility, but Blackacre is here to make it easier. Our listed building surveys give you valuable insights into any issues and offer tailored solutions that respect the building’s unique history. Contact us today and let us help you maintain and enhance your listed property with expert advice and practical strategies.

Prime Central London (PCL) Building Surveys

Blackacre regularly assist high net worth clients with their property acquisitions within central London. We provide pre-purchase surveys for high end Prime Central London flats, maisonettes and houses, offering an additional service of client care and walkarounds of the property. A superior level of care is often required than the typical Residential Survey, with multi-million pound properties often including various plant equipment and being of listed building status.

Where do we cover?

Whilst Blackacre provide surveys all over London, we usually undertake our high end PCL Building Surveys in Kensington, Mayfair and Chelsea. We are very familiar with the types of buildings in these areas and are often able to diagnose defects that do not present themselves visually.

What separates our PCL Building Surveys

At Blackacre we use modern technology to help in our PCL surveys. We use inspection equipment worth in excess of £5,000 to conduct our surveys. Coupled with our expert building pathology knowledge and experience, specifically in Defects & Damp we are able to provide a detailed assessment of the property and highlight financial risks involved with the purchase.

Finally, we ensure the client is never left in the dark or questioning our findings. We provide an expert service and can do a walkaround of the property and discuss the building survey report after completion.

If you are looking to get a building survey on a high value property within Central London, please feel free to get in touch with us to discuss further. info@blackacresurveyors.com | 0203 476 9561

A Guide to Right to Light Laws

If you’re considering building anything new, whether an extension to your home or a commercial development, it’s important to check that you have the legal clearance to do so. With approximately 50 laws governing everything from proximity to boundaries, building restrictions, and Party Walls, one of the most important considerations is the Right to Light law. If the law is not met, it can lead to stalled projects and expensive litigation, or worse, the buildings will have to be torn down. Blackacre Surveyors are specially equipped to ensure your projects are compliant and ready to begin with Right to Light Surveyors.

What Is the Right to Light?

This right is referred to as the Right to Light and entitles the owner of the property to light through specific openings and windows. The Prescription Act of 1832 establishes that the uninterrupted natural light that a building has enjoyed for 20 years or more may afford the owner a right to maintain light on those existing apertures. This is the case with all properties. As a result, any development needs to consider the Right to light. By defaulting on these laws, you can face a court case, have to pay sums of money, or even put the project on hold indefinitely, which is where our Right to Light Surveys come in.

How Blackacre Surveyors’ Right to Light Surveys Work

At Blackacre Surveyors, we take a strict line on these matters. We carefully assess your proposed development on the light neighbouring homes and commercial premises. Armed with the latest software and data analytics tools, we calculate whether your project will be an infringement of neighbouring rights. Our survey process includes:

On-Site Inspection: We will come to your property to see how your project will affect the properties around it.

Light Impact: Using leading 3D laser scanning techniques, we assess how much natural light your development could obstruct.

Compliance Report: We will provide a detailed compliance report after completing the analysis. We will advise you on changing the design to eliminate the legal risks if there are any infringements.

A Right to Light Survey should be undertaken before spending too much time and money on the project. Your project will, therefore, be protected from potential delays and legal issues.

The Legal Framework You Need to Know

The Right to Light is a common law right; the technical calculation that determines whether a property’s illumination has been or is being infringed upon is made using the Waldram Method, which works out how much light a property should receive; if less than 50 percent of a room is being lit for half the day, it’s presumably an infringement.

The Benefits of Choosing Blackacre Surveyors for Right to Light Surveys

Protecting your rights: By adhering to the requirements of the law from the very beginning, you avoid any problems later on.

Fewer Delays: Addressing light issues early means fewer disruptions during construction.

Better Neighbour Relations: Taking Right to Light laws seriously creates good relationships with your neighbour which is vital for all neighbourly matters.

Smarter planning: Our reports tell architects the precise measurements to build within so the project doesn’t affect anyone else.

The Risks of Skipping a Right to Light Survey

If you do not do a Right to Light Survey, at the very least, you stand to lose financially if a neighbouring owner sues you. Either way, your project will be stopped, you will lose money, and you might have to redesign it. Don’t take chances on a Right to Light Survey. Let us at Blackacre Surveyors handle it for you.

Stay Compliant and Stress-Free with Blackacre Surveyors

Act now to secure your project’s future. Contact us at Blackacres on 0203 476 9561 or email info@blackacresurveyors.com

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What is the Right to Light?

The Right to Light is a legal principle that allows property owners to receive natural light through their windows. If a building or structure significantly reduces this light, the affected owner may have a legal claim.

How is the Right to Light acquired?

A Right to Light is typically acquired if a window has received uninterrupted natural light for 20 years or more, under the Prescription Act 1832. It can also be granted through a legal agreement.

Can I stop my neighbor from blocking my light?

If a development significantly reduces your natural light, you may be able to negotiate changes, seek compensation, or, in some cases, apply for an injunction to prevent the obstruction.

Does planning permission override my Right to Light?

No, even if a building has planning permission, it does not override your Right to Light. You can still challenge the development if it significantly impacts your natural light.

How do I make a Right to Light claim?

To make a claim, you should:

Consult a Right to Light surveyor for an assessment.

Discuss the issue with your neighbor to seek a resolution.

Seek legal advice if necessary to negotiate or take legal action.

Financial Viability Assessments Role in Planning Applications

Delivering a property development project at the right cost is as important as its design, especially in the current high-pressure market. That’s why Financial Viability Assessments (FVAs) is a key service that we at Blackacre Surveyors provide to our clients, enabling them to make the right investment decisions for their future and return on investment. It supports local authorities, developers, and other stakeholders in making important decisions about viability, guiding their proper decisions regarding profitability and planning.

Financial Viability Assessment

A Financial Viability Assessment evaluates whether it is feasible for a scheme to satisfy all the criteria of planning policy, including the cost of acquiring the land, the cost of construction, market conditions, and any obligations, including affordable housing and infrastructure contributions, while at the same time providing a viable return on investment. An FVA from us at Blackacre Surveyors tells you straight what the financial implications of your project mean on the ground. We look at every detail that affects your critical path, and after dialogue with local councillors, your anticipated development costs will come into clear focus. You can negotiate from a position of transparency, knowing where you stand.

Why Are Financial Viability Assessments Crucial?

Ensuring Project Feasibility

Our Financial Viability Assessments ensure that your development is economically feasible. With attention to the real financial costs and the expected returns from its development, we remove your financial worries and minimise the risk of abandoning or not completing a project.

Balancing Planning Obligations and Profitability

Planning policies sometimes ask a developer to contribute towards affordable housing or public services within the community that will benefit from the housing project. While these obligations are welcome, they can have a bearing on the viability of a scheme. The flexibility provided by our FVAs will enable you to demonstrate to the local council the instances in which adjustments to obligations will be needed to maintain the financial viability of your development. At times, this will help retain or increase the public benefit of your project.

Transparency and Trust

Openness to independent scrutiny is one of the key hallmarks of Financial Viability Assessments. Here at Blackacre Surveyors, a full accounting of the finance structure behind a development project should be given at the beginning of a planning application. This creates trust between developers and local authorities, which leads to a better working relationship and a more timely approval process.

Addressing Challenges in Financial Viability Assessments

However, while FVAs are essential, they can be difficult. Information can be limited to what developers provide – and that data is sometimes open to interpretation. Our assessments at Blackacre Surveyors are independent, detailed, and backed up by robust data that developers and local councils can rely on unreservedly. Our accuracy makes it so you can trust what we say because you know it passes the truth test.

Furthermore, we also know that these appraisals’ technicalities can be complex. So, as well as presenting accessible, applicable recommendations – whether you are a developer, investor, or a counsellor – the financial realities of your project can be understood without using jargon.

How FVAs Influence Planning Outcomes

FVAs play a key role in negotiations – if an FVA shows us that the current requirements for putting in affordable housing preclude the project from being viable, then a course can be set that provides a compromise. In other words, your development can go forward while protecting the community and your bottom line from financial destitution.

Conversely, an FVA could also dogmatically protect local planners from approving only those schemes that make sense and are both residential and business-wise economically viable. Through its rigorous spatial financial-feasibility analysis, in which Blackacre has unparalleled expertise, a financially resilient Blackacre development should be financially stressed-tested from every conceivable angle, guaranteeing that only projects likely to make money for all the stakeholders make it through the development planning process.

Partner with us at Blackacre Surveyors for Your Financial Viability Assessments

Make sure that your development is financially viable: Use the Financial Viability Assessment that we at Blackacre Surveyors are here to provide. Our professionals work closely with our clients to ensure the development is economically feasible and complies with planning policies.

Contact us today to discuss your plans for your next development on 0203 476 9561 or at info@blackacresurveyors.com.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Financial Viability Assessment?

A Financial Viability Assessment (FVA) evaluates whether a proposed development is financially viable, ensuring it can meet planning obligations like affordable housing while remaining profitable.

When is an FVA required in a planning application?

An FVA is usually required when a developer seeks to reduce planning contributions, such as affordable housing, claiming that full compliance would make the project unviable.

Who prepares an FVA?

FVAs are typically prepared by financial consultants, surveyors, or planning experts who assess costs, revenues, and profitability in line with local policies. This is one of our top services that we provide here at Blackacre Surveyors

Can an FVA be challenged?

Yes, planning authorities or independent assessors can review and challenge an FVA if the assumptions seem unrealistic or inconsistent with market conditions.

How does an FVA impact planning decisions?

An FVA can influence planning approvals by justifying reduced obligations, but authorities must balance financial viability with community needs and policy requirements.

Secured Lending Valuations at Blackacre

Here at Blackacre we can assist our clients with secured lending valuations for a variety of asset types from residential to commercial properties. Our in house Chartered Surveyors and registered valuers have the skill, knowledge and experience to prepare standard valuations through to complex development appraisals.

Whatever our client’s requirements are, from a standard Market Value or special assumption restricted market periods, our accurate and detailed Red Book reports can help with their risk assessment and decision making of the given asset.

We have recently completed a valuation for secured lending purposes of a north London mixed use property comprises of retail, office and residential. No matter the asset type or if there are special requirements, please do not hesitate to contact us.