A useful rule for general practice surveyors and agents is always to be sure you know more about a given aspect of property than your client. One area that invariably poses problems is that of minor repairs and improvements to domestic property.
The difficulties begin with surveys, whether they be full house inspections, house-buyers’ reports or just one of the many report forms required by building societies and financial institutions. The surveyor is invariably drawn into consideration of costs.
From the inspection carried out does the property appear to require any repairs essential to maintain the security? — if so give details and approximate cost.
These two quotes are typical of those to be found in mortgage valuation reports. In the case of a full survey it is extremely difficult for the surveyor to avoid commenting on repair costs even though his or her insurers would prefer no figures to be mentioned. How can a prospective buyer judge his or her own value decision if the “professional” is unwilling to say whether the roof repairs will cost £5,000 or £10,000.
The difficulty is that unless one is also involved in a considerable volume of property management work or building alteration work it is very difficult keeping up with current costs of day-to-day repairs. It is also difficult to keep up with the level of knowledge that many housebuyers have and the level of information now available to the enthusiastic DIY householder.
A recent publication from E & F N Spon(*) could prove a useful starting point for the DIY enthusiast, the student surveyor and the DIY surveyor enthusiast trying to decide whether to go into the office at the weekend or to redecorate the flat.
Bryan Spain and Leonard Morley cover a wide range of domestic repairs and home improvements in what is basically a householder’s “builders’ price book”. In addition they touch upon contracts, contractors, VAT, planning and grants. Like a well-known firm of agents, they have resorted to symbols to help the lay reader estimate the possible or probable cost of undertaking an everyday DIY task and to permit comparison with a contractor’s estimate.
These symbols are carefully defined in the text but the example (above right) illustrates their meaning. The example on p 112 of the book shows how easy it is to use the information to build up a price.
This example illustrates why the senior partner (other than for therapeutic reasons) always employs contractors for those many tasks around the house. Forty hours is a fair working week and should produce very much more in fees than the £220 required by the contractor. On the other hand, the trainee will find it easier to give up a week-end or two and part with £40 than to write out a cheque for £220.
As with all estimating exercises it is important to reflect local market conditions and seasonal fluctuations in demand. Here the north west of England has been taken as the base for labour and other rates as at 1987 levels. An indication is given in the text as to how much more or less builders’ work might cost in other areas, but in any event it should not be too difficult for a surveyor to discover the local hourly rates charged by the various building trades. Other adjustments for travel time and higher overheads of bigger building firms may be necessary.
Today specialisation in many surveying practices and with institutional and other employers means that many G P trainee surveyors may never have to instruct a builder, prepare a specification for redecorating a tenanted house, or produce a priced schedule of dilapidations at the end of a shop lease. Some are grateful for small mercies, while others will shout “shame”.
However, those employed outside London and/or in the residential side of the profession may well have to acquire an appreciation of builders’ prices and how to build up a price for simple tasks like repointing a chimney stack. This little book is a useful starting point: indeed, rather than guess/estimating the cost of essential repairs it might be less painful on the indemnity insurance to enclose a free copy of the book with each housebuyer’s report or survey.
(*) Housing Improvement Price Guide, by Bryan Spain and Leonard Morley (E & F N Spon).
