Our Services

Choosing the Right Product For You

Residential Services

Property doesn’t have to be puzzling. Providing sound and professional advice, our team of experienced chartered surveyors can guide you in the right direction to ensure you pick the right product, from one of the leading independent chartered surveying firms with extensive knowledge of the South and West Wales region.

RICS Homebuyers Report - Survey

Level 2

Suitable if you are purchasing a property that is relatively new, fairly standard in its appearance but in need of some attention. An RICS Homebuyers Report is particularly suited for:

Properties up to 50 years old (estimate only).
Properties of standard construction such as brick or timber.
Standard houses, flats, or bungalows, built from traditional common building materials.
Properties in a habitable, average, good, and well-maintained condition.
Properties where vendors may not have kept on top of maintenance.

Building Survey

Level 3

A building survey is one of the most thorough surveys that we offer. A Building Survey is particularly suited for:

Large, older properties or a property which has been poorly maintained and has visible defects.
Properties that are unusual or have been significantly altered or extended.
Properties planned for major redevelopment or if you are planning to undertake major works once you own the property.

Probate Valuation

When somebody dies, probate must be granted so that the estate can be divided among beneficiaries in accordance with their will. However, before this can happen, the value of property, assets and belongings that form the estate, together with any debts or liabilities, must be calculated and reported to HMRC.

Depending on the value of the estate, there may be inheritance tax to pay. If HMRC’s district valuer believes the value has been misrepresented then it can open an inheritance tax investigation. For many estates, a residential property will be the single largest asset – but unlike a bank account or shares, it does not have a simple fixed value. Therefore, it is vital that probate property valuation is carried out correctly.

Lease Extensions & Leasehold Enfranchisement Valuation

Whilst rare, some houses are held on leases as opposed to the usual freehold title. The Leasehold Reform Act 1967 gives leaseholders the right to either extend their lease or to acquire the freehold. The Leasehold Reform, Housing and Urban Development Act 1993 (the 1993 Act) is now pretty well known by both industry professionals, leaseholders, and the general public alike. It is important that you appoint an RICS chartered surveyors to provide specialist advice on the anticipated valuation and negotiation of lease extensions and freehold purchases.

Matrimonial Valuation

A matrimonial valuation is an impartial matrimonial valuation is required if the divorcees can’t decide on how to divide their assets fairly. You’ll need a valuation from a RICS registered valuer for a judge to decide how to distribute your assets in accordance with the law.

Help To Buy

A help-to-buy valuation is an independent valuation from a RICS registered valuer for a property bought with the help-to-buy scheme, introduced by the government to support first time home buyers get a foot onto the property ladder. The valuation must be undertaken by an RICS registered valuer when the homeowner is looking to repay the loan, re-mortgage or sell their property.

The valuation provides an independent assessment of the Market Value of the property, as required by the government-appointed administrator or housing association. From this valuation, the administrator of the loan can work out what needs to be paid back to settle the debt.

Additional Support

Importance of Getting a Home Survey

Choosing the Right Survey for RICS Members & Firms

RICS Home Surveys

VOA - How We Zone Retail Units for Business Rates

Commercial Services

Loan Security & Bank Valuations

Our team of RICS registered valuers undertake hundreds of loan security valuations every year, including mainstream commercial valuations, residential investment, and portfolio valuations, as well as specialist sectors such as leisure, hotels, and student accommodation.

Dilapidations

Dilapidations is a specific area of law relating to breaches of a tenant’s lease obligations or covenants. A dilapidations claim can be made by the landlord against the tenant during or towards the end of a lease, or after the lease has ended. The landlord’s claim document usually called a Schedule of Dilapidations (which will be prepared by a specialist building surveyor), will contain references to breaches of the tenant’s lease obligations, mainly relating to physical alterations and their reinstatement, redecoration and repair.

View the RICS Consumer Guide to Dilapidations Here

Lease Advisory

Our advice covers all aspects of landlord and tenant matters throughout South and West Wales. Our work tends to focus on rent reviews, lease renewals and lease restructures (and re-gearing), as well as Section 18 valuations across all property sectors.

Development Appraisals

The RICS define a development appraisal as “an objective financial viability test of the ability of a development project to meet its costs including the cost of planning obligations, whilst ensuring an appropriate site value for the landowner and a market risk adjusted return to the developer in delivering the project”.

Valuers use a residual method of valuing which recognises that the value of the scheme is a function of many different elements. A well-informed valuer will seek to check the valuation against any market evidence where available. A valuer can assess the level of return generated from the proposed project and also establish the residual site value by inputting pre determined levels of returns.

Additional advice may also include research into the constraints and opportunities evolving from the location, legal, and planning aspects of potential sites as well as their physical characteristics. This can be a complex process but in terms of planning, the document provides a basic guide to the types of information the council needs in order to evaluate the economic viability of a development.

Expert Reports

An expert witness has specialist training and understanding that makes them highly knowledgeable and as a result, their opinion can be relied upon in court. Expert witnesses can be called for a variety of reasons but one of the most common is to resolve disputes involving property.