Surveys & Boundaries
Is the fence the correct property line?
Do I Need a Survey when I purchase a home?
Lets say that I'm interested in purchasing a home and I ask the question " Is the property line correct"?
In other words what I want to know is, if the fence is the documented property line.
Well why would this be so important? I'm sure that the fence had been there for years or so it seems. So I ask the homeowner if he knows about the property line and he says that as long as he's lived there that the fence had been in the same place. Well as it seems we buy the house and then sometime later we decided to add a shop and get a permit. Well lo and behold, we find out that the property line was out about 15 ft to our disadvantage. As it turns out was that the grandfathers had discussed the property line and one asked if he could temporarily put the fence inside and if and when he wanted would remove it back to the original place. Years later it was still there, and now we have to determine whos loss it is and by how much.
It really does pay to have the boundaries checked, just to make sure because at a later date it could become a problem when you put the house for sale.
The "Party Wall Act"
1. New Building works at or astride the boundary between two properties.
2. Structural work affecting an existing shared/party wall, including repairs, alterations, extending or reducing the wall, cutting into the wall and underpinning.
3. Excavating, or constructing fences within the countys setbacks, of a neighbour's building where the new fences will go.
If you are the owner proposing to have the works carried out, you must identify whether the works are governed by the Act. If so, you must serve statutory notice (one or two months depending upon which part of the building is affected) on the adjoining owners and get agreement to the building programme, before you start.
If your neighbours do not agree in writing, the preferred solution would be to appoint one surveyor to draw up a Party Wall Award. This surveyor should be independent and should not be involved in the design or specification of the works. If you cannot agree a surveyor, then each side should appoint their own surveyor. The Party Wall Award will set out what can and cannot be done in accordance with the Act.
If you are the adjoining owner and receive a party wall notice, you may agree to the proposed works if you are entirely happy that there will be no damage or consequences to your property. Otherwise, if you do not agree or if you ignore the notice, then you must agree to a single surveyor being appointed, or appoint your own. If your do neither then a surveyor should be appointed for you by the owner carrying out the works. Where a surveyor is appointed, a schedule of condition of your property will be prepared (in case any damage is caused) and a Party Wall Award will be prepared.
The owner who is carrying out the works normally pays the fees of the surveyors. Fees for such services vary according to the nature and extent of the works.
When buying a home, you need to decide what kind of survey will give you confidence that the house is a safe investment.
a survey to examine the structural quality of the property, in broad terms and at a certain level of detail
a structural examination by a structural engineer to look at specific elements of the property
Survey
If you have previous knowledge of this kind of property, you may choose to conduct your own survey. You may support this with a professional survey.
A professional survey provides an impartial view, clear of the purchaser/vendor relationship. The cost is significant but is actually a small percentage of any expenditure on many repairs and of the purchase price. The professional survey would impart a surveyor's local knowledge not only on subsidence but also construction methods, susceptibility to particular forms of decay, past problems with flooding and a whole range of other issues.
All firms of surveyors are required to have a complaints procedure, and to be insured. There is, however, a proportion of purchasers who treat a survey as an insurance policy without true recognition that it is a professional's opinion on the property based on a snapshot and on what is accessible. This can be a touchy subject to surveyors, especially as there is ill-founded comeback from time to time which does cloud the issue. It is possible to look at something and make a judgement and be wrong without being negligent. Surveyors who are also members of the Independent Surveyors Association, operate to a code of conduct within that organization as well as under the rules of the Institute of Certified Surveyors (ICS).
Structural Examination
Instead of employing a surveyor, you could ask a structural engineer to examine the building. Make sure you use one who knows the local area and therefore the risks to the building from soil conditions etc, and with old house experience.
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