RICS research highlights surprising level of unpredicted repair costs for buyers without a survey

PropertySurveying.co.uk

According to new research by RICS, over a fifth of home buyers who did not take out a pre-purchase survey are in a property they would never have bought had they been aware of its true condition before purchase.

The recently released results of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyor’s survey of home buying consumers show that homeowners who did not get a survey are lumped with an average of £5750 in repair bills – matters that would have been highlighted before exchange of contracts by a competent Chartered Surveyor.

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Derby and Nottingham highways deal up for Bidding

Derby and Nottingham City Councils’ four-year joint highways deal up for tender

The framework will be split into 14 separate lots with a total estimated framework value for both councils of £100m and a potential for the framework to be used by other Midland Highway Alliance members with an estimated value of a further £25m.

 

In case you missed it…What have you got in your barn or garage?

Milton Keynes Surveyors

In an intriguing story this month, an Aston Martin bought for just £1,500 in the 1970s looks set to sell for around £150,000 when it goes to auction in May, after being discovered in a barn.

The 1964 DB5 Sports Saloon has covered just 48,000 miles and, after 10 years of driving, was parked in a garage in Newport Pagnell, near Milton Keynes, and left for 30 years.

£20m investment for 300 Manchester properties – from Tokyo!

Manchester Surveyors – A £20m scheme from Nedo, the Japanese Government’s R&D agency, is set to hit Manchester,  involving the replacement of conventional boilers with air source heat pumps – highly efficient electric heaters that absorb heat from the outside air. These will be twinned with a heat store, which is essentially a hot water tank, to allow heat to be stored until it is needed.

The innovation is in the energy management system that will connect all the homes, linked to the electricity grid and using the stored energy from the heaters to balance the load on the electricity network.

Bristol Uni seeks builder for 400 new student homes

bristolsurveyor.co.ukThe University of the West of England presses ahead with plans to build 1,200 student flats next to its main campus in Frenchay, Bristol.

The £36m building programme is being carved up into three phases stretching over the next five years. Each phase will include around 400 new 8-12 bedroom homes and a contractor is now being sought for the first £15m phase.

Are you involved with this work, or similar work in Bristol? Contact your local propertysurveying.co.uk member here to speak to a Chartered Surveyor about how he could help.

Nottingham Site Restarted After Four Year Hiatus

nottinghamsurveyors – Willmott Dixon has won the contract to complete the construction of a £40m mixed-use development in central Nottingham, that has remained unfinished since 2008.

The complex – formerly known as Southreef – is structurally complete and partially occupied. When finished it will provide 237 residential apartments as well as office, restaurant, leisure and retail facilities.

Chartered Surveyors don’t just provide reports for home buyers. Many are qualified to provide project management and commercial services to. Contact a local surveyor here to find out more.

Willmott Dixon opens new Skills Centre

Birminghamsurveyors.com – Construction giant Willmott Dixon has now formally opened a skills centre in Birmingham to train over 2,000 students a year. That is despite a tough few years for the company that employes 1,000 people in the midlands and manages long-term repairs and maintenance of 60,000 properties for Birmingham City Council.

The Willmott Dixon 4Life Academy is housed in a 14,000 square foot office complex at Electric Avenue, Aston. Click on either link for local surveyors working with companies like this, as well as private clients.

Online study says move over Rio – Brighton is best

Brightonbuildingsurveyors.co.uk – Unlike Rio de Janeiro, world famous for its sandy beach and tanned locals, Brighton is more a case of pasty white, but endlessly enthusiastic, bathers and pebbles galore. Nonetheless, Lonely Planet has found Brighton to be amongst the world’s best cities with beaches – on a list to provider holidaymakers with a compromise between city breaks and beach holidays.

Basic construction error results in £25k+ in fines after tenant nearly poisoned

Chesterfield Surveyors– In a case that came to fruition just before Christmas 2012; Chesterfield Borough Council has been ordered to pay more than £25,000 in fines and costs after a cataclysmic construction error almost cost the life of a tenant on Stand Road, Newbold, Chesterfield.

Find out the full story in our newsletter, to be sent out to all subscribers next week.

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Two Year Wait Ends for Whitehaven Hospital Redevelopment

Cumbria Surveyors – After a two year wait, Laing O’Rourke, one of the UK’s leading construction firms, has finally signed the contract for the £90m West Cumberland Hospital redevelopment in Whitehaven. The signing of the deal means that a £70m contribution from the Treasury can now be unlocked and will be released throughout the project in phases.

The project should have a wider benefit to the economy, including to related industries like property surveying. To find a local surveyor in Cumbria, click here.