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Autumn 2024 > Inspection > Flashcards

Inspection Flashcards

1
Q

What is your firm’s 4-step process when inspecting a property?

A
  1. Prepare for the inspection – as per Surveying Safely Guidance Note 2018. Consider personal safety.
  2. Inspection of the local area – location, facilities, transport, environmental hazards, flooding, comparable evidence, local market conditions, agents’ boards
  3. External inspection – construction, condition, parking, access, defects, site boundary
  4. Internal inspection – layout, specification, defects, services, fixtures/fittings, statutory compliance, compliance with lease obligations
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2
Q

What do you take on inspection?

A
  • Mobile phone
  • Camera
  • Tape measure/laser
  • File, plans and other supporting info
  • Personal protection equipment (PPE)
  • Pen and paper/Ipad
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3
Q

What do you look for when considering the local area?

A
  • Location/local facilities/public transport/vibrancy
  • Contamination/flooding/environmental hazards
  • Comparable evidence/local market conditions/agent boards
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4
Q

What do you look out for when inspecting externally?

A
  • Construction / materials
  • Repair/Condition
  • Defects
  • Car parking/access
  • Ways to date the building
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5
Q

What do you look for when inspecting internally?

A
  • Signs of defect / repair
  • Condition / maintenance
  • Layout / configuration of the space
  • Services - age and condition
  • Asbestos etc
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6
Q

What are the reasons for inspections?

A
  • Valuation – Looking for factors which could influence the value of the property such as location, tenure, construction, condition, covenant strength, WAULT etc.
  • Property management – lease compliance, condition of building, repairs/redecoration, user, security, landscaping, risk of vandalism and damage (if unoccupied)
  • Agency – current condition of the building, repair / maintenance, layout / configuration, services of the building and marketability
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7
Q

What RICS guidance regulates inspections?

A

RICS Surveying Safely (2018) guidance note – “safe person” concept

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8
Q

What does the RICS Surveying Safely 2018 Guidance Note cover?

A
  • You should carry out a pre-assessment prior to inspections
  • ‘Safe person concept’ each individual is responsible for the safety of themselves, colleagues and others whilst at work
  • Outlines safe practices for lone working

Firms must provide:
- Safe working environment
- Safe work equipment
- Competent staff

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9
Q

What does the Surveying Safely guidance note say about inspections?

A

You should carry out a pre-assessment before inspection.

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10
Q

What is the safe person concept?

A

Individual assumes responsibility for the H&S of themselves, others and colleagues whilst at work.

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11
Q

How can you stay safe on an inspection?

A
  • Ensure mobile phone is charged
  • Notify team of whereabouts / share calendar
  • Sign in an out of visitor’s book if available on site
  • Wear correct PPE if necessary
  • Carry out a risk assessment and due diligence beforehand
  • Follow the surveying safely guidance note and firm’s lone working policy
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12
Q

What is JLL’s lone working policy?

A

Prior to your visit you should…
* Gather as much information as possible about the site
* Identify possible hazards and risks
* Record personal details about the client / site contact
* Inform a colleague of where you are going and when you will be back
* Report back to a colleague when the visit has concluded

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13
Q

What factors affect the value of an retail unit/shopping centre?

A
  • Size
  • Location
  • Proximity to public transport
  • Quality and condition
  • Covenant strength
  • Tenant mix
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14
Q

What factors affect the value of an office?

A
  • Size
  • Location (submarket, prominence, accessibility)
  • Proximity to public transport
  • Floor layout / configuration
  • Specification
  • Amenities
  • Quality and condition
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15
Q

What factors do you consider when inspecting for letting purposes?

A
  • Condition
  • repair / maintenance
  • layout / configuration
  • marketability
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16
Q

How would you carry out a risk assessment?

A
  1. Identify potential hazards
  2. Identify who is at risk of harm
  3. Evaluate the risks and decide on precautions
  4. Record findings
  5. Review assessment and update if necessary
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17
Q

What are the four types of foundations?

A
  1. Trench or strip
  2. Raft
  3. Piled
  4. Pad
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18
Q

What are trench / strip foundations?

A

Closely spaced columns - used in resi

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19
Q

What is a raft foundation?

A

Slab across the whole site to spread the load

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20
Q

What is a piled foundation?

A

Reinforced concrete cylinders

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21
Q

What is a pad foundation?

A

Slab foundation under individual or grouped columns

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22
Q

What types of brickwork are there?

A
  • Solid wall construction
  • Cavity wall construction
  • Stretcher and header bricks
  • Efflorescence
  • Spalling
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23
Q

What is a cavity wall?

A

Two layers of brickwork held together with metal ties and a cavity in between. May be filled with insulation.

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24
Q

How can you identify a cavity wall?

A
  • No headers used
  • Cavity tray, air brick or weep hole may be used
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25
Q

Why is a cavity wall used?

A

Provide good insulation and reduces risk of damp.

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26
Q

How can you tell the difference between a solid wall and cavity wall?

A
  • Age of building – cavity walls weren’t used until 1990s
  • CW – 2 layers of brick, metal ties, only have stretcher bricks – breeze block on internal wall
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27
Q

How would you check the age of a building?

A
  • Ask the client
  • Planning documents on portal
  • Land registry
  • Local historical records
  • Architectural style
  • Certificate of completion
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28
Q

What are the white marks on brickwork called?

A

Efflorescence

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29
Q

What is efflorescence?

A

White marks caused by hydroscopic salts in brickwork. Formed when water reacts with natural salts – chemical process.

30
Q

What does it mean if there is efflorescence?

A

Not a major problem. But could be a sign of moisture intrusion.

31
Q

What is spalling?

A

Damaged brickwork. Brick starts to crumble because of freeze/thaw action when it has become saturated during winter.

32
Q

What is the institutional specification of shops?

A
  • Steel or concrete frame
  • Services capped off
  • Concrete floor and no suspended ceiling
  • Let in a shell condition
33
Q

What is the institutional specification of offices?

A
  • Steel or concrete frame
  • Steel frame buildings = less columns
  • Concrete frame buildings = more columns
  • Full access raised floors with floor boxes
  • Passenger lifts
  • Air conditioning and double glazed windows
  • Ceiling floor void of 350mm
  • Raised floor void of 150mm
  • One cycle space per 10 people
  • Approx floor loading of 2,5 - 3.0 KN/sq m
34
Q

What is the institutional specification of industrial/warehouses

A
  • Steel frame building with insulated profiled steel cladding walls and roof
  • Minimum 8m clear eaves height with 10% roof lights
  • Minimum 30KN/sq m floor loading
  • Full height loading doors (electrically powered)
  • 5-10% office content and toilet facilities
  • Main services capped off
  • Approx site cover of 40%
  • LED lighting
35
Q

What are the different types of air conditioning systems?

A
  • Variable air volume
  • Fan coil
  • Variable refrigerant volume
  • Static cooling
  • Comfort cooling
36
Q

What is a shell and core fit out?

A

Common parts of the building are completed and the office floor area has been left as a shell ready for fit out

37
Q

What is Category A fit out?

A

Grade A specification - Full access raised floors, passenger lifts, Air con, double glazed windows, ceiling void of 350mm.

38
Q

What is a Category B fit out?

A

Plug and play - building has a speculative fit out or fit out to the occupier’s specific requirements

39
Q

What are the types of defect?

A
  • Inherent – defect in design or material which has always been present
  • Latent – fault to the property that could not have reasonably been found on inspection
40
Q

What do you do if you find a defect on site?

A
  1. Take photographs
  2. Try to establish the cause whilst on site
  3. Inform client of your investigations
  4. Recommend advice from a building surveyor (If movement, structural engineer)
41
Q

What are the most common causes of defect?

A
  1. Movement
  2. Water
  3. Defective / non-performance / deterioration of building materials
42
Q

What is snagging? Why is it done?

A

Checking building works before they finish to identify any defects.

43
Q

What is subsidence?

A

The vertical downward movement of a building foundation caused by loss of support of the site beneath the foundation.

44
Q

What are the different types of movement?

A
  • Subsidence – vertical downward movement of foundation
  • Heave – expansion of the ground beneath building. Could be caused by tree removal
45
Q

What could different types of cracks indicate?

A
  • Shrinkage cracking – drying out of materials
  • Horizontal cracking – could mean cavity wall tie failure
  • Thermal expansion / movement can cause cracks
  • Other cracks could be due to movement e.g. settlement cracks
46
Q

What are the types of rot?

A
  1. Wet rot
  2. Dry rot
47
Q

What causes wet rot?

A

Caused by damp and timber decay.
Signs: wet and soft timber, fungal growth and musty smell

48
Q

What causes dry rot?

A

Caused by fungal attack.
Signs: fungus, cracking paint, red spores, strong smell

49
Q

What are the three types of damp?

A
  1. Rising
  2. Penetrative
  3. Condensation
50
Q

What causes rising damp?

A

Moving ground water through a wall or broken pipes. Usually stops 1.5m from ground level.
Signs: rotting skirting, damp, musty smell, wet patches

51
Q

What causes penetrative damp and how can you identify it?

A

Damp caused by water leaking through cracks in walls, rain or plumbing leaks
Signs: damp patches on walls/ceilings which may darken when it rains

52
Q

What causes condensation?

A

Lack of ventilation and background heating.
Signs: mould and streaming water on windows or walls

53
Q

What are common defects in industrial buildings?

A

Leaks around roof lights, damaged cladding panels, water damage from poor guttering, cracking in brick work

54
Q

What are common defects in offices?

A

Damaged cladding, water damage from burst pipes or air con units, efflorescence, cavity wall tie failure, damp penetration at roof and ground floor level

55
Q

What are common defects in old retail?

A

Dry wet, rot rot, damp penetration, water ingress around door and window openings

56
Q

What is the key legislation relating to contamination?

A

Environmental Protection Act 1990

57
Q

What RICS materials governs contamination?

A

RICS Contamination, the Environment and Sustainability (2010) guidance note

58
Q

What does the guidance note cover?

A

Surveyors must understand their obligations, know their responsibilities and comply with the law.

General principle is that the polluter or the landowner pays for remediation.

59
Q

What are signs of contamination?

A

Chemicals, oils, oil drums, subsidence, etc.

60
Q

What is the difference between deleterious and hazard materials?

A
  • Delerious material – can degrade with age causing structural problems
  • Hazardous material – is harmful to health
61
Q

What are examples of deleterious materials?

A

Calcium chloride, brown staining on concrete and high alumina cement

62
Q

What are examples of hazard materials?

A

Asbestos, radon gas and lead painting/piping

63
Q

What is Japanese Knotweed?

A

An invasive plant that can damage hard surface e.g. concrete.

It is not easy to control, costly to eradicate and a specialist must be employed to removed and dispose of it

64
Q

Why is Japanese Knotweed a risk?

A

It is of great concern to property lenders who may refuse a loan if it is present or nearby to a property

65
Q

How do you eradicate Japanese Knotweed?

A

Disposed of legally by chemical treatment and digging it out

66
Q

What does it look like?

A

It is purple/green hollow stemmed with heart shaped green leaves. It has white flowers in the summer

67
Q

Where do you find Japanese Knotweed?

A

Drains, patios, gardens, etc

68
Q

What is the legislation that disallows the spread of Japanese Knotweed?

A

Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 - can impose a max. £5000 fine or 6 month imprisonment

69
Q

What’s the measurement of a brick?

A
70
Q

Who’s responsible for holding the asbestos register and fire risk assessment?

A

Duty holder
If occupied - tenant
If void - Landlord

Autumn 2024 (27 decks)

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