Inspection Flashcards
How do you ensure your safety on a general inspection?
- Charged mobile phone
- Plan an escape route
- Implement a call back system with office
- Make calendar available to colleagues
- Make sure you know who you are meeting
- Be aware of aggressive occupants and dogs
- Follow your instinct
What is the guidance of RICS Surveying Safely?
Can you name some responsibilities?
Effective 1st Feb 2019.
Global GN.
Basic good practice principles.
Corporate and individual responsibilities.
Corporate responsibilities:
Line management structure, staff training, company policies & procedures, clear accountability, insurance, adequate resources. Investigate incidents.
Personal responsibilities:
Responsible for own H&S and anyone under your care. Duty to comply with company policies &b procedures. Report breaches in good time, personal risk assessment, wear PPE, do staff training.
What are your lone working policies?
Inform line manager / colleagues where you are going and when you expect to be back.
Fill in information on your Outlook calendar (who meeting, time, address)
Must charge work phone
Empty buildings require a minimum of two people
What does RICS VPS 2 ‘Inspections, investigations and record’ in Red Book state?
- INSPECTIONS AND INVESTIGATIONS: Inspections must be carried out to the extent necessary to produce a valuation that is professionally adequate for its purpose.
- ToE – must agree the extent of inspection
- REVALUATION WITHOUT REINSPECTION: only if valuer is satisfied no material changes since last assignment. TOE must state this assumption has been made. Interval for professional judgment. Regular vas, re-inspection not necessary every time.
- VALUATION RECORDS: details of inspections must be clearly and accurately recorded under VPS2.
What is a ‘proper record’ of an inspection?
Required under VPS2 of Red Book - Audit trail; legible, unambiguous notes that allow an effective response to any future enquiries. Retained in appropriate business format. Photographs.
What would you find in the ToE about an inspection? What requirements are there for what to include? (for valuations)
VPS 1 ‘Terms of engagement (scope of work)’ in Red Book:
- When settling the terms of engagement, must agree the extent to which the subject asset is to be inspected and any investigation to be made
- Record any limitations or restrictions
VPS 2 ‘Inspections, investigations and records’ in Red Book
- extent necessary to produce a professionally adequate valuation
What sort of property characteristics might you note? (external/internal)
EXTERNAL: Type of construction, condition, site boundaries, access, car parking, no. of storeys, situation, roof type, defects, contamination
INTERNAL: specification, fit-out, layout, current use, condition, no. of cores, defects, contamination
What due diligence do you carry out prior to an inspection?
Desk top review; situation, location, plan route, arrange access via client.
Risk assessment.
Prepare items to take; print plans, inspection proforma, charged camera, disto and spare battery, pen and paper, charged mobile phone, PPE (if required).
What are the signs of contamination? How would you account for the existence of contamination whilst determining the value of a development site?
DESKTOP: radon (.gov map of radon affected areas), consider site’s previous uses
VISIBLE SIGNS: evidence of chemicals, oil spill, presence of tanks.
VALUE: Deduct the cost to remediate from the gross site value. Don’t provide advice until specialist report is commissioned. Caveat the advice citing reliance on reports and special assumption.
When carrying out an external inspection, what should you take note of?
- Method of construction
- Repair and condition of the exterior
- Car parking/access/loading arrangements
- Defects/structural movement
- Check site boundaries with OS map and/or Title Plan
When carrying out an internal inspection, what should you take note of?
- Layout and specification - - flexibility and obsolescence
- Repair and maintenance
- Defects
- Services – age and condition
- Statutory compliance – asbestos, building regulations, H&S, Equality Act, Fire and planning
- Fixtures and fittings and improvements made
- Compliance with lease obligations
Competency example: Industrial unit inspection
What was the purpose?
Property management, tenant had served a notice to terminate (S27) so had to check condition
Competency example: Industrial unit inspection
Talk us through the inspection
- Desktop: reviewed lease, plans, identified photographic schedule of condition
- Local area: was an industrial estate managed so knew the area
- External: noted condition and repair, comparing to photographs. Was steel portal framed with steel cladding walls and roof.
- Internal: again compared to photographs, noted walls needed to be whitewashed and flooring reskimmed
Competency example: Industrial unit inspection
How did you do the schedule of works?
Took new photographs and compared them to the old ones. Detailed what clause of the lease they were in breach of and the remedy needed.
Competency example: Shop improvements
Purpose of inspection
Property management
