Inspection - Level 2

Question 1

What was the purpose of your inspection of the shopping centre in Stafford?

Answer 1

For valuation purposes

Question 2

What kind of notes did you make on the vacancy, footfall, and conditions of and around the property you were valuing?

Answer 2

• Most of the units were occupied and the property has a 6% vacancy rate
• Footfall was high in comparison to the town centre, which had low footfall
• Condition of the property: relatively new property in very good condition with steel frames. It was part-covered part opened with 13 shops of retail & food and beverage

Question 3

How did you take photographs of the property?

Answer 3

I used my phone to take photographs of the property. I took a picture of the external area of each unit and inspected the internal as I didn’t need to take photographs of the internal areas.

Question 4

What was the purpose of inspecting the retail park in Dartford?

Answer 4

For Valuation purposes

Question 5

What do you look for when inspecting a property for valuation purposes?

Answer 5

Factors that impact value, such as:
- Location
- Condition
- Tenure
- Defects

Question 6

What did you do when you noticed that one of the tenants on the tenancy schedule provided was not in occupation?

Answer 6

I notified the borrower of the unit that was actually vacant, which was different to the tenancy schedule. This impacted the vacancy rate and the passing rent at the property.

Question 7

How did you document any changes in the tenancy schedule and valuation?

Answer 7

I changed my valuation model by marking the unit as void. This changed the vacancy rate of the property and impacted passing rent at the property.

Question 8

What notes on the condition and surrounding area did you make?

Answer 8

Condition: Fair to good condition

Surrounding area: Lots of local transport links with the nearest train station being less than a 5 minute walk, lots of national retailers within the park, nearest town centre was 10 minutes away, lots of footfall - main retail park in the area

Question 9

What challenges did you face while undertaking the inspections and applying the information?

Answer 9

I inspected the retail park in Dartford alone, so I had to apply my firm’s lone working policy and follow the necessary steps to ensure that I was safe according to the RICS Surveying Safely guidance note