Obtaining development finance has never been easy but in recent times it has proved impossible for many potential development site owners. The two biggest obstacles that effects site owner’s attempts to obtain speculative development finance is either an existing charge or finance on the site. Many speculative development finance providers simple will not consider lending on a site that is not unencumbered and already has outstanding finance charged against it. The other thing that banks and development funding providers have increasingly looked at to minimise their risk is development experience. First time or novice developers are finding it very challenging to obtain suitable development funding without the correct development team in place. Those that are able to overcome these obstacles are finding that their development sites no longer stack up because the percentages that the banks will lend are so restricted. The best way to overcome these issues is by making sure you have the correct members on the development team or carrying out a joint venture property development. Having an experienced quantity surveyor will not only give the banks confidence it will also help control build costs, assist with drawdown valuations and increase the opportunities for improved finance structures and cash flow management. Another way around these challenges is to use a private investor to clear off bridging or other finance charged on the site. This can be expensive with private investors expecting returns between twenty and fifty percent dependant on financial input and their risk levels. These considerations can often be weighed against the interest charges on existing finance or funds that are tied up in sites that the owner or development team are unable to build out.
Dilapidation repairs to commercial buildings
April 6, 2012
Business owners are often faced with a need for a base to operate their businesses, a commercial business premises. This could be retail, industrial or office space the two main options to acquire a business premises if through purchase or lease. The majority of businesses chose to lease their business premises. So just like renting a private house you usual look round the local business premises agent’s usually commercial surveyors. The other option is to retain the services of a commercial surveyor to assist you in the acquisition of your new business premises. This of course comes with a cost in the form of professional fees, many elect to do it themselves to avoid these fees. The issue with this is that the surveyor that will assist in acquiring your premises will have expert knowledge in lease negotiations. If a business owner elects to negotiate his own lease or in some cases retains a lawyer to help him there is still a gap in the process. One of the biggest problems that affect business tenants is dilapidations. If you take on a least on a business premises you may find that under the terms of that lease you as the tenant have certain legal responsibilities. The two that often catch out the unsuspecting tenant are dilapidations and a responsibility to maintain statuary requirements. The responsibility to maintain statuary requirements sounds harmless enough but could like dilapidations land a business tenant with some costly bills from building or mechanical and electrical contractors. You may find you have signed a lease that requires you to alter the businesses premises to keep up with modern building regulations, fire regulations or the disabled access regulations. These requirements could land you with invoices for building works running into tens of thousands of pounds. Dilapidations can be equally onerous, if you move in and on week two find a leak on the roof. Your friendly building contractor informs you that the whole roof needs replacing you call the landlord and you may not like his response. He may inform you to check the terms of the lease and inform you that it is now your responsibility to pay for the twenty five thousand pounds that it will cost to replace the roof. You may also find that the landlord is within their rights to serve you with a notice for non compliance to the terms of the lease if you do not affect the repairs in a timely fashion. Ultimately this could result in the landlord taking legal steps to take back possession of the property and recover their costs for the repairs, lack of rent etc. So you can see it may be worth paying for professional fees to protect your position once you sign a lease. A good surveyor will be able to negotiate your lease perhaps even saving you money and protect you from these issues.
Ten tips before you plan your home extension
April 5, 2012
It might sound simple but take a little time to plan the size and shape of your extension, will you still be able to get the wheelie bin out, how will it affect the layout and light of your existing home?
Work out the maximum and minim budget for your home extension and reserve some contingency for the costs you forget or unforeseen items.
Spend time with your architect or builder making sure that you get exactly what you want, check all the details how the roof will finish will there be windows that will be difficult to clean and maintain once it is built?
Have a chat with your neighbours about your plans, and make sure you chose a contractor who can work with you and your neighbours to minimise the mess and disruption.
Make sure you have all the correct permissions in place planning applications and building regulations applications, are there any tree preservation orders and have you made the necessary arrangements?
Don’t be afraid to change things before you get started, once a build is underway it can be a lot more difficult and costly.
Make sure you have appointed the correct contractor, check there pervious work and references, have they worked on this type of project before?
Agree with your contractor there hours of work where they will park their vans, place skips and how this will affect your neighbours.
Make sure all costs and extras are agreed prior to the project starting and there is a proper process in place for additional costs or draw down of contingency.
Zero VAT rate on alteration to listed buildings just a distance memory
March 31, 2012
The chancellor has cut the zero vat rates for alterations to listed buildings at a time when many in the property and construction industry are looking for VAT cuts on all building alterations. The Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors are amongst a growing group of organisations and leading individual calling for cuts in VAT for all property alterations. Improvements to existing housing stock offers a greener alterative than new build properties. Many older properties can be converted and renovated into high standard, energy efficient homes and a cut in VAT would encourage more green renovations. These property renovations are a key step to improving the energy efficiency of the existing UK housing stock and preventing wasteful demolition and unnecessary new build developments.
Perfect time for a home extensions and outside living?
March 30, 2012
Spring has arrived and many people are starting to think about outside living, so how is the best way to bring your garden into your home. One of the best ways to achieve this is though large openings with bi-folding or sliding doors. To create a large opening or knock through rooms it is simply a case of inserting a RSJ or steel beam. This requires permission from the local authority building control department in the form of either a full plans building regulation submission or a building notice. Once you have the opening in place it’s time to choose your doors, the main options are aluminium, UPVC or timber in soft or hardwood. The increased light and feeling of space can transform even a modest house or room into a bright and light space. With some home owners taking out both internal and external walls it can transform small boxy rooms into one large family living space with lots of light and views over the garden. You may also require the services of a structural engineer who for a few hundred pounds can allow you to indulge in the most contemporary designs and home extensions. Modern contemporary home extensions can be finished in a mixture of traditional brick, stone, coloured renders or cedar cladding. The contrast of modern finishes against a traditional building with clean lines, glass and sharp coloured render finishes can create an impact that will be the envy of family and friends.
Underpinning building foundations causes and repairs
March 18, 2012
There is an increase in the need for underpinning as there has been a period of unusually dry weather in recent times. There are several main causes of structural building defects that require underpinning as a remedial structural repair. The main causes are poor substrate the ground condition and type under the building, poor construction techniques the building has been badly built. Drains and trees are also often culprits of the need for underpinning. Defective drains cracked damaged drains with displaced joints can cause leaking underground often undetected for years which washes away the soil or substrate below the building. Trees can also affect footings when they grow larger or are removed causing land heave. The two most common foundation solutions are traditional underpinning and pile foundations. Traditional underpinning is when the existing footings are excavated usually in one meter linier sections and back filled with concrete. This is a gradual, slow and costly solution to defective building foundations as it is very labour intensive much of the work often being hand dig. It also requires a certain degree of experience, there has been instances in the past where inexperienced contractors have caused the collapse of buildings during this process. The second option is pile foundations these use various “rigs”, that dill and install the piles that are in turn used to support the existing or new super structure. Again this is not an easy or cheap option, the most important thing is to seek the correct professional advice. A good structural engineer will only cost a few hundred pounds but could potentially save you thousands of pounds on unnecessary structural building repairs.
Do I need a building contract for my home extension or building project?
March 17, 2012
Many home owners are concerned that they will get what they want and the quality they desire for their home extension or building project. The most important thing is that you do have a suitable level of documentation for the type of home extension or building project you are undertaking. With even a small home extension project it is important that you have enough detail in the building quotation or building tender document. It is no good starting a fifty thousand pound project with a single A4 page quote that says build as drawing. The more detail you can specify from the outset not only are you more lightly to get what you want at the price agreed. You will also find that your building contractors will be able to quote “like for like” the last thing you want is beautiful oak windows to then find your contractor had priced for MDF window boards. That is exactly the type of detail that can trip up a client or leave the building contractor faced with a difficult conversation. There is various documentation that is used in a building contract, a schedule of works, this outlines the various components and the installation or construction costs. The preliminaries, specification and workmanship document details the finest details of finishing and the relative specification for each trade and professional construction project section. The other document that is often used for a building contract is a JCT or joint contractual tribunal building contract of which there are various types from DB (design and build) through to more simple JCT contracts like Minor Works Building Contract. These documents when used correctly are more than sufficient to cover most domestic building works contracts.
Period property conversion and renovation specialists
March 10, 2012
Building work carried out badly to period property will not only devalue the property it can also potentially cause thousands of pounds of damage. The use of cement based renders, pointing and finishing, stop period properties from “breathing”, they were built with lime based mortar and need to be able to dry through render and mortar. So before you start work on a period property ask your contractor the right questions and ask to speak to some of their existing customers with similar properties. If you have a particularly historic property it would be worth contacting the conservation register to get some advice on suitable materials and best practice. The Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings is another good resource for those that have the more specialist properties. So what is the most important thing to watch for when choosing your building contractor or building surveyor? Passion, you need someone who shares your passion for period property, this is the single most important aspect. A contractor or surveyor who genuinely enjoys their work is bound to make that extra effort, whether it is finishing lead detail or writing a preliminary document, JCT, schedule of works or dilapidation. The rest will follow, so ask them about their back ground, other projects and customers. Take time to understand their skills experience and love of period buildings.
Property sector committed to green goals despite economic down turn
March 6, 2012
The government is gearing up to make residential and commercial property that fails to meet rating F and G for energy efficiency unlettable. It is estimated just in the commercial property sector this will include 18 percent of the current commercial property stock. The government are looking at penalising the worst offending properties but are not looking to reward landlords that make the effort to hit the highest standards. Ultimately the next band up band E rated properties will be looking over their shoulders as ultimately if will probably be those that are next to suffer penalties. Those in the property industry are looking for clear direction and a road map to sustainability. With this in mind experienced property investors will be looking to buy newer of more efficient properties to protect their portfolios letability.
