How we’ve adapted our building surveying services

These past few weeks of lockdown have given us time to assess and reflect. This is how Earl Kendrick has adapted.

Like many UK industries, we recognise the stress and distress that the property management sector is experiencing. We are all concerned about the health, safety and well-being of our family and friends, yours and our staff, and the residents in the buildings you own or manage. This concern is of paramount importance and has shaped how we have modified our approach.

Major works projects about to start on site are on hold – all the more frustrating for clients and managing agents who have been preparing for up to a year for this moment – and for the leaseholders too, who have dug deep to ensure the necessary funds are available.

Although major works on residential buildings are permitted to continue with the necessary planning (social distancing, regular hand washing etc), most residents, understandably, do not wish to put themselves or their families at additional risk of contracting the virus.

Site visits, generally speaking, are on hold, though we are making exceptions whilst taking the necessary precautions. The current restrictive conditions mean we – and our clients – are looking hard at what constitutes an essential defect diagnosis, an urgent reinstatement cost assessment, a pressing capital expenditure plan, or a time-critical licence to alter. We are proud to provide vital surveying services for our clients and where we can find a way to fulfil their obligations and ensure their compliance, we’ll do whatever we can. 

We’ve had to adapt, as everyone has done in our close-knit industry. Here’s how. 

Webinar CPD

Most property managers we work with are qualified through the IRPM or the RICS and both organisations require their members to achieve a minimum quota of continuing professional development. Our experienced surveyors are now hosting webinars covering the building surveying spectrum: e.g. typical building defects that property managers have to contend with; planning for major works; CDM obligations; RCAs; and getting into the detail of specifications, JCTs contracts, Party Walls, maintaining heritage buildings, and window replacement projects. Do join some or all of our sessions via this link.

Desktop assessments

If the lockdown has taught us anything, it’s how to make best use of technology to ensure continuity and demonstrate how much travel is unnecessary. Over the last few years, we have invested significantly in software and hardware so that our surveyors can work equally well from a Starbucks as they can from the office. We’re particularly pleased that our in-the-cloud practice management system means instant access to precious data and real-time tracking of the jobs you instruct us on. 

Our surveyors will of course visit site for every new instruction. Where we are already familiar with a building e.g. we were contract administrator for the last 'ex decs', we can offer essential desktop surveyors services.

PMPs and RCAs, for instance, are really important for property managers when it comes to budgeting and much of the work can be done without leaving our desks, if we have previous knowledge of the building. PMPs and longer-term capital expenditure plans provide the main steer on reserve fund contributions every year for many years, so our estimates for major works are crucial. And as a building’s declared value (the rebuild cost) directly affects the premiums your leaseholders pay, getting that value right via an RCA is equally important. In many cases, neither can wait for the lockdown to be lifted.

So whilst we may have once explained that there is no substitute for surveying in person, we can and we are carrying out PMPs and RCAs remotely where we have prior knowledge, offering our freeholder clients and managing agents as much certainty as possible. We’ve been dealing with some (straightforward) licence to alter applications remotely for years. If it is acceptable to do so – even as just a stop-gap measure – we’ll give you that option. Such ‘desktop’ assessments can be backed up by site visits once the restrictions are relaxed. 

Drone surveys

Where we would have needed to access flats to view high level defects (such as loose masonry) via leaseholders’ windows, we now have the ability to offer in-house drone surveys that are undertaken by our skilled surveyors who know what to look for and where.

Major works preparation

Once we are back in the office, we will be circulating boxes full of our unique major works scheduling wheels which give property managers a milestone guide to preparing for a works project. Typically starting a year before works are due to start on site, our guidance includes milestones for lease covenant checking, collecting funds from leaseholders, serving ‘section 20’ notices, commissioning a scoping document, drawing up the full specification of works, client liaison, JCT signing and finally starting works on site!

So whilst we are locked up and working from home, there is nothing to stop you from planning for 2021 works now. Get in touch and we’ll help you plan. 

Staying in touch

We are making a big effort to stay in touch as a team, although we are spread around the country. We are listening to you and making sure that your feedback is shared and acted upon. We are following up on some unfinished business, such as projects on hold that are ready for revival, so expect to hear from us if you have projects that your clients would like to revive.

My surveyors are staying as busy as possible but as you can imagine, they have more time on their hands at the moment. Do use this time to ask us for help – it might be a few minutes’ chat or an exchange of emails but could be very valuable for you. If we can point you in the right direction, we will, with pleasure.

Summing up

Buildings require maintenance – you can’t get away from that. You may find that some building surveyors and maintenance contractors have been furloughed or have hibernated their operations. If you have a surveying or maintenance need – an overdue capex plan, a portfolio of RCAs that need seeing to, or a licence to alter application that has just come through from a lessee, let us know and we’ll do the best we can for you – within the constraints of government advice. Our own advice on how we can help is free and we are happy speaking over the phone, email or our favourite: a live Zoom chat. 

I hope you, your family, friends and colleagues keep safe, and well.