Pre-acquisition Building Survey of a Mixed-Use Commercial Property
Brief: Our client was purchasing a commercial property comprising retail, office and residential accommodation.
Property: Two terraced buildings converted into a single demise in Nottingham.
Instructed by: Prospective purchaser.
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Project specification
- Our client was buying a mixed-use property in Nottingham that was in fairly poor condition.
- They wanted to know if there were any structural problems that should be addressed before they bought the property.
- They also wanted to understand the extent and costs of repairs and maintenance over the coming 5 year period, so that they could assess the value of the acquisition and budget accordingly.
Key survey findings
- Our chartered building surveyor found that the building had been poorly maintained in recent years.
- The entire property was inspected, including all internal and external areas, the roof (inspected by drone) and the grounds.
- We found that there were several repairs that would be required in the immediate and short term, to ensure that the property was safe and fit for purpose.
- Some of the most significant were repairs and replacements of areas of the roof, amounting to approximately £70,000.
- The timber windows were also at the end of the serviceable life and required replacement at a cost of approximately £20,000.
- Numerous other items of repair and decoration were identified and itemised.
- Depending on the intended use of the space, we also advised that the buyer would need to set aside budget for installation of a new heating system, refurbishment of kitchen and sanitary fittings, and a fire audit and upgrade.
- Testing of electrical installations would also be required, with the expectation that several works would be required to bring them to a compliant and functional state.
- The surveyor also considered the property from a compliance perspective.
- They found that there were several areas in the property that would be subject to change of use regulations – we advised that it would be important to obtain details of the work specifications, and confirmation of building regulations approval, for those areas of the property.
- Because the property was in a conservation area, we also advised that planning consents would have been required for several of the refurbishments; the buyer should check that these were properly obtained.
- Fire detection and escape provisions were also found to be inadequate. Electrical installations also appeared of poor quality, and a full M&E inspection was recommended.
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