Qualities to Look for in a Great Chartered Surveyor

Whether you’re looking for a commercial or a residential property or just a little bit of property related advice, there’s a good chance that at some point during your life you’ll need a chartered surveyor. And as the services that a chartered surveyor provides are so important, finding a good, qualified service provider is crucial. So if you’re looking to hire a chartered surveyor yourself, here’s how to make sure that you get the very best person for the job.

When would you need a chartered surveyor?

Chartered surveyors are able to value buildings, land and machinery for the purposes of mortgages or simply just for information.

So if you needed a valuation for a house purchase or a renovation project, they’re the people to call.

Whether your project is big or small, a chartered surveyor can be indispensible

Chartered surveyors can also asses existing buildings and give details of any structural problems that the property has.

They’ll be able to advise you on the condition of the property and on how you’ll have to deal with the local authorities in order to obtain permission for future building works.

Experience

As with all specialists, their expert knowledge is built up over years, so the most important thing to look for when searching for a chartered accountant is experience. Ideally, you should look for a company or individual that has at least 10 years of experience in the field.

Remember, your valuation or the building works that you undertake will rely a lot on the expertise and advice of your chartered surveyor so ensuring that they know exactly what they’re talking about is crucial.

Local knowledge resources

Chartered surveyors are property experts, and as every part of the country and area of a city has different property issues and different governing bodies, local knowledge is absolutely vital.

This is especially important in a city the size of London where the buildings will vary hugely from east to west and from north to south.

So if you’re buying or renovating a building in the capital make sure your chartered surveyor knows everything that there is to know about property in the Big Smoke. Complete a search online such as “Chartered surveyor London” to find a variety of local surveyors.

Range of services

Apart from just valuations, some chartered surveyors will offer a range of other services and this diversity can come in hugely important if you’re undertaking a big project.

Ideally, your chartered surveyor should have a good understanding of a range of property issues including property development, property management,

Energy Performance Certificates, sales and lettings and lease renewals and assignments.

These added expertise will help to ensure that all of your property needs are met and that you can work with the same company on an ongoing basis even if your requirements change in the future.

Competitive prices

Whichever services you’re looking for, a competitive price is always attractive. However it’s important to make sure that you’re not sacrificing quality for money as a good chartered surveyor is worth their weight in gold.

If the quoted price seems too good to be true, it probably is and you should look at more established – but still competitive – alternatives.

A Good chartered surveyor is even more important if the building your buying is in poor condition

What qualification should you look for?

All chartered surveyors have to have completed a degree course accredited by the Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RICS). In addition a chartered surveyor must have at least two years of working experience to take the APC exams and become fully qualified.

Finding a good chartered surveyor is important for a number of reasons, the most important of which is that their advice can make or break a property purchase or a development project.

So in order to make sure you’re getting the best information possible, always check that you’re hiring a great chartered surveyor for your property needs.

Picture credits: Wikipedia 1 & 2