The VAT Rise, Inflation and Interest Rates

It has been a gloomy start to 2011 according to the Press, but the word on Surveying Street is that things have not been that bad at all.

Talking to our affiliates, it is clear that some parts of the country are enjoying plenty of interest from property investors, first time buyers and the bungalow buyer.

The VAT rise has not affected our customers as we have not decided not to increase our prices in line with inflation and in some cases, returning customers buying their second or third investment property have been rewarded with lower fees for returning to us, so in fact, they have been better off than 2010.

Interest rates though are likely to rise in March, so what will this mean? Well no doubt the mortgage companies will be delighted to pass on the increases. Shame they were not as keen to reduce them so quickly!

At E Surveyors though, we love the mortgage lender. So many times we get calls from mortgage brokers asking what the fee would be for a homebuyer report because Santander offer free mortgage valuations, but the upgrade to a homebuyer report is more expensive than coming to us direct. So, the benefit to the customer, two valuations for the price of one.

Santander though are one of the nicer lenders; they offer free valuations. Others are still charging as much for a mortgage valuation as we would charge for the upgraded and much more extensive homebuyer report. Compare the difference of your mortgage valuation fee for a one or two page report that will take the surveyor 25 mins to complete and 30 mins to type and sign off (a mortgage valuer is quite often expected to carry out 7 valuations a day - so you would allow 1 hour per inspection and report and 30 mins travel between appointments = 10.5 hour working day) whereas the homebuyer report inspection will take somewhere between 1.5 hours to 2.5 hours plus 3 hours of putting the report together. Yet they cost a similar amount.

But this is critical. So many buyers will only rely on the mortgage valuation and the estate agent will no doubt tell you, "you don't need anything more than a mortgage valuation". Well they would, wouldn't they. They don't want you to know the warts and all story of the house you are buying, but just whether the bank would be happy to lend on this property. That will get the deal through won't it.

So be glad that Chartered Surveyors fees have remained at low prices for the foreseeable future and before you invest your hard earned cash in a £246,387 property (average house price in November 2010), for less than the £387 you will get an in-depth report full of photographs telling you the condition of the roof space, the electrics, the gas central heating, damp defects, and drainage problems.

You will be amazed at the difference. Choose E Surveyors and be informed.

Our SVP!

Soil Vent Pipes or SVPs to their friends; You may not know much about them, but thats because they are the unsung hero of Sanitary pipework.

You may be wondering 'What purpose does a soil vent pipe serve?', you may even be wondering 'How does a soil vent pipe affect me in my day to day life?'

Well let me put your mind at ease. According to: http://www.homesurveyor.net/Glossary/glossary.html, a soil vent pipe can be defined as 'A vertical wide pipe into which toilet and other waste appliances discharge which is ventilated at its upper end to prevent syphonage.' This basically means that the waste from your WC is taken out of your house through the SVP and down into the sewers and away to be treated.

As the waste is leaving your house it passes through a trap which means that once it is beyond this point the odour and gases from the waste will not be able to re enter your property. This is a nice touch from SVP as no one wants odorous gases wafting through the house.

There are three different types of SVP: Cast Iron, Plastic and Asbestos. If you wish to identify which one of the three your SVP is then this can be achieved in the extremely scientific way of erm...tapping it. If it emmits a 'hollow' sound then it is probably plastic. Cast iron and Asbestos are relatively similar to each other in sound and so it is important to listen carefully. Cast iron gives a metallic slightly shrill noise while asbestos is slightly duller and denser sounding.

If it transpires that your SVP is made out of asbestos then don't worry just yet. Asbestos is only a hazardous substance when provoked, so be careful not to crack the pipework. If it is in need of decoration, it would be unwise to sand the old layer of paint off before repainting as this would cause the dangerous particles in the asbestos to be transmitted into the air. It may be sensible to hire a specialist contractor to remove a defective asbestos SVP before intalling a modern plastic pipe.

Soil Vent Pipes should be capped so as to prevent things falling or climbing into the pipe and potentially blocking it. Birds are a common cause of blocked pipes.

So here's to our friend the Soil Vent Pipe. Keep up the good work.