0121 607 8165

Principal:Steve Butler, Chartered Surveyor

8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday

Follow @chartedsurveyor

Valuations

Homebuyers Surveys

Building Surveys

Boundary Disputes

Part 35 CPR Expert Reports For Court

About Steve Butler RICS Chartered Surveyors

INDEPENDENT SOLIHULL AREA SURVEYORS WITH THIRTY YEARS EXPERIENCE

Steve Butler is an independent Solihull surveyor with over thirty years experience of surveying in the Solihull area. Steve Butler has lived near to Solihull and is thus very familiar with the area. Our surveyors undertake surveys and valuations of residential property and houses for all kinds of purposes. We are interested in pre-puchase Level 2 Homebuyers, Level 3 Building Surveys, Help to Buy Valuations and valuations for matrimonial, insolvency and taxation purposes. Our surveyors aim to try and provide a rapid respone but with a high level of service based on our expert knowledge of Solihull, impartial advice, and to be seen as entirely trustworthy.

RICS Homebuyers Surveyors report on a 1909 Solihull Semi-detached house

Solihull semi-detached house with cellar and attic room from just after the turn of the century. The chimneys have been demolished probably because they were in very poor condition from attack by condensates of combustion and the original tiles roof replaced with a modern concrete tile one which raised concern about the structures ability to support the extra weight. Poor cellar ventilation had encouraged dampness which has caused decay of the floor structure and encouraged beetles to infest the floor planks. There was no protecting the occupier of the attic room from fire and the stairs to the attic room were steep with winding treads and difficult to use in the dark. External render appeared to have used plaster rather than a sand and lime render which would make it vulnerable to water damage. The property had old lead water supply pipe and a corroding metal gas pipe. Insualtion of the attic room was considerably substandard.

RICS CHARTERED SURVEYORS SOLIHULL

Steve Butler qualified as an RICS Chartered Surveyor in 1992 and has also passed the Government's Home Inspector Examinations and is a qualified commercial energy surveyor and associate member of the Chartered Institution of Legal Executives. Steve Butler Chartered Surveyors are regulated by the RICS and have to follow their rules of conduct. The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors is the leading property profession and requires high standards of integrity and responsibility of its members. Steve Butler Chartered Surveyors are entirely independent of any estate agents lenders or mortgage brokers and not not pay introductory fees ensuring our independence. Our valuations and survey reports are subject to audit by the RICS.

Solihull surveyors RICS Homebuyers Report on a 1900 Semi detached house

Typical semi-detached three storey house with cellar from just before WWI. The Roof surface is life expired and has also distorted due to a sub standard structure which has probably resulted from having to accommodate the dormer window. There are no fire doors on the landings or halls to protect the occupier of the roof void rooms or to allow an escape corridor. The garage roof was also like expired due the slates delaminating and the structure was also substandard and had a decayed joist end. Boundary walls had suffered considerable loss of their faces. Yew trees in the garden are extremely toxic.

HOUSE AND RESIDENTIAL PROPERTY SURVEYORS AND VALUERS IN SOLIHULL

Our house and residential property surveyors undertake Level 3 building and structural surveys and Level 2 Hombuyers Surveys on all types of houses and residential property in Solihull and Solihullshire. If you are you buying a property in Solihull then a pre-purchase Building or Homebuyers Survey may help avoid future expenses. We specialise in surveying and valuing residential property in Solihull for all kinds of purposes including Help to Buy, housing association shared ownership sales, matrimonial matters, probate and insolvency and bankruptcy.

An RICS Building Survey will tell you about the condition of the property including the state of the chimneys, roofs, rainwater goods, roof edges, walls, floors, ceilings, partitions, windows and doors. We can tell you whether there is any structural movement or settlement, wet rot, dry rot, woodworm or damp problems. We give you an overview of the services such as the electrical installations, boiler, central heating, hot and cold water.

Solihull Surveyors RICS Building Survey Report on a 1925 Detached House

RICS BUILDING SURVEYORS IN SOLIHULL:

Click for a sample report

RICS Building Surveys provides a more detailed picture of a property’s construction and can be carried out on practically all residential properties.

The report is bespoke and tailored to your requests.

It is most suitable when the building is less conventional. This could be because it is very old, it has been built using unusual construction methods, or it is dilapidated. Similarly, it can be very informative if a building has been extensively altered.

RICS HOMEBUYERS REPORT SURVEYORS IN SOLIHULL:

Click for a sample report

A standardized report produced by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) to highlight significant problems and matters requiring urgent investigation.

It is designed to flag up major defects and problems that need urgent or significant attention, because such issues will affect the property’s value.

It is the cost effective choice for the majority of property purchasers.

A valuation of the property and estimation of reinstatement cost for insurance purposes is included as standard in both our Building Survey and Homebuyers Survey reports.

Due to the time taken to measure the property Building Surveys cost considerably more than the Homebuyers Report, however you should bear in mind that they are unlikely to find any serious defects to the property that the Homebuyers Survey and Report will not.

It is considered that the Homebuyers Survey and Report will be suitable for most clients.

Independent RICS Surveyors Homebuyers Survey of a Solihull property built about 1980

Party Wall Surveyors

Steve Butler surveyors can help prepare schedules of condition prior to works on an adjoining property so that there is no argument as to wether the proposed works cause damage. Our surveyors can also draw up an agreement between the parties so that works are carried out in a manner that will reduce the risk of damage to an adjoining property and inconvenience to the neighbour.

RICS Surveyors Property Investigation of a Solihull House for an Expert Witness Report

The recent purchaser of this late 1960's Solihull property first became aware of a problem when he lifted the lounge carpet and found a large crack of the floor slab running from front to rear. An initial investigation by another surveyor suggested that the matter might be due to sulphates in the base of the floor attacking the concrete but a chemical analysis confirmed that this was not the case. Such attack tends to form small humps as the concrete expands rather than snaps. In this instance the walls of the property also showed signs of fracturing and one of the window openings on the rear was competely distorted. The brickwork in a drian chamber had also rotated in the horizontal plane. Our surveyors refered to the old Solihull OS sheets which suggested that the house was built on an old sand pit that had subsequently been filled in. Our surveyors concluded that the sand or fill had been washed away by an escape of water from a drain. The property is currently unlikely to be motgagable until it can be confirmed that the movement has ceased. Purchaser re-sold the property to a company that buys houses for cash at £20,000 less than was paid for it. Unfortunately he had not had an independent pre-purchase survey prefering to reley on a mortgage surveyors report.

LOW COST RICS Homebuyers and Building Surveyors Fees