INDEPENDENT ARTICLES, CLEAR INSIGHTS, STRAIGHTFORWARD ADVICE FOR INFORMED PROPERTY DECISIONS.

Securing consent to a Party Wall Notice is rarely about “persuasion”. In most cases, adjoining owners consent when they feel three things are in place: Clarity — they understand what you’re doing and why Reassurance — their property will be protected and any issues...

Obtaining Licence for Alterations consent is mainly about doing two things well: Understanding what your lease and building rules require, and Submitting a clear, complete “decision-ready” application pack that addresses the risks the freeholder is responsible for...

Receiving a Party Wall Notice after builders have already started on site can feel like the process has been done backwards. Sometimes the notice is genuinely late (the notifiable works have already begun). In other cases, the works you can see are non-notifiable...

Here’s a solid, no-nonsense way to compare party wall surveyor quotes so you’re comparing like-for-like, not just the cheapest headline number. 1) First, work out what you’re actually comparing Two quotes can look similar but include totally different scope. Before...

The level of detail in a Schedule of Condition (SoC) report is one of the most important factors in whether it will actually protect you later. Too little detail and it becomes vague and arguable. Too much irrelevant detail and it becomes expensive, unwieldy, and hard...

There isn’t a single “standard” response rate, because adjoining owners’ decisions vary widely depending on the works, the relationship between neighbours, and how clearly the proposals are explained. What can be said with confidence is that dissent is very common in...

How is a Third Surveyor Selected?The Third Surveyor is only relevant where the “two surveyors” route is used—meaning each owner appoints their own party wall surveyor. In that scenario, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 requires the two appointed surveyors to select a...

A Schedule of Condition report is one of the most valuable “quiet protections” you can put in place when building works are happening nearby. Its importance is simple: it creates an objective baseline of a property’s condition at a specific date, so that if cracking,...

A Level 2 Survey (often the RICS Home Survey – Level 2) is important because it gives you an independent, professional view of a property’s condition before you become legally committed to buy. For most people, a home is one of the biggest purchases they’ll ever...