This week I looked at a period farmhouse, principally in relation to building work but was taken aback by the unsympathetic approach to resolving a damp issue. It was absolutely apparant that the damp specialist had not understood the type of property in question and the materials employed. The remedial work extended to injection of a chemical damp proof course (partly in to stone!) and internal replastering with a modern ‘hard’ plaster.

This was not, however, a property suffering from rising damp but from poor external repair, inadequate disposal of rain and surface water  and a combination of other factors which prevented the walls from ‘breathing’. Because the causes of the damp had not been addressed, the damp was still present and problems of cellar fungus had continued to spread behind new plaster and skirtings. In short, all the work undertaken was a waste of time and money.

Not all damp specialists are bad. Some take a very sympathetic approach but be careful that they do not have a vested interest in simply selling a product. More often than not, a so called cured damp problem as a consequence of chemical injection is actually a concealed damp problem.

In the vast majority of cases, chemical injection damp proof courses are neither required or desirable.

So was it worth it? The concept behind the HIP was, principally, to reduce delays in the home buying process and increase transparency. In reality, the delays were simply shifted from during the process to before the process.

The situation was compounded by the fact that the legal search carried out in most HIP’s was limited and most Solicitors refused (probably quite rightly) to rely on them. This necessitated a further search, additional delay and more expenditure.

When the HIP was first mooted, there was to be a condition report included. In their wisdom, it was decided that rather than rely on thousands of able and very well qualified surveyors, they would throw the market open to anyone to train as a Home Inspector (no previous experience required). Anyone wanting to be a Home Inspector had to pass through this training. Not surprisingly, most surveyors felt this was rather insulting to their professional qualifications and expertise. As a result, come implementation day, there were nowhere near enough Home Inspectors and the idea of a condition report was scrapped.

I strongly suspect that the HIP will not be missed by solicitors, surveyors, estate agents or the majority of the general public. I do, however, have a great deal of sympathy for the 3000 or so people who spend their days compiling the HIP’s who come tomorrow will have lost their livelihood.

Common Furniture Beetle is usually inactive in centrally heated homes and in any event requires significant and prolonged activity to cause any real damage.

In rare cases, Death Watch Beetle and House Longhorn Beetle can occur and these are serious, leading to potential structural collapse. As with termite damage (found in one small village in North Devon - but a real problem on the continent and North America) the internal damage to the timbers is often considerably worse than it appears externally.

Ambrosia Beetle, Powder Post Beetle and Forest Longhorn Beetle damage can sometimes be seen to timbers but this usually occurs when the timbers are felled or stacked and treatment is not usually required.

It is, of course, sensible to keep an eye on your property but it is generally older buildings which tend to be affected and more often than not, the activity is old and needs no remedial work. If current activity is found it can often be indicative of another problem (for example fungal attack or damp issues).

If in doubt call us. We have a specialist who can diagnose the problem and recommend an appropriate way forward. We don’t undertake remedial work and as such you can be assured of a genuine and independent assessment with no hidden agenda.

The raising of the stamp duty threshold is not, however, a blanket one. It only applies to first time buyers. In other words, as I understand it, to benefit, you must never have owned (either solely or jointly) any residential property at ant time anywhere in the world!

For non first time buyers, the existing stamp duty bands apply. In other words stamp duty at 1% will be levied on property transaction over £175,000 and under £250,000.

On top of this, the property you buy must used as your main residence. No living in rented accommodation and applying for the relief on a house bought as a buy to let.

If buying a property with another party, to qualify for the relief, none of the parties must have previously owned a property.

The relief applies to all completions as of now. Even if contracts were exchanged before the budget announcement, relief will be given assuming all the other criteria are met.

The changes are not, perhaps, as radical as they may have at first been seen. This is particularly the case when you consider that on a £250,000 property, the saving will be £2,500. I am not convinced this will provide the stimulus that the first time buyer market needs (most first time buyers will probably be buying property at much less than the £250,000 limit and so the savings will be less). Nevertheless, it can only be a step in the right direction.

Japanese Knotweed is a member of the Japonica family. It has heart shaped leaves, a bamboo like stem and white flower clusters which appear in the late summer or early autumn. The hollow stems die back in the winter. The plant spreads from Rhizomes (small underground nodules). The plant can grow as much as 10cm a day! and reach 3m in height.

Japanese Knotweed was introduced from the Far East in the 19th century but spread rapidly. It has no natural ‘predators’ in this country so control is chemical based. It’s rapid growth has been known to cause damage to building floors and walls.

It is not illegal to have Japanese Knotweed in your garden but if you allow it to spread, you could cause a legal nuisance (a civil offence) for which damages might be awarded by a Court. It is an offence to dispose of the plant other than in a specified manner (under the Environmental Protection Act 1990).

In most cases, Japanese Knotweed can be controlled straightforwardly in a residential environment but knowledge is key. Residential development sites do need to be cleared of the plant before development and the costs of this can be high.

The plant has been in the news recently because trials have started using a natural pest which slows the growth and spread of the plant. This pest has been tested on native plants and crops (87 in total) to make sure it does not cause knock on environmental issues. Trials are in their early stages but, if successful, will help to reduce the estimated £150million a year costs of removal and clearance in the uk.

Eight years ago, we launched a Building survey with a Summarising report format. This was designed to give our clients the comfort of knowing that an experienced surveyor had looked at the property in detail whilst providing a report that is straight-forward to read and understand.

From those humble beginnings, the Building survey with Summarising report has risen to become our most popular product. We are not, however, ones to rest on our laurels. In 2007, we added ‘contingency repair costs’ to our reports. We felt that use of language such as a ’significant issue’ or serious defect’ was unhelpful but costs are something everyone can relate to.

We didn’t stop there, in Jan 2010, we changed the Conclusion to our Summarising report to include two tables. These pull together the contingency costs contained in the report and break them down in to urgent and non-urgent issues. This allows clients (at a glance) to distinguish between what needs doing now, and what can be done as part of planned maintenance.

The feedback we have had has been very encouraging but we are always open to new ideas. If you have had previous experience of other surveyors reports and think they offered something special, or if you want advice on what is included in the Building survey, let me know.

The aim of the new Homebuyers report is the same as the old one but it will now include ‘condition ratings’ (1-3) to help clarify the severity of the problem. I must admit, I like the idea of condition ratings (although I suspect there will be some inconsistency between surveyors). The only snag I see is that the ratings may become the focus of the report rather than the conclusion of it.

Personally, I rather liked the simplicity of the old style Homebuyers. The new format, to my mind, is overly long and repetitive. I suspect that the new Homebuyers has been born out of the condition report devised by the RICS when it appeared that one would need to be included in the Home Information Pack (HIP) (see www.martinandmortimer.co.uk/Home_information_packs). When this idea was scrapped, the RICS was left with a product with no take up and so decided to replace the existing Homebuyers report with the Condition report (albeit in a slightly altered format).

I am not adverse to change but I do think this is wholesale change for the sake of it. For example, I am sure that the old Homebuyers could have been ammended to include condition ratings.

Having spoken to a number of surveyors on the subject the overall concensus is the same. I suspect (indeed have been told) that surveyors will be increasing their fees for Homebuyers to reflect the additional paperwork required. I am sure that this was not the aim of the RICS and it is certainly not in the interests of the consumer.

My view; commission a Building survey. It won’t cost much more if you use a local independent firm and you will get much better value for your money.

Despite historically low interest rates, inflation is beginning to rise and the cost of living is predicted to increase in the next few months. On top of this, it is likely that there will be a rise in council tax generally.

Council tax was introduced in 1993 (replacing the ever-so popular Poll Tax) based on 1991 property values. It is a residential property tax and places each property in England into one of 8 bands (A-H). Originally, there was to be a re-assessment of the bands every 5 years but this never happened. This does not however mean that you can not look at your council tax band and appeal it if you feel it is too high. Many people don’t bother as the tax is established and largely accepted. After all is it really going to make much difference?

There are specific limitations set down as to when, who and on what grounds the banding can be appealed but, to my mind, these are rather irrelevant as the listing officer has a duty to maintain an accurate list.

If the banding is reduced you may be in line for a rebate of all monies overpaid by you, in some instances all the way back to 1993! Still think it’s not worth checking whether your property’s banding is correct?

There had, apparantly, been a spate of what can perhaps be kindly described as unscrupulous individuals posing as experts on Business rates promising reductions and pursuading people to sign contracts which, on closer examination proved to very onerous.

Please be aware. If you are approached by anyone without invitation, check them out first. Are they RICS regulated and qualified? Check they are who they say they are and don’t be rushed in to signing anything. Read through any contract carefully and at you leisure. If you are not 100% satisfied that what you are signing is reasonable and, in particular, that it clearly sets out what you pay if the appeal against the rates assessment is successful, DON’T sign it.

You can go on line and check your new business rate and how the calculation has been arrived at. The figures are based on values in 2008 and may now (given recent events) seem high. This is not a grounds for appeal per se.

Please remember the old adage ‘if it looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is’ .

VAT will also revert to 17.5% on 1st January 2010.  In other words, you will be charged an extra 2.5% on professional and other fees incurred in the moving process.

You might not think many people in East Anglia will be affected - after all, house prices are, on average, above the national average and the area is reasonably affluent, isn’t it? You might be surprised to learn that the average house price in Cambridgeshire is a little under £169,000. Lowering the stamp duty threshold will affect an awful lot of properties in our area. Put simply, I suspect that from 1st January 2010, additional charges in the order of £2000 will apply to a property sold for £175,000. Happy New Year!