When buying a property a good building survey will highlight any problems within the building. Asbestos is one of the issues we often come across during our surveys and often the mere mention of it strikes dread in our clients and they will often walk away from the property.

Unfortunately, because of a lack of materials post war, asbestos was used in everything from roof tiles and flues to floor tiles and Artex paint, meaning Asbestos can be found in many areas of a property both internally and externally and you may not even know it is there.  

We would like to wish everyone a

Happy New Year from all at 1^st  Associated

The BRE (Building Research establishment) Innovations Park

With the world constantly striving to become more energy efficient and hopefully cost effective, we are seeing more and more new construction techniques being used in modern housing. With this in mind we thought we would talk about our day spent at the BRE Innovations Park Watford.

The park was opened in 2005 and showcases some of the world’s most sustainable buildings, with the aim being to reduce our carbon footprint and at the same time improve the standard of construction of the properties and also the quality of health for people living in them.

Cub House

Although most people are thinking of the usual gift buying for friends and family, decorating the tree and debating whether the 18lb turkey they have bought will fit in the oven, some will be thinking of buying a property over the Christmas period.

This may sound a rather strange time to be thinking about doing this but there are a couple of reasons why it makes perfect sense.

• There may be less competition for the property that you have your eye on as many other people will decide to leave making offers on a property until after Christmas.

•  Sellers are often happier and in good spirits and so may offer a little goodwill to all men (and women) and accept a reduced price for the property.

Whatever time of year you decide to buy your future home, investment property or commercial premises remember that although Christmas comes but once a year property problems can occur throughout the year and as Independent Chartered Surveyors we are more than happy to help and advise you with any concerns you may have. Please call us on 0800 298 5424

Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year 

from all at 1stAssociated.co.uk

With winter truly here and with the drop in temperature we are all turning up the dial on the thermostat to try to keep the cold at bay. Unfortunately keeping our homes warm can have a downside especially with old buildings that were constructed differently to new, modern buildings.

As Surveyors we often see old properties that have been amended and refurbished with modern extensions, insulation, double glazed windows and central heating. These changes mean that the buildings cannot function as they were originally designed to do. Often all ventilation is blocked including air bricks, vents and chimney openings. This basically means that the property is almost air tight which creates problems when moisture generated within the building needs to escape but cannot.

This week we have seen areas of Britain battered by strong winds and storms with parts of the country flooded, especially along the East coast of England which was hit by the worst storm surge in sixty years.  Record high tides have seen thousands of houses damaged and thousands of people evacuated from their homes with a few even losing their homes to the sea where sand banks were washed away. 

Although the sea, high tides and inadequate sea defences will always cause problems in coastal areas we are seeing more and more floods all over the country each year. This can be down to the usual things such as swollen rivers bursting their banks after continued heavy rain fall or when thawing snow in Winter raises the river level.