Taking on a lease of a Public House
with major repairs required;
a review
Independent Chartered Building Surveyors
If you are about to lease a commercial property either a Public House or possibly a shop, office or warehouse then you really should have an Independent Chartered Surveyor carry out a Schedule of Condition that can be appended to your lease to reduce your liability and to exclude existing issues in the property from the lease.
Our Surveyors are experienced with regards to all commercial property types, both Freehold and Leasehold and can offer Commercial Building Surveys, Structural Reports, Schedules of Condition Property Reports, Schedules of Dilapidations, Section 18 Valuations, Scott Schedules and Specific Defects Reports . Please Free Phone us on 0800 298 5424 to discuss your property matters.
Free phone 0800 298 5424
The Schedule of Condition
We recently carried out a Schedule of Condition and Property Report on a substantial public house. Our client intended to take on the lease and as the property had some major work needed a Schedule of Condition helped to protect them against onerous clauses within the lease.
A bit about the Public House
The property we surveyed was a large detached early Victorian public house with substantial barn/outbuildings situated in a village area.
The pub sits on a sloping site which is contributing to the dampness entering the property, especially to the rear but it is also visible in the cellar and to the right hand side.
Meeting the client at the property
We always try and meet the client at the property that we are surveying to discuss their business requirements and any concerns they may have.
In this case, we only met our client for a short while as they were going on holiday the next day and so we did not have the usual in depth conversation we would usually like. However it was obvious that they were experienced in investments and business and they were happy to leave us to carry out the survey and discuss any problems on their return.
Problems with the property
The public house had problems with its roofs and also dampness in the chimneys. We recommended that both of these were excluded from the lease.
With regards to the main roof we could see both a high-level of dampness and also woodworm with the added possibility of dry rot.
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Woodworm
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Frass on the end of the knife |
Rear flat roof
The rear flat roof was so heavily covered in vegetation that it practically had its own garden growing on it. We could also see areas where water was sitting on the roof, known as ponding.
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Ponding on flat roof |
Heavy vegetation to the rear flat roof |
Lack of maintenance
The property appears to have suffered from a general lack of maintenance over the years. We have already mentioned the flat roof and the vegetation growing on it but the same can be said for both the timber gutters and the outbuildings to the rear. The timber gutters were leaking and plants could be seen growing in them.
Substantial outbuildings
The outbuildings to the rear of the property were very large and had not been maintained with some large areas overgrown with Ivy. Unfortunately we could not access all the outbuildings internally as the keys had been lost but most were suffering with damp. We had to advise that the outbuildings should also be excluded from the lease to protect our clients' interests.
Independent Chartered Building Surveyors
We are experienced independent building Surveyors who are knowledgeable in carrying out structural surveys on all types, styles and eras of buildings. If you are looking to buy or lease a commercial property it makes sense to have a building survey carried out by an Independent Surveyor. Phone us for a friendly chat on 0800 298 5424.
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