Going Beyond Bricks and Mortar

We’re in an era of constantly rising property prices, and where space comes at a premium. So it’s perhaps no surprise that the value of a property consists of much more than mere bricks and mortar. Health, safety and the condition of the surrounding built and natural environment feed into value, as do the form and function of communal areas in blocks and estates. There are also values that are harder to define. At Innovus, we believe that the wellbeing and happiness of leaseholders and residents rests in large part on the condition of their property and wider physical environment.

That’s why I believe that surveying, a broad and varied discipline that’s been slow to change in the past, now needs to become an agile and responsive service that’s fit for residents’ needs in the 21^st century. As a Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (‘RICS’) regulated, nationwide surveying service, Innovus is highly attuned to the changing needs of our clients and their residents: property managers, government, health, and education organisations, resident management companies, and landlords. Rapid advances in technology, and a greater commitment to building professional expertise, are key to Innovus Surveying Services, and our commitment to innovation is what makes us different.

Our determination to go above and beyond, sometimes means looking below the surface matter of bricks and mortar, and bringing a deeper understanding of the natural environment to bear. An example I’m especially proud of is our work on a large, seaside, residential apartment building in South Devon. Whilst a number of surface defects were clear on our initial survey, our team also considered the fact that the flats had borne the brunt of 40 years’ worth of coastal weather since its construction. The building had not been maintained to a sufficient standard throughout this time, and, this combined with its age and weathering, had led to a number of unseen but significant defects, which only became clear to us with iterative examinations. Indeed, after a thorough investigation, we found that almost all of the lintels had failed or were in the process of failing, which could have been catastrophic for safety. Every passing day brought the risk of further damage, steadily eroding the value of the properties.

So we came up with a solution: we used our specialist expertise and deep networks to work with a leading structural engineering firm, along with regional main contractors who were well versed in heavy structural repair work. As a result, further and potentially catastrophic issues were avoided and the work was finished on time and on budget, protecting the building and its residents for the long-term.

Contrary to the stereotype of surveying as being rule-bound and formulaic, Innovus takes pride in finding creative and innovative solutions, as our company name implies. For example, we were appointed to a project for one of our developer clients on a very large development, 4,463 square feet over 8 floors of residential properties. With residents due to move in imminently, the client required an accurate assessment of rebuild costs for insurance purposes ahead of tenants moving in. But we were faced with a unique challenge, in that the building had not yet been completed. Faced with this unusual circumstance, we took a creative approach. Rather than rely on floor plans and desk top surveys as expected, we instead focussed on building strong relationships with key stakeholders to gain additional information and fill in knowledge gaps. We also proactively arranged on-site visits despite the risks posed by the active building site, so that we could do our assessment as accurately as possible.

Thanks to our work, this complex Reinstatement Cost Assessment was completed within the client’s two-week timeframe – and the client was very impressed by the lengths we went to in order to gain additional information and ensure accuracy, thus reducing risk and premium costs.

The surveying profession today stands at the brink of profound change. AI will transform the industry, its algorithms and mass data processing abilities enhancing the speed at which information can be processed and decisions made. It’s a brave new world – but I do not believe that AI is the whole story. It clearly can be beneficial and help us in our work, but the case studies I’ve outlined above demonstrate the importance of human input – it’s our strong collaborative client relationships and creative thinking that enable Innovus to deliver a best-in-class service. Our work isn’t just about dealing with properties for landlords and owners for their businesses – it's ultimately about people’s homes, their safety, and their sense of security. That’s why the art of surveying will never be something that’s straight out of the box.