2023: A Year in Review
A challenging year in surveying nears its end.
The continued uncertainty over interest rates gave Property Investment Managers a headache and piled extra pressure on the effective management of their portfolios. The continued adoption of the ‘IPMS ALL Buildings’ measurement criteria added a level of complexity to a number of property negotiations.
While we couldn’t influence the first of these issues, as a team on the front foot of developments in surveying, we were able to use our knowledge of the standard that now applies to all surveys, to ensure our clients avoided any unnecessary loss in income.
An example that particularly sticks in the mind is a summer job we completed, surveying an office a client was to buy.
A whopping £1.5million came off the purchase price when we highlighted to the client that the listed area included 3,000 sq ft the measurement standard deemed unusable floor space.
As I write, a job spanning seven industrial sites across the home counties is ongoing and we are working to ensure our client gets paid suitably for all the usable space, as it looks to sell the sites separately.
Neon’s residential work has again grown in 2023. This is an area all the team enjoy, despite the challenges involved.
The biggest challenge when surveying residential properties is usually access. An issue that certainly arose on a job in East London in April.
As you can imagine, with a total of 120 flats, all of which were occupied, completing all the surveys required effective communication and coordination. Unfortunately, not all the residents were made aware of the work to be done and many of the surveys had to be rescheduled. Neon’s Senior Surveyor Peter Barnes stepped up, supporting the concierge in talking to residents and returning a number of times, often out of hours, to get the job done. Well done Pete. Certainly a case of going above and beyond to deliver what the client needed under tricky circumstances. This is something he repeated on a job later in the year in the heart of London. Mind you, there were a ‘mere’ 80 flats to coordinate on that occasion!
When I look back on 2023, it is the collaboration and cooperation amongst the Neon team that stands out.
A keen understanding of surveying workflow, knowledge of the different technologies we use, and a willingness to always work flexibly as a team meant that any potential ‘downtime’ one team member faced was spent helping another on a different job. All of which aided the efficiency and cost-effectiveness of the service we provided to clients throughout the year.
As 2024 approaches, I’d like to thank the Neon team for all their hard work this year. I’d also like to commend the team to you, should an efficient, fuss-free surveying service sound good to you in 2024.
Happy Christmas everybody. Here’s to a productive and enjoyable New Year.
Duncan Hallam
Director
To discuss how Neon Surveys will provide a cost-effective survey for your next project, call 01480 718088 or email asapsurvey@neonsurveys.com.
We look forward to hearing from you.
