ABSTRACT
When conducting Level One or Level Two services, surveyors are expected to carry out a visual inspection of the grounds during a general walk around. This should, when necessary and appropriate, also be conducted from adjoining public property. The list of matters to take into consideration includes such external features as retaining walls, gardens, drives, paths, terraces, patios, steps, hardstandings, dropped kerbs, gates, trees, boundary walls, fences, non-permanent outbuildings, and rights of way. This amounts, in effect, to anything that might be costly to resolve and could potentially affect the client’s purchase decision ( 487 ) or where some feature presents a hazard that should be remedied once the client takes occupation ( 488 ). For Level Three services, the surveyor’s review of the same features is expected to be ‘thorough’ and the surveyor should inspect and report in greater detail on all matters associated with the grounds, including being prepared to ‘follow the trail’ of suspected problems to a greater extent than for Level One and Level Two surveys. Examples include assessing retaining walls in danger of collapsing, deeply sunken paths or driveways, and dilapidated boundary walls or fences as well as considering the legal and insurance implications.
