Active Property Care always begins the same way: with a free property maintenance survey. It is a walk round the building and an honest written note of its condition, it takes under an hour, and it commits you to nothing. This article explains what actually happens during that hour and what you are left with afterwards.
Before the Visit
Four things are worth knowing in advance, and they shape the whole survey.
- What the property is. A flat, a house, a holiday let or a block of communal space each need a different round.
- Roughly where it is. Enough to know whether the property can be reached on a regular schedule.
- Whether anyone lives there. Empty and part-time properties need a different visit pattern entirely.
- What is on your mind. A specific worry, or simply that nobody has looked at the place in a while. Both are good reasons to book.
The Active Property Care Walk Round
Outside first
The survey starts where the damage starts. Roof and chimney are checked from ground level for slipped tiles, cracked mortar and lifting flashing. Gutters, downpipes and gullies are looked at for blockage and overflow staining. External paintwork, render and pointing are checked for cracks. Paths, steps, fences, gates and boundaries are noted, along with any planting growing into the building.
Then inside
Internally the survey looks at the things that reveal external faults: damp patches and their position, condensation on reveals and in corners, seals around windows and doors, extractor fans and trickle vents, and any staining on ceilings. Smoke and carbon monoxide alarms are tested, and anything that needs a certificated trade is written down rather than touched.
What You Get at the End
You receive an honest written note of the condition of the property. Not a sales document, and not a list of alarming possibilities designed to sell a bigger plan. It sets out what is sound, what is worth watching, and what needs attention now, with photographs where a picture explains it faster than a sentence.
If the survey finds that the property is in good order and needs very little, that is what it says. Some buildings genuinely do not need a frequent round.
How an Active Property Care Plan Follows
If you decide to go ahead, the survey becomes the basis of a plan written for that specific building. A compact modern flat and a detached house with mature trees need very different rounds, so the Active Property Care plan states exactly what it covers and what it leaves out. Visit dates are agreed in advance, and visits happen whether or not you have reported anything, because finding out is the point.
Routine items are done during the visit. Anything larger is quoted before a tool comes out, so no invoice arrives as a surprise. After every Active Property Care visit a short written summary follows: what was checked, what was done, what is being watched and what needs a decision.
If You Do Not Go Ahead
The written note is still yours. Plenty of owners use it as a to do list to work through themselves, or as a second opinion before accepting a quote from somewhere else. There is no obligation attached to it. For context on what building condition reports generally cover, the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors explains the formal survey levels, which are a different and more detailed product from a maintenance walk round.
Booking an Active Property Care Survey
The quickest route is email. Say what the property is and roughly where it is, and a reply comes back within one working day. Details are on the contact page, the service overview explains the four areas every plan covers, and the about page sets out why the work runs to a schedule rather than a phone call.