Pre-Sale Structural Assessments
Structural concerns can become particularly troublesome when a property is being sold. A crack that has been present for years may suddenly become an issue when a prospective purchaser notices it and asks whether it is structural. Uncertainty can lead to further questions, negotiations, delays and requests for investigations.
A pre-sale structural assessment allows the owner to understand the structural issue before the property is placed under pressure from a transaction.
Why Assess Before Selling?
Owners often become aware of structural concerns through a purchaser, estate agent or property inspection. By that stage, there may be little time to determine what the problem means.
Obtaining an engineering opinion beforehand puts the owner in a better position to deal with the matter openly and knowledgeably.
The assessment may establish that a visible defect is of limited structural significance. Alternatively, it may identify a condition that should be repaired or investigated before the property is marketed.
Neither outcome is necessarily a problem. The advantage is knowing what you are dealing with before somebody else raises the question.
Common Pre-Sale Concerns
Typical reasons for requesting an assessment include:
• Cracks that have appeared in walls or floors
• Previous cracking that has been repaired
• Doors or windows that have become difficult to operate
• Apparent settlement or movement
• Cracking associated with extensions or alterations
• Movement of retaining walls
• Concern about a previous structural repair
• Damage that may have resulted from water, drainage or ground movement
• Purchaser concerns raised during an earlier sale
• A request from an estate agent or prospective purchaser for clarification
I do not treat every defect as a structural failure. The assessment considers the available evidence and whether the observed condition appears to have structural significance.
Turning Uncertainty Into Information
Consider a house with a repaired crack above a window. The owner may know that the crack has been there for several years but may not know why it occurred or whether it is significant.
An engineering assessment can examine the visible evidence and surrounding construction and provide an opinion on the condition observed at the time of inspection. If there is no indication of significant ongoing structural distress, that can be stated. If further investigation is warranted, that can also be identified.
Another example is a retaining wall showing some movement. Rather than allowing a prospective purchaser to speculate about whether the wall is failing, the owner can obtain an independent assessment of the visible condition and understand what further action, if any, may be appropriate.
This does not guarantee that a purchaser will have no further questions. It does, however, provide a factual engineering basis for discussing the concern.
What Is Included?
The assessment is primarily visual and non-invasive. Accessible structural elements are examined for signs of movement, distress or deterioration.
Depending on the property, this can include walls, floors, slabs, beams, columns, stairs, retaining walls and other visible structural elements.
Photographs may be taken to record important observations. The report focuses on the structural issues relevant to the instruction rather than attempting to become a general building-condition report.
Where specialist investigation is required, this is stated rather than assumed. For example, a structural assessment may identify the need for geotechnical, drainage, waterproofing or other specialist input.
A Useful Report For The Seller
The resulting report provides the owner with a professional record of the structural condition observed at the time of assessment.
If remedial work is recommended, the owner can consider whether it is preferable to undertake the work before marketing the property. In other cases, the appropriate recommendation may simply be monitoring or further investigation.
The decision remains with the owner. My role is to provide an independent engineering opinion based on the conditions that can reasonably be established during the assessment.
A More Informed Property Sale
Selling a property is easier when potential structural questions have already been considered.
A pre-sale assessment is therefore not about producing a long list of everything that could possibly be wrong with a building. It is about identifying and addressing genuine structural concerns before they become an obstacle to the sale.
For estate agents, an assessment can also provide useful independent information when an owner is uncertain about a structural defect.
Western Cape Experience
My structural engineering experience includes residential and other buildings in Hermanus, the Overberg and the wider Western Cape. Particular attention is given to the effects that local ground conditions, slopes, coastal exposure, additions and alterations can have on buildings.
Arrange An Assessment Before Listing
If you know that a property has cracking, movement or another structural concern, it is often better to investigate it before the property goes onto the market.
Arrange a pre-sale structural assessment and deal with known structural concerns from an informed position.
