BValued Ltd Chartered Surveyor & Homebuyer Reports

12/09/2026

Is your home adequately insured against fire etc?

A Chartered Surveyor can undertake a reinstatement cost assessment to calculate the rebuilding cost off your home. This is the critical information needed ie not the market value, where your policy includes an averaging clause.

So if for example your policy has an averaging clause and you are under insured by 15%, then in the event of a claim the insurance company are unlikely to meet the full cost of rebuilding the property.

12/09/2026

RICS Level 2 survey and valuation S Wales - house built circa 1980. The outer bitumen of the roofing felt is wearing away and the internal mesh is visible, much of the felt was damp when I inspected. The roofing felt does not drop into the gutters. Cement pointing under the tiles both at the verges and valley gutters is cracking: battens could be rotting.

Particularly if the client is proposing to instal solar panels, then he should consider first recovering the roof.

Unless your surveyor uses a pole camera or drone, some of these defects may get missed. The RICS Home Survey standard does not yet require surveyors to use such technology.

Sava School of Surveying student in attendance.

10/09/2026

Should be a busy autumn for surveyors

The RICS survey is a sentiment measure, based on opinions from agents in the organisation. – RICS says market finally stabilising as autumn begins

07/09/2026

Vendors seek to move for many different reasons. I did a RICS level 2 Home Survey here this morning.
Her sister in law had breast cancer and while all hoped she was better, she suffered from recurrent pain which the doctors ignored. She now has terminal cancer and will leave 2 small children. Vendor wants to move to be near them.
Regrettably I’m all too familiar with medical negligence. They said about my daughter "We are always anxious to learn lessons from incidents like these to ensure everything can be done to reduce the risk of them reoccurring." This morning I felt she'd died in vain.
Message to young women: you know your body - don't take "don't worry" for an answer.

03/09/2026

On the tools - Help to Buy Valuation Wales and 2 RICS Home Surveys – Level 2 - S Wales & W Midlands.
Would you build/ buy a home in an area with a high flood risk?

03/09/2026

Rough sleeping - bValued Ltd has raised £75k over the last 7 years towards helping the homeless.

13/07/2026

RICS Home Survey level 2 this am.
Lady next door is 90 & offered me a cup of tea!
To be a surveyor is great.
To be a surveyor in South Wales is unbeatable!

19/05/2026

Your roof is your first line of defence against British weather! But many RICS surveyors still merely use binoculars, rather than drones/ pole cameras when conducting RICS Home Surveys!
Before commissioning a RICS Home Survey, ensure your surveyor will use a drone/ pole camera to check your first line of defence!
Photo - Arthur Bletchly BSc MRICS (RICS Registered Valuer) of Bvalued Ltd inspecting a roof of a 3 storey extension in S Wales today with a 12m pole camera.

23/04/2026

RICS level 2 survey & valuation S Wales this morning. Debriefed client at end. Mid-terraced house converted into 2 flats. My instruction relates to first floor one. Both planning consent and Building Regulation approval were obtained in 2004 retrospectively, after the work was complete ie the Building Regulation Control Officer could not have inspected the work while in progress ie as would normally be the case.

Downstairs tenant could hear me moving around upstairs. Party wall (rear annex) is not fireproof. Main parts of both party walls masked (loft hatch to that part of roof locked & key not available). Can't assume that the ceiling/ floor between the 2 flats are properly fireproofed from each other either!

Roof slates may contain asbestos & both slates & underfelt have a limited life - important if client wants to put solar panels up.

Chimney needs work

External fire escape unsafe

23/04/2026

House Warming Party - Its over 25 years that I'be been doing RICS Home Surveys, but today was a first. Indian client invited me to a house warming party! I took this along with me - Strawflowers & daisies. When I was young "everlasting flowers" were popular.