Conspect engineering
Apartment and building structural engineering inspections | structural surveys | apartment snag lists

APARTMENTS - Snag lists & Communal property

HOME PAGE
  |   Engineering inspection & Report service  | Insurance Loss Assessor service  |
||  Solar Energy  |  BER Energy rating   ||
What does the service include?
Snag Lists ~About~
Order a snag list for your apartment
Say 'hello' and email us!



Apartment snag lists & Other information

APARTMENTS

We are specialist apartment inspectors for Ireland. Wheather your apartment is in Dublin city centre or Galway we have the expertise to provide a quality inspection solution for your new home. We can offer expert structural engineering inspections of apartments for safety or other structural defects on the behalf of a mangaement company to singular apartment inspections and homebuyers prepurchase inspections or snag lists.


Apartment complex structural engineering inspection

Our team of structural engineers are specialist timberframe and masonary multi level residential building inspectors. Apartment engineering inspections have many componets to include depending on the issues or potential issues. Stairwells, Fire safety, Fire exits, Parking spaces, communal areas, lifts and hallways that could be a part of the management company ownership or individual units to the entire building structure can be assessed by our team of structural engineers - we offer set issue reporting & site wide engienering surveys depending on the nature of your concerns.
Contact our office to discuss your apartment structural, fire safety or other building concerns :

Dublin City - South & North county
01 5242062
Midlands - 044 9222724
West - 0766 151788


Apartment snag list inspection

Many differences exist between this type of property and houses, including the snag inspection process. Included in Conspect's apartment snag lists are all communal areas associated with your property. Stairwells, Fire exits, Parking space, refuse storage, lifts and hallways that could be utilized by you will be checked by our inspector. Some snag list companies consider these peripheral and too time consuming to inspect. Conspect have a 'rule of thumb':
"If it is part of your property purchase and connected to your unit, it's on our checklist".
Future expense to you can be kept in check by having a professional & comprehensive snag list performed by Conspect.ie
Dublin city and county has some of the highest apartment 'upkeep' fees in Ireland but it doesn't matter if your property is in Kildare, Meath or Wicklow the cost of maintenance and repairs will be billed to you year on year through your 'building management company'.
Below are details on how your building will be maintained and managed and information you should be aware of.

APARTMENT & DUPLEX MANAGEMENT COMPANY FEES


Buying an apartment: what you need to know

Why is buying an apartment different to a house?

Apart from the obvious it is not the same in legal terms. You cannot own your apartment outright or the ‘freehold’ as you might own a house. This is due to your apartment being part of a development with shared common areas. Common areas include halls, gardens and parking with the other apartment owners. Everyone that buys in to the development automatically becomes a member of the ‘management company’ that owns the entire development. As a member you have a ‘leasehold’ on your apartment which usually is a very long lease (999 years) which you can sell to the next owner when you move on.

What is a property management company?

It is all of the owners of apartments and units in a development. It is legally responsible for maintaining the standard of the development. So as the management company you and the other owners look after the upkeep of the apartments exterior building structure and common areas through the payment of annual fees.

What are the main duties of the company?

To maintain the apartment complex and common areas. To do this it must decide on an annual budget to pay for the cost of maintenance. The budget is made up of the service charges paid by all its members. The members of the company must then decide what services it will provide such as cleaning or employing a management agent.
The company must budget for such things as :
  • ~ Ongoing maintenance
  • ~ Future painting or re-carpeting
  • ~ Care of the green areas and landscape
  • ~ Sinking fund for long term unforeseen expenses

What is the difference between a management company and an agent?

The company will normally employ a management agent to assist with running the complex.
The agent would be expected to:
  • ~ Keep accounts
  • ~ Sort out common area problems and issues
  • ~ Send out the service charge bills and make sure these are paid
  • ~ The company employs the agent so you are ultimately responsible for the upkeep

What do property management agents do?

The agent will manage the complex for the management company as stated in their contract with the company. A suitable good agent will be vital to the long term value of the apartment as they ensure the complex is maintained to a high standard. The annual service charge is affected by how competent and competitive your agent is.

How do I decide what tasks I want my agent to carryout?

Be clear exactly what you want the agent to manage. For extra large complex’s you may need a surveyor to make a list from the outset of formal duties for the agent to look after for your management company. This will also give you an up to date picture of the condition of the complex, assessing the maintenance and repairs required along with future improvements etc.


Conspect can perform entire apartment building engineering survey for annual maintenance on building structural and communal areas for you apartment management company.
Contact us for information or a quote
Owners and developers?

Before you buy you should know that some developers can attempt to keep control of the property management company even after the development has been completed by retaining title on part of the property which means they still own part of it as it has not been released for sale. As a result:
~ They can also influence control by their involvement in the management company voting arrangements at the AGM.
~ Also developers sometimes have title to the land surrounding the apartment blocks as they hope to get planning permission for more houses or apartments.
Checklist for buying an apartment, townhouse or duplex

Things to look for when you first view: Large expanses of green and landscaped areas are beautiful but the larger the common area the more it will cost to maintain them. Make sure that the following are also maintained:
  • ~ the entire building
  • ~ the grounds
  • ~ the waste collection areas
  • ~ entrance gates
  • ~ footpaths

Common area lighting, and look out for features like ponds or lots of wood finishes which will be costly to maintain.
Check out the rules on using gardens and courtyards. Find out who can use what and when. Parking, Confirm your parking space has been allotted to you. Make sure it is noted on the plan or in writing as disputes over cars parked in the wrong space can occur later. The owners will have to pay for maintenance of common areas inside and outside in the grounds. If these are designed to a very high standard they will be expensive to maintain and this will be reflective in the service charges.

Is the building is safe and secure?
Check for a valid health and safety statement is displayed. Fire safety is of the highest priorty in multi level residential apartment buildings:
  • ~ Fire exits are kept clear and marked
  • ~ Easy access for emergency vehicles
  • ~ All lifts and gates are working
  • ~ Ask the date of the last fire inspection

  • Check that the following security features are working and checked regularly :
  • ~ CCTV (Closed circuit television )
  • ~ Intercom
  • ~ Alarm systems
  • ~ Safe communal entrance where tenants enter a PIN code to gain entrance


Click the link to see prices for snag lists when purchasing an apartment

SNAG LIST PRICES






"Conspect have worked alongside our Management Company on construction issues since 2009. We recommend them very highly as an experts who are not only down to earth and practical but also excellent value for money and above all, an experts in their field.

Attention to detail, honesty, and out of the box, creative approach are characteristics which set them apart from others in the industry. Engineering consultants who goes way beyond the call of duty and one we are delighted to be able to recommend"
P. Thornton
DIRECTOR MNGMT CO. - MEATH










"Good service and price and the document was easy to follow. Appreciated your help in the follow-up calls as well"
P. Lenihan
HOMEOWNER - CO. GALWAY








"I just want to say thank you very much again. Everything was great. You could come within a short notice period and do the job quickly and to the high standard. I will recommend you to my friends and people that I know
T. Polyaninova
SPENCER DOCK - DUBLIN CITY CENTRE
 
Dublin City - South & North county
01 5242062
Midlands - 044 9222724
West - 0766 151788

  |  Privacy  |  Link to Us?  |  Renewable Ireland blog |  
Business Directory
Web design & SEO by: Valueaddedweb.eu Web design & SEO by: valueaddedweb.eu  |   Web design & SEO by: www.Valueaddedweb.eu
Web designer

Snag list inspector | snag list inspectors | snag reports | snaggers | snags | comprehensive inspection | engineer | type of snags | commercial building snag list | apartment safety inspections | structural engineering inspection | apartment fire safety | engineering surveys | snag | list | snagging | lists | snag report | snag list Ireland | new home snag | home snag | new build snag list | apartment snag list | house snag list | extension snag list