Know What You Are Buying
Property Surveys in Farnham
Farnham sits under Waverley Borough Council, and that is the authority whose building control team will sign off the structural work on your project. Open Plan Homes Limited provides property surveys across Farnham and the surrounding Surrey border area, with the drawings, calculations and paperwork prepared for the authority that actually covers your address rather than a neighbouring one.
Every enquiry starts the same way: we look at the property, establish what is genuinely load bearing, and then set out in writing what the work involves and what it will cost. Nothing is priced from a photograph.
Farnham, Surrey
Local Considerations for Property Surveys in Farnham
- Planning authority
- Waverley Borough Council
- County
- Surrey
- Typical ground
- Folkestone Formation greensand with river terrace deposits along the Wey valley
- Party wall exposure
- Terraced and semi detached property is common right through the older centre, so party wall notices are part of most projects rather than an exception.
Farnham covers a real mix of building stock, and which part of the town a property sits in changes what property surveys actually involves. Around Castle Street, Gostrey Meadow and the Bourne, the older stock is Georgian brick townhouses along Castle Street, West Street and Downing Street, with Victorian terraces behind East Street. Further out you find post war and later estates out toward Weybourne, Badshot Lea and Rowledge, where the construction is more standardised and the structural picture is usually easier to establish.
On the planning side, Waverley Borough Council is the local planning authority, with Surrey County Council above it for highways matters such as skip permits and any scaffold that reaches the pavement. It is also worth knowing that Farnham has one of the largest conservation areas in Surrey, covering most of the historic town centre, and a number of the Georgian frontages are listed in their own right. None of that necessarily stops a project, but it does change the route, and it is far cheaper to establish before a design is fixed than after.
The ground under Farnham is commonly Folkestone Formation greensand with river terrace deposits along the Wey valley, which is relevant wherever a foundation or a new bearing is involved, though a site investigation is what confirms it for a particular plot. Terraced and semi detached property is common right through the older centre, so party wall notices are part of most projects rather than an exception. Castle Street and the streets running off it are narrow and often restricted for loading, so on town centre projects the practical questions about skip permits, scaffold licences and delivery windows come up early rather than at the last minute.
What is included
Property Surveys in Farnham: What Is Involved
On a Farnham project, property surveys covers the following. The list does not change from town to town, but what each item involves depends on the property in front of us.
Alteration Feasibility Comments
Where the plan is to open the ground floor up, we can say what that is likely to involve while the survey is being done.
Pre Purchase Reports
Focused advice where you already know what you want to do to a property and need to know whether it is realistic.
Full Structural and Building Surveys
The detailed option for older, altered or unusual properties, where the structure itself is the question.
Homebuyer Surveys
A proportionate inspection and report for a property in reasonable condition, flagging what matters before exchange.
The structural question
The Part That Decides the Job
In Farnham this comes up most often on Georgian brick townhouses along Castle Street, West Street and Downing Street, with Victorian terraces behind East Street, where the original construction was never drawn and has to be established on site.
The question a survey most often has to answer on a period property is whether a previous alteration was done properly. Openings formed without adequate support, beams bearing on nothing more substantial than the original brickwork, and chimney breasts removed at ground floor while the stack above was left in place are all common findings, and all of them change what a subsequent open plan project can safely do.
Questions we get asked
Property Surveys in Farnham: Frequently Asked Questions
Do you cover the whole of Farnham, including Castle Street?
Yes. Farnham is fully within our normal working area for property surveys, from Castle Street, Gostrey Meadow, the Bourne and Upper Hale through to the surrounding streets. Castle Street and the streets running off it are narrow and often restricted for loading, so on town centre projects the practical questions about skip permits, scaffold licences and delivery windows come up early rather than at the last minute.
Which council handles building control for property surveys in Farnham?
Farnham falls under Waverley Borough Council. It is the local planning authority, with Surrey County Council above it for highways matters such as skip permits and any scaffold that reaches the pavement. That matters because a set of calculations and drawings has to be submitted to the authority that actually covers the address, and on this patch the boundaries run close together, so neighbouring towns can sit with entirely different councils.
Should I get a survey if the seller has already had one done?
A survey commissioned by the seller is prepared for the seller. Unless it is formally assigned to you, you have no standing to rely on it, and its scope may not cover the things you care about.
Will a project in Farnham need a party wall notice?
Terraced and semi detached property is common right through the older centre, so party wall notices are part of most projects rather than an exception. If the property is semi detached or terraced, or if the foundations for any new element sit close to a boundary, the Party Wall etc. Act 1996 is likely to apply and notice has to be served before work starts. We can confirm the position once we have seen the property, and serve the notices as part of the same project rather than leaving you to arrange it separately.
Do you also work in the areas around Farnham?
Yes. Alongside Farnham we regularly work in Aldershot, Farnborough and Fleet, and across the wider Surrey border area from our office in Fleet. Bear in mind that some of those neighbouring towns sit under a different council to Farnham, so the planning and building control route can change from one to the next even over a short distance.
Are there heritage or planning constraints to watch in Farnham?
Yes. Farnham has one of the largest conservation areas in Surrey, covering most of the historic town centre, and a number of the Georgian frontages are listed in their own right. Where any of that applies to a property, permitted development cannot be assumed, and on a listed building even internal alterations can need consent. We establish which of these apply to your address at the start, because it can change the structural solution as well as the paperwork.
What are the most common findings on an older property?
Damp related issues, roof covering and flashing wear, movement historic enough to be stable, and previous alterations carried out without adequate structural support are all frequent findings on period stock.
Is a mortgage valuation the same as a survey?
No. A mortgage valuation is carried out for the lender to confirm the property is adequate security for the loan. It is not a condition survey and it is not commissioned on your behalf, even where you pay for it.
Does the ground in Farnham affect the foundation design?
It can. Across Farnham the underlying ground is commonly Folkestone Formation greensand with river terrace deposits along the Wey valley, and that has a bearing on foundation depth, on how a new bearing is detailed, and on how close to mature trees a foundation can sensibly go. That is a general description of the area rather than a statement about any particular plot, so where foundations are involved we design against what an investigation on the site actually shows.
Can a survey find problems that are hidden behind finishes?
Only to the extent they show. A surveyor reports on what is reasonably accessible and visible, and will say where something could not be inspected and what would be needed to investigate it further.
Nearby and related
More Around Farnham
Property Surveys near Farnham
Our other services in Farnham
Talk it through first
Property Surveys in Farnham
Tell us what you are trying to do with the space and we will tell you what it involves. We are based at First Floor, 30 Reading Road South, Fleet, and Farnham is well within our normal working area. Every project gets a written scope and price after we have seen the property.