Hcond - condition survey software

5 Survey Objectives

Objectives

It is critical to set objectives before launching into a stock condition survey. Many RSLs have spent £,000s only to find that the survey does not tell them what they need to know. The data may be difficult to manipulate, impossible to keep updated and in many instances is incorrect. It is possible that many of these problems could have been avoided if clear objectives were set and understood from the start.

Due to the time and financial involvement associated with undertaking the survey it is important to know from the outset what it is expected to achieve.
In order to set the objectives it is imperative that all those who will ultimately require outputs from the survey are included at an early stage. The following points will therefore need to be considered:

Identify who requires information and in what format
Be realistic about what level of information is required from the survey and distinguish this from what is desirable. The more information that is collected the more time consuming and costly the process and the more opportunity there is for error. Furthermore the data may be difficult to keep up to date.
Providing more detailed information could lead to greater risk of error and little gain.
Identify how the results are to be used.

A good starting point is to determine:

WHAT needs to be done?
WHEN does it need to be done?
HOW MUCH will it cost

In addition it may be worth considering:

Property Details
Property Attributes
Decent Homes
Improvement attributes
Other facilities

Avoid the temptation to collect information for the sake of it. Most condition surveys are too complex. Have a look at the Pitfalls section below to find out some of the common problems - most of which only come to light some months after the survey is complete.