Damage to property and buildings

Notwithstanding the substantial number of properties that suffered as a result of the recent floods, the most common building disaster in Australia is fire, so it is important to be prepared. Luckily we have only had one earthquake in recent history and although the chances of these occurrences are low, the devastation they can do has been clearly seen in Christchurch.Napier & Blakeley’s property reinstatement cost assessments determine the amount a property needs to be insured for to cover the possibility of damage or complete destruction from a disaster. This should include the demolition of the remaining component of the property followed by the reconstruction and all associated fees, such as design, management and permit fees.

In conjunction with recent meteorological events construction markets nationally have gone through significant changes in cost in recent years. A number of years ago costs increased significantly and in some markets in more recent times costs have gone backwards. So it is now more important than ever to accurately update insurable costs.

Fire or disaster can have a direct impact on business operations within a building and many building owners do not adequately factor items such as loss of profits or business interruption into the building insurance equation, leaving themselves under insured.

Over insurance can also be detrimental to business performance. Insuring a property for more than its true worth provides no tangible benefit and may increase the building’s outgoings unnecessarily.

Our reports ensure that you are insured for the right amount and the assessments we provide take many factors into account in determining the cost of reinstating property.  Our quantity surveyors are experts in determining the true demolition and reconstruction costs of a property.

Valuers value, architects design and builders build, but none are real cost experts.

A qualified quantity surveyor is the only qualified construction cost professional capable of determining construction costs of buildings.

Related Topic on Napier & Blakeley Blog  
Property Depreciation and Natural Disasters

Contact

If you want further information on Property Reinstatement Cost Assessments, or any other Napier & Blakeley services please contact any of our offices below:

Melbourne - Craig Smith                   
03 9915 6300                           
csmith@napierblakeley.com 

Sydney - Peter Hammond                
02 9299 1899                    
phammond@napierblakeley.com 

Brisbane - Paul Cosker                     
07 3221 8255                           
pcosker@napierblakeley.com

Napier & Blakeley services: 

• Technical Due Diligence
• Capital Expenditure Planning
• Quantity Surveying
• Strategic Asset Management
• Building & Sustainability Consulting
• Property Depreciation

Summer time is a great time to take stock of your business and a great time to think about and diarise some property housekeeping issues that quite often get overlooked in the bustle of normal day to day business.

However if you consider this now, you can plan to carry out some crucial housekeeping duties in January when business is traditionally quieter.

Some of the not so sexy but absolutely essential items to consider to maximise your return and minimise your cost and risk are as follows:

Property Replacement Insurance: given the sizeable increases in construction costs in recent times, have you considered whether your properties are correctly insured? Do you know what you are insuring: base building and / or fit out?

Capital Expenditure Planning: what items have you planned over the next calendar year? How will they be managed?

Maintenance: are your maintenance contracts up to date and appropriate? Are there any routine maintenance items that can be efficiently attended to in this quiet time?

Tax and asset updates: Is your base schedule correct? Have you carried out any upgrade works during the financial year to date for which you can claim either a tax write off or a future tax deduction?

Condition Audits: Do you need to create or update any condition surveys of your tenanted properties?

Tenancy Make Good: Do you have a schedule of lease expiries that will occur during the year? Are there any “repairing and make good” obligations that need to be planned with the tenant?

N&B can assist with all of the above to help you really enjoy your summer holiday.