Allcott Associates

RICS Chartered Surveyors and Structural Engineers

Allcott Associates is a building consultancy operating as a RICS Regulated Firm, with a team made up of RICS Chartered Surveyors and Structural Engineers. The firm presents itself as independent of estate agencies and of financial or corporate institutions, a position it links to the impartiality of its advice. Its surveyors are chartered members of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, while its engineers hold chartered membership of the Institution of Structural Engineers (IStructE) or the Institution of Civil Engineers (ICE).

The practice is structured around residential surveying, with a separate commercial arm, Allcott Commercial, presented as a sister company.

Survey levels and report types

The core residential offer is organised by RICS survey levels and by the purpose of the instruction:

• RICS Level 3 Building Survey, described by the firm as the most comprehensive survey it offers.
• RICS Level 2 Homebuyer Survey, aimed at modern homes in good condition.
• RICS Vendor Surveys, intended to help sellers prepare a property for sale.
• Listed Building Surveys.
• Specific Defect Surveys, including a dedicated spray foam survey.
• Commercial Building Surveys.

The firm also provides RICS Valuations in several regulated contexts: Help to Buy, Shared Ownership and Right to Buy valuations.

Structural engineering in-house

A distinctive point in the company's presentation is that structural engineering is handled internally rather than referred out. The structural side covers structural engineering services, beam calculations, structural alterations, specific structural surveys, structural calculations for solar panel installation, and full structural surveys. Because the survey and engineering functions sit in the same team, the firm states that unusual findings can be assessed without directing clients to third parties for structural investigations.

What the reports contain

Allcott Associates describes its surveys as assessments of property condition and defects that include detailed technical and structural advice. Reports are written in plain language and illustrated with photographs throughout, and they incorporate associated repair costs, which the firm presents as useful material during price negotiations and for anticipating expenses after a move. The company also publishes sample building survey reports for a modern property, a period property, a homebuyer survey and a specific defect survey.

The firm argues that a lender's valuation report is not a survey, since it only establishes whether a property is adequate security for a loan and may be produced without a visit. It positions a full survey as the basis for an informed purchase decision and for judging how much to pay.

Local surveyors through a regional network

The practice states that it operates 15 offices across England and Wales, which allows it to assign a chartered surveyor with local knowledge of the property's area while drawing on the wider team's expertise. Specialist heritage surveyors form part of that team. The office locations listed are Birmingham, Bristol, Cambridge, Leamington Spa, Leeds, Liverpool, London, Manchester, Milton Keynes, Nottingham, Oxford, Reading, Sheffield and York.

Advice, support and other activity

Clients are offered one-to-one support, with the firm describing fast responses from the local surveyor to any queries arising from the report. It also maintains an advice section with news, blog posts and a guide to buying a house. The company runs the Allcott Foundation and publishes a careers section. Its registered office is in Radford Semele, Warwickshire, and the practice is constituted as a limited liability partnership in England and Wales.