RICS Level 2 Survey in B29

A RICS Level 2 survey is the right choice for most properties in B29. Buying a Victorian terrace in Stirchley, an Edwardian semi in Selly Oak, or a mid-century home in Cotteridge - our chartered surveyors carry out a thorough visual inspection and rate every element using the RICS three-point condition scale.

Our inspection covers the following areas of every B29 property we survey:

• Roof covering, chimney stacks, and guttering - critically important in B29's older terraces where chimney stacks are often shared and can crack
• External walls, pointing, and render condition
• Dampness in all accessible walls, floors, and ceilings using calibrated damp meters
• Timber condition, including checking for wet rot and dry rot in older floor structures
• Roof space inspection (where accessible) for structural timbers and insulation
• All internal floors, walls, and ceilings for cracking and movement
• Windows, external doors, and woodwork condition
• Drainage and drains - particularly relevant for B29 properties near Bourne Brook
• Gas and electrical installation (visual inspection, not testing)
• Back additions and flat roof sections common on B29 terraces

Each element receives a condition rating: green (satisfactory), amber (requires attention or monitoring), or red (urgent repair required). Our report includes a clear market valuation, an insurance reinstatement figure, and a priority list of any issues that should be investigated further before you exchange contracts.

After inspecting hundreds of B29 properties, our surveyors see the same defects appearing regularly. Knowing what to look for in advance means we check the right areas in detail rather than treating every property identically.

In B29's Victorian terraces, the most frequent findings are:

• Rising damp in ground floor front rooms - particularly where solid floors meet the original brick party walls without an adequate damp proof course
• Defective chimney stacks - many B29 terraces have four or five chimney pots, and the stacks above the roofline crack over decades of thermal movement, allowing water ingress
• Aging or missing lead flashings at roof junctions - common where lean-to extensions meet the original back wall of Victorian terraces
• Timber decay in ground-floor suspended floors - especially in properties that have had central heating removed or installed without adequate subfloor ventilation
• Cracked or bulging rear extension flat roofs - the low-pitch flat roofs added to many B29 terraces in the 1960s and 1970s are now past their useful life
• Single-skin brick boundary walls leaning away from the property - a very common amber-rated finding in B29 that most buyers have not noticed
• Original steel-framed windows where the frames have corroded and the metal has expanded, cracking surrounding masonry
• Inadequate electrical consumer units - original fuse boxes without residual current devices are flagged on every survey of pre-1970s B29 stock

In Bournville's arts-and-crafts stock, our surveyors pay particular attention to the condition of timber-framed upper sections, leadwork on decorative dormers, and the condition of original clay roof tiles which, while attractive, can become brittle and slip. The larger plot sizes in Bournville also mean we check mature tree proximity and root encroachment, which creates additional subsidence risk on clay soil.

B29 spans four distinct communities, each with its own property character and buyer profile. Selly Oak in the north of the postcode attracts buyers working at or connected with the University of Birmingham and Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham, both major employers within the B29 boundary. The streets around the university - Tiverton Road, Bunbury Road, and Bristol Road South - contain a high proportion of post-Edwardian terraces that have seen significant change of use between student accommodation and family homes.

Bournville is one of the UK's most unusual residential areas. Developed from 1895 by Richard Cadbury following the relocation of the Cadbury chocolate factory, the Bournville Village Trust still owns and manages a significant proportion of properties in the area. Trust properties cannot be purchased through the open market and carry covenants restricting their use. The open-market properties in Bournville include large semi-detached homes from the 1900s-1930s period, typically well-maintained but carrying the arts-and-crafts construction features that require specific survey attention.

Stirchley is currently one of Birmingham's most talked-about regeneration areas. Independent businesses have transformed the high street, and demand for the Victorian terraces on the side streets has pushed prices up significantly. Many Stirchley terraces have been extended with single-storey rear additions or loft conversions - our surveyors check both the original structure and the extension separately, verifying that any additions were built to an adequate standard and, where relevant, have building regulation approval.

Cotteridge sits at the southern edge of B29 and carries more interwar stock than the rest of the postcode - substantial bay-fronted semis from the 1920s and 1930s alongside some 1950s and 1960s properties. The interwar housing in Cotteridge is generally solid construction, but cavity wall insulation installed retrospectively in some of these properties can cause damp bridging, and our surveyors check for this specifically when external records indicate insulation has been added.