Whether you are a Landlord or a tenant and are considering either refurbishing or fitting out commercial offices to meet your business requirements for now and in the future, the investment associated with either buying the freehold or leasehold of a commercial property is substantial.
It is therefore vitally important to ensure you procure the right building that meets your business needs.
A building appraisal should not be confused with a building survey, as they both cover very different aspects of the building.
A building survey inspects the structural envelope of the building which includes the structural walls, floors and roof, with the aim of identifying any defects.
This is normally done by way of a visual inspection only and does not require the opening up of floor and ceiling voids.
So in other words the building survey is specific to the building structure.
However the aim of a building appraisal is to look at the available internal office space and environment and carefully consider whether the building will meet your business requirements for now and in the future.
You may have decided already on the right geographic area for your new office based upon the demographics of your staff and you have shortlisted two or three buildings based upon your site visits.
The aim of the building appraisal is to identify the advantages and disadvantages with each building and to assist you in making an informed decision as to which office building is going to accommodate your requirements best.
The building appraisal would typical consider the following key elements:-

1. Measure the efficiency of the building footprints in terms of good useable office space.
   
2. Identify building limitations and shortfalls.
   
3. Cost of fitting whether it is an office refurbishment or fitting out project.
   
4. Summary of the total project cost which should include building purchase price or asking rent, service charge and rates.
   This is then expressed as a cost per Ft2 and M2.
   
5. Is the building likely to contain hazardous materials that need to be taken account of in the overall project refurbishment cost.
   
6. A programme of works setting out how long it will take to carry out and complete the proposed scope of works.
   
7. What additional works would be required to the building to make it compliant with the current Disability & Discrimination Act?
8. Visual inspection of the building services taking into consideration the suitability of installed systems, the remaining useful life expectancy of the central plant and cost associated with adding or altering as required.
   
9. What works need to be done to the existing building services to make them compliant with statutory requirements?
10. Will the building utilities meet the demand of your business requirements?
11. What is the likely variance in running costs of the building services between the office building options?
12. Is there sufficient provision of male and female toilets to serve the total number of employees?
13. Provision for car parking for both visitors and employees.
    

Aesthetically one building may look similar to another, however don't be deceived that the cost to either refurbish or fit out will be the same.
A very important cost factor to any office project is the mechanical and electrical services.
With various mechanical systems being installed in office buildings it should be noted that they all provide different environment conditions and levels of flexibility to suit either open plan or cellular office space.
Typically as much as 40% of the total cost to refurbish or fit out your office space could be spent on the mechanical and electrical services which are concealed in the ceiling and floor voids.
Depending on the extent of cellular space you wish to create for new offices, meeting rooms etc could see this percentage increase.
The cost of carrying out a building appraisal is minimal compared to procuring office space that either does not match your requirements or hides substantial unforeseen building costs.
In summary a building appraisal document is essential to assist you in making the right decision when considering your refurbishment or fitting out project which should not be overlooked by Tenants or Landlords.