Ewan Wyllie: Keep your property in good order or you'll pay the price

With Imogen, Abigail, Barney, Clodagh, Desmond, Eva, Frank, Gertrude and Henry all having visited our shores over the past three months, and forecasters predicting further storms in coming months, it is important to ensure your properties, whether residential or commercial, are prepared for the weather.

Buildings that are more at risk of storm damage are generally in a condition where backlog maintenance works are required or where areas of disrepair are evident. To ensure that your building is in good condition, there are various surveys that can be undertaken, such as a building condition survey and a planned preventative maintenance survey.

The condition survey appraises the condition of the property and highlights areas where repair works are required, while a planned Preventative Maintenance (PPM) schedule allows you to programme repair and maintenance works over a period of years to allow expenditure to be spread evenly over a period of time. These surveys should ideally be undertaken by a Chartered Building Surveyor.