See the defects before they're yours.
Negotiate with evidence, not guesswork.
Budget for repairs: no nasty surprises.
Skyline Property Surveys provides specialist commercial building surveys across Scarborough and the wider Yorkshire coast. As Chartered Members of CABE, and an RICS regulated firm, every survey is carried out to the highest professional standards.
We'll provide the full picture of a building's condition, so you can buy, lease or invest with confidence.
The building's problems become your problems
Here's the bit nobody mentions at the viewing.
​
Sign most commercial leases, and the tired roof, blocked gutters and cracked render stop being the landlord's headache the moment the ink dries. Buy the building outright, and every defect the last owner lived with becomes yours.
​
Either way, the cost of not knowing lands on you (usually at the worst possible time!)
A commercial property survey means you know first, while you can still do something about it.
What is a commercial building survey?
A commercial building survey is a detailed, top-to-bottom inspection of a commercial property's structure and condition - the most thorough survey you can commission.
We inspect the walls, roof, floors, windows, drainage, and grounds, plus roof spaces and the visible condition of the services where we can safely access them.
​
You get a written report that explains what we found, what's causing it, how urgent it is, and what to do about it. Plain English. Clear photos. No waffle.
What does a commercial property survey include?
-
Research before we even arrive: flooding history, mining, ground conditions, radon and planning matters that could affect the property.
-
A detailed inspection of the whole building: structure, roof, walls, floors, windows and grounds.
-
Drone roof inspection where appropriate: a proper look at roofs and high-level areas without the cost of scaffolding.
-
Modern kit, used properly: thermal imaging and moisture readings to find the damp you can't see, not just the damp you can.
-
Findings written for your building: every defect described individually, with its cause and its fix. No copy-and-paste comments.
-
Clear photography for every key finding.
-
Honest recommendations: if something needs a specialist's eyes, we say so up front, not on page forty.
​
The inspection is non-destructive (we don't open up the structure). If any area can't be safely inspected, we tell you plainly rather than glossing over it.
Over 1,000 photos of one roof. Here's why.
During one commercial roof survey, I took more than 1,000 photographs of a single building.
​
Because a photo where the shadow hides the inside of the gutter is useless, in our opinion, it's not a job that's been properly completed. Nobody can act on an unclear image.
​
Every image in a Skyline report has to earn its place. You can see the fixings. The rust. The gap between the gutters. That's the difference between a set of photos and a survey.
Buying? Get a pre-acquisition survey first
A pre-acquisition survey is simply a commercial survey carried out before you commit to buying - and it's the smartest money you'll spend on the deal.
​
Tailored to your purchase, it can cover:
​
-
The structural condition and overall soundness of the building.
-
What needs fixing now versus what can wait.
-
Repair and refurbishment liabilities, with an idea of likely costs.
-
Anything that could affect value, lettability or your plans for the building.
​
Armed with that, you can budget accurately, renegotiate the price, or walk away before it costs you.
Signing a lease? Read this first
Most commercial leases make you responsible for repairs, including problems that existed long before you arrived!
Some even require you to hand the building back in better condition than you found it.
​
A survey before you sign protects you.
​
Our reports are written so they can double as a schedule of condition - a record of the building's true state on day one, attached to your lease.
That single step can save a tenant many thousands of pounds when the lease ends.
​
Not sure which you need? Contact us, and we'll talk it through honestly.
Case study: a charity's first permanent home
When Scarborough charity Dads Behaving Madly got close to securing their first permanent HQ - a late Victorian corner building in a conservation area - they asked Skyline Property Surveys to survey it before they committed.
​
The building had history: three separate properties knocked into one over the years, solid brick walls that need to breathe, and a slate roof with no membrane beneath. Our survey flagged a loose slate hanging over the public pavement, fire-hazard polystyrene ceiling tiles, and exactly which specialists to bring in before any work started.
​
Nothing unusual for a building of that age, but every one of those findings is something a tenant needs to know before signing, not after. And because the report doubles as a schedule of condition, it protects the charity's limited funds for years to come.
​
"Richard was absolutely fantastic from start to finish. He conducted an incredibly thorough and detailed survey, and then took the time to explain everything to us clearly. It was very obvious throughout the entire process that he had our charity's best interests at the forefront of his work.".
— Graham, Dads Behaving Madly
Commercial property we survey
-
Offices: from single suites to whole buildings
-
Retail units: high-street shops and town-centre premises
-
Mixed-use properties: flats or offices above commercial units
-
Leisure and hospitality: pubs, restaurants, guest houses and hotels
-
Industrial and larger sites: including full drone roof inspections across extensive roof areas
-
Charity and community premises: including older and conservation-area buildings
Why choose Skyline Property Surveys for a commercial property survey?
When you instruct Skyline, you deal directly with me (Ricky). I take the photographs, I analyse every image, and I write every word of the report myself.
​
✓ RICS-regulated with Chartered membership of CABE and CIOB.
​
✓ Reports built around your deal - a buyer, a tenant and an investor need different things from the same building
​
✓ Detail you can act on. Every finding explained, photographed and prioritised
​
✓ Local knowledge — Scarborough, the Yorkshire coast, and the buildings that come with them, from Victorian solid-wall shopfronts to modern industrial units
Commercial Property Survey
Frequently Asked Questions
If you have any other questions, please don't hesitate to contact us.
Areas We Cover
We carry out commercial property surveys across:
​
-
Yorkshire
-
Northumberland
-
Tyne and Wear
-
County Durham
-
Sunderland
-
Scarborough
-
Driffield
-
Filey
-
Bridlington
​
If you are unsure whether we cover your area, please get in touch.
Need a Different Survey?
Skyline Property Surveys offer a range of different surveys, including level 1, 2 or 3 home buyers surveys, which include a traditional or heritage property survey. If you are moving into a new home, then a snagging survey would be ideal for you. Additionally, for landlords renting properties, we have buy-to-let surveys and damp & mould surveys to protect both you and your tenants.
Last but not least, one of our most popular services is our drone roof survey. For this, we use drones to capture high-quality images of your roof to inspect it in great detail