Real Life Architecture
SAME DAY Online Consultation Before Buying a House Anywhere in the UK
Booked the second viewing for this afternoon? Negotiating an offer today? This is the urgent version of my standard pre-purchase consultation, available the same working day, subject to availability.
A 30-minute Zoom call with me (Níall, an architect with 17+ years' experience). Send me the address and a few photos when you book, and I'll come on the call ready to talk through:
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What I'd worry about if I were buying this property
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Whether your plans for it are realistic on your budget and timescale
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Likely planning and building regulations issues
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What questions to ask the seller or your surveyor
Available Monday to Friday, 09:30 – 17:00 only, subject to availability.
This is a non-refundable urgent slot. Once booked, the fee is not refundable, including if you need to cancel or reschedule. For non-urgent enquiries, the standard £150 consultation offers more flexibility on timing and a 48-hour cancellation window.
No design drawings or written reports are produced — the deliverable is the call itself, plus a short summary email afterwards.
Not ready to book yet?
Download my free guide for UK home buyers — 20 pages on how to research a property's planning history, listed status, conservation area restrictions, and what to ask a RICS surveyor. It's free.
30 min
225 British pounds
Online Consultations with Real Life Architecture are available if...
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The property is in the UK.
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The property is residential, such as a single house or flat.
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You don't intend to create multiple properties, subdivisions, HMO's
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There isn't already an architect involved.
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Consultations are private and confidential. Videos featuring properties from earlier consultations were made with the client's approval. If you don't want your property to feature in a video that's totally ok, I will always ask and it won't affect the consultation if you say no.
Follow this link for the full Terms & Conditions
What can you expect from the online consultation
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The purpose of the consultation is to establish whether the project is feasible and affordable within your budget.
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Identify alternative ideas that might achieve a better result for you.
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Refine your ideas and requirements, to make the best use of your property and budget.
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Advise on pitfalls to avoid during the planning application process.
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Identify requirements of the building regulations relevant to your project.
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Help you understand how to find the right local architect for your project.
The consultation is done online, via a zoom call. Once the consultation is booked I will ask you to email me with specific information about the property. I will need photos, the full postal address and as much information as you can give me on your requirements, including your budget and timescales.
Please be aware I will not provide design services, drawings or specifications as part of the consultation.
I will write you a summary of the consultation afterwards so there is a record of our discussion. The summary email will come with a copy of my Project Guide document.
Check out this video I made, which takes a deep dive into the kind of advice I provide to my clients before they buy a home in the UK.
Popular Posts Advising UK Home Buyers
Frequently Asked Questions Before Buying a House, Same Day Consultation
What situations make a same-day architectural consultation worth the higher fee?
The most common situation is a deadline imposed by the seller — a 24 or 48-hour window to exchange, or pressure to commit before another buyer makes an offer. In a competitive market, waiting two or three days for a standard consultation slot can cost you the purchase. A same-day consultation is available for exactly these situations: when you need an architect's assessment urgently and cannot wait for a standard booking.
How quickly can I get a same-day consultation booked and how does it work?
Same-day slots are available Monday to Friday during office hours. Book using the calendar on this page — same-day availability is shown in real time. A limited number of same-day slots are available, so if you need one urgently, book as early in the day as possible. You will receive an automated email asking you to send the property address, photos, your budget, and any other relevant details. Reading that information in advance is how I can give you useful advice in 30 minutes.
Is the same-day consultation the same quality of service as a standard booking?
Yes — the same format, the same 30 minutes with me directly, the same written summary email afterwards. The higher fee reflects that same-day slots are held back specifically for urgent bookings and cannot be filled by standard appointments. You are paying for availability at short notice, not a reduced level of service.
I've already paid for a mortgage valuation — do I still need an architectural assessment before I exchange?
Yes. A mortgage valuation is not a survey and not an architectural assessment. It is a brief check carried out for the benefit of your lender to confirm the property is worth at least what you are paying for it. It will not tell you whether your planned alterations are feasible, whether planning permission is likely to be granted, or whether the property has any listed status or conservation area restrictions that would affect your plans.
What information should I send before a same-day call to make best use of the 30 minutes?
Send the full property address, the asking price, your approximate budget for the work, as many photos as you can find, and a brief description of what you want to do. Also send anything you have found in your own research: listing status, conservation area designation, any planning history you have spotted. If you have already had a building survey, send a copy of that too. The more detail I have before the call, the more useful those 30 minutes will be.
Can a same-day consultation help me negotiate the purchase price based on what the property needs?
It can inform your negotiating position, yes. If a consultation identifies significant planning constraints, structural risks, or costs that the asking price does not reflect, that gives you a factual basis to renegotiate before you commit. Many buyers use a pre-purchase architectural consultation not only to assess feasibility but to establish whether the asking price is realistic given what the property will cost to achieve what they want.