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Search: Independent in real estate
In an interview with the magazine ‘Nederland in Ontwikkeling’ (‘Holland in the making’) Search director Anne-Marie Rakhorst proudly mentions Hanzevast, Rodamco, AM, Bouwfonds, as well as institutional investors, real estate developers and scores of well-known private individuals. She is proud to be able to work for all of these clients. And soon it becomes clear that the client is central in everything her company does.
Search supports its clients in the field of building management, pre-purchase inspections (technical due diligence), safety management and technical risk management. The service package is extensive. Asbestos, soil and legionella investigations, supervision of decontamination projects, consultation in demolition, renovation or building projects, designing process management systems and (multimedia) employee training are only a few of the tasks which Search has been committed with for years. ‘We focus on the entire chain,’ Rakhorst explains. ‘Due to the fact that our service package is so extensive, we are able to offer project support from beginning to end.
Of course there are a number of vital subjects in which we are specialised, such as integrating environmental and safety issues into real estate projects.’ As a case in point she mentions a project in which the existing soil contamination is integrated into the building design in such a way that the decontamination costs are minimised. ‘Apart from that, we’re good at judging previous investigations, so-called second opinions. Here we try to connect bits and pieces from the past and make good use of these data. We deliberately don’t aim at trying to do it all over again, because often that’s just a waste of time and money. Moreover, by listening to our clients we understand quite well what’s going on in the circuits of the real estate market. We have a long-term strategy. That’s why we consciously choose to be quite straightforward and independent.
It’s increasingly obvious that not everyone is able to maintain a vision like that in the present market situation. Many parties, for instance, will carry out soil investigations, supervise decontamination projects, while at the same time owning a sister company which carries out the soil decontamination project. We don’t do that. We will supervise the implementation and we will take care that the problem is eliminated, but we don’t own any cranes or other equipment, so we’re not involved in the actual work. That’s how we can remain independent. This is what our clients value, together with our quality, flexibility and pragmatic approach. We’re proud of the fact that 80% of our new clients turn out to have been tipped by existing business relations.
If we consider the entire sequence of buying, developing, redeveloping, renovating or demolishing and managing real estate, everything starts for us with pre-purchase inspections. We carry out technical pre-purchase inspections for real estate agents, managers, dealers and developers in the field of environment, health and safety at work (HSW) and building. If buying represents the first stage, you could call demolishing or stripping a building the second stage. During this second stage we support decontamination, demolition renovation and building projects from the beginning to the end. The third stage could be called the managing or exploitation stage. During this phase you want to manage a building as efficiently as possible. No complaints and technically adequate maintenance. In this stage we support owners together with real estate managers by helping out with solving major technical problems. In this stage we also bring in our expertise on a project basis.
With respect to exploitation of real estate projects, we also regularly carry out fire inspections, draw up company emergency response plans, train people as company emergency response persons and learn people how to evacuate buildings. We do this, for example, for Rodamco. The result is a transparant, uniform and functioning system. Another benefit is that we do this work on a national scale. That’s a great advantage for clients like Rodamco. As Rodamco owns shopping centres all over the Netherlands, you notice that one official responds differently than the next. Because we work on a national scale, we can, if necessary, confront the authorities on this point: of course it’s not acceptable if an official in Rotterdam reacts differently to the facts than an official in Maastricht. Our approach also seems to be successful internationally. Every day we are confronted with new challenges in this area which we are happy to take up, together with our clients. Our goal certainly isn’t to become the largest engineering bureau in the world, but to support our clients as well as we can within our disciplines. Their success comes first, which is what it’s all about when you’re providing services.’
Search supports its clients in the field of building management, pre-purchase inspections (technical due diligence), safety management and technical risk management. The service package is extensive. Asbestos, soil and legionella investigations, supervision of decontamination projects, consultation in demolition, renovation or building projects, designing process management systems and (multimedia) employee training are only a few of the tasks which Search has been committed with for years. ‘We focus on the entire chain,’ Rakhorst explains. ‘Due to the fact that our service package is so extensive, we are able to offer project support from beginning to end.
Of course there are a number of vital subjects in which we are specialised, such as integrating environmental and safety issues into real estate projects.’ As a case in point she mentions a project in which the existing soil contamination is integrated into the building design in such a way that the decontamination costs are minimised. ‘Apart from that, we’re good at judging previous investigations, so-called second opinions. Here we try to connect bits and pieces from the past and make good use of these data. We deliberately don’t aim at trying to do it all over again, because often that’s just a waste of time and money. Moreover, by listening to our clients we understand quite well what’s going on in the circuits of the real estate market. We have a long-term strategy. That’s why we consciously choose to be quite straightforward and independent.
It’s increasingly obvious that not everyone is able to maintain a vision like that in the present market situation. Many parties, for instance, will carry out soil investigations, supervise decontamination projects, while at the same time owning a sister company which carries out the soil decontamination project. We don’t do that. We will supervise the implementation and we will take care that the problem is eliminated, but we don’t own any cranes or other equipment, so we’re not involved in the actual work. That’s how we can remain independent. This is what our clients value, together with our quality, flexibility and pragmatic approach. We’re proud of the fact that 80% of our new clients turn out to have been tipped by existing business relations.
From pre-purchase to fire safety inspection
If we consider the entire sequence of buying, developing, redeveloping, renovating or demolishing and managing real estate, everything starts for us with pre-purchase inspections. We carry out technical pre-purchase inspections for real estate agents, managers, dealers and developers in the field of environment, health and safety at work (HSW) and building. If buying represents the first stage, you could call demolishing or stripping a building the second stage. During this second stage we support decontamination, demolition renovation and building projects from the beginning to the end. The third stage could be called the managing or exploitation stage. During this phase you want to manage a building as efficiently as possible. No complaints and technically adequate maintenance. In this stage we support owners together with real estate managers by helping out with solving major technical problems. In this stage we also bring in our expertise on a project basis.
With respect to exploitation of real estate projects, we also regularly carry out fire inspections, draw up company emergency response plans, train people as company emergency response persons and learn people how to evacuate buildings. We do this, for example, for Rodamco. The result is a transparant, uniform and functioning system. Another benefit is that we do this work on a national scale. That’s a great advantage for clients like Rodamco. As Rodamco owns shopping centres all over the Netherlands, you notice that one official responds differently than the next. Because we work on a national scale, we can, if necessary, confront the authorities on this point: of course it’s not acceptable if an official in Rotterdam reacts differently to the facts than an official in Maastricht. Our approach also seems to be successful internationally. Every day we are confronted with new challenges in this area which we are happy to take up, together with our clients. Our goal certainly isn’t to become the largest engineering bureau in the world, but to support our clients as well as we can within our disciplines. Their success comes first, which is what it’s all about when you’re providing services.’
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