Architect’s Home Visit & Appraisal
Early architectural advice to help you understand what is feasible, realistic and worth exploring before design work begins.
If you are planning a renovation, extension, retrofit or interiors project, the first question is often not what it should look like, but what kind of project it is, what you can afford and where to start.
The Architect’s Home Visit & Appraisal, or AHVA, is Studio CMA’s first paid project-definition stage. We visit your home, discuss your priorities and prepare a written appraisal to clarify what is possible, what is realistic and which options are most worth exploring.
If you are looking for an architect home visit in London before committing to design work, the AHVA gives you early professional advice based on your home, your budget and the way you want to live.
Why start with the AHVA?
The AHVA helps you make better early decisions before you commit to design work, builders’ quotes or a larger professional service.
Clarify the real project
Is this mainly about more space, better layout, comfort, retrofit, interiors, phasing or budget? The AHVA helps define the project before design begins.
Compare the main routes
The answer may be an extension, a re-plan, a retrofit strategy, an interiors-led project, further investigation or a phased approach. The AHVA helps you compare the options before committing too early.
Leave with a clearer next step
The report gives you a practical framework for the next conversation. It may recommend a preferred direction, but it does not force the project into a fixed answer before the design process has properly begun.
Test ambition against budget
We help you understand whether the budget needs to shape the brief, whether the brief points to a larger investment, or whether the work should be phased over time.
Understand early risks
Planning, conservation, construction, cost and technical issues are easier to manage when they are seen early.
Who it’s for
The AHVA is for London homeowners with a serious project in mind, but without a fully defined scope.
It is especially useful if you are considering a renovation, extension, loft conversion, retrofit, interiors-led project or phased improvement to a period or existing home.
It is also useful if you are not yet sure whether you need Full Architectural Service, retrofit guidance and strategy, Architectural Interiors support, further surveys or a more focused first phase.
What is included
Every AHVA includes the same core process: a Discovery Call, a home visit, a written appraisal and a follow-up meeting.
The content of the report is tailored to the home, the brief and the decisions that need to be made.
Discovery Call
A short online call to understand your home, your priorities, your budget, your timeframe and your location.
This helps us confirm whether Studio CMA is likely to be a good fit and whether the AHVA is the right first paid step.
Architect’s Home Visit
A focused visit to walk through the house with you.
We discuss what is working, what is not, what you are hoping to change and what constraints or opportunities may shape the project.
This is where we begin to understand the relationship between space, light, comfort, budget, energy use, planning context, interiors and daily life.
Appraisal Report
After the visit, we prepare a written appraisal that sets out the brief, key observations, early feasibility considerations, possible routes and recommended next steps.
Your report will usually cover:
your project brief and priorities;
key opportunities, constraints and risks;
early feasibility and budget observations;
possible routes or phasing options;
recommended next steps.
Where useful, it may also include:
strategic diagrams or marked-up ideas;
planning or conservation notes;
retrofit, layout or interiors observations;
early cost forecast.
Follow-up meeting
We meet online to talk through the report, answer questions and discuss the possible next route.
The report is yours to keep. It gives you a clearer brief, early feasibility advice and options appraisal that can support the next stage, whether you continue with Studio CMA or take the information elsewhere.
How it fits into the bigger process
The AHVA sits between your first conversation with Studio CMA and the next professional route.
1. Book a Discovery Call
We discuss your home, your priorities and whether Studio CMA is likely to be the right fit.
2. Complete the Architect’s Home Visit & Appraisal
We visit the property, discuss the brief, review the main constraints and prepare your appraisal report.
3. Choose the right next route
You may move into Full Architectural Service, retrofit guidance and strategy, Architectural Interiors support, further investigation, a phased plan or a more focused next step.
The point is not to rush into drawings. The point is to understand the project well enough to make the next decision properly.
A clearer framework for the project
“The AHVA has been invaluable in helping us move from a broad ambition towards a clearer understanding of what might represent the most sensible balance between comfort, performance, character and investment.”
Pricing
The AHVA is a fixed-fee service, tailored to the size, complexity and location of your project.
The fee is agreed after your Discovery Call, once we understand enough about your home, your priorities and the likely scope.
Prices start from £2,250 + VAT.
The report is yours to keep. It gives you a clearer brief, early feasibility advice and, where appropriate, an early cost forecast that can support the next stage, whether you continue with Studio CMA or take the information elsewhere.
For wider context on how architectural services are typically structured, you may also find our guide to architects’ fees useful.
What to prepare
Before the visit, it is useful to gather:
any existing plans or surveys;
photos of problem areas;
a short wish-list and must-haves;
an indicative budget range;
any timing constraints;
any planning history, if available;
energy, comfort or retrofit concerns, where relevant.
You do not need to have everything resolved before we visit. The point of the AHVA is to help bring structure to the questions.
Start with a Discovery Call
Step 1: Book a Discovery Call
A short online call to understand your project and confirm whether the AHVA is the right starting point.
Step 2: Complete your Architect’s Home Visit & Appraisal
We visit your home, discuss your brief, review the main opportunities and constraints, and prepare your written appraisal.
Step 3: Decide the right route forward
You may move into Full Architectural Service, retrofit guidance and strategy, Architectural Interiors support, further investigation, a phased plan or a more focused next step.
Or explore our full range of services before you get in touch.
Frequently Asked Questions About The AHVA
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It includes feasibility thinking, but it goes further.
A conventional feasibility study often asks whether something can be done. The AHVA also asks what is sensible, what is realistic for your budget, what options are worth exploring, and what route should follow.
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Usually, yes.
For larger renovations, extensions and reconfigurations, we need to understand the home, the brief, the budget and the likely scope before confirming the next-stage service and fee.
The AHVA gives both you and Studio CMA a clearer basis for that decision.
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In most cases, start with AHVA if the project direction, budget or scope is still unclear.
Retrofit Strategy is more suitable once comfort, energy performance and building fabric are clearly the main priority, and there is enough information to assess the building in more technical detail.
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Yes.
Many homeowners come to us thinking they need more space. Sometimes an extension is the right answer. Sometimes the better first move is to rework the layout, improve comfort, phase the work or focus on interiors and storage.
The AHVA helps test that before you commit to design work.
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You may receive strategic diagrams or marked-up ideas where useful, but AHVA is not a full design stage.
Its purpose is to define the project, explore options and clarify the next route before detailed design begins.
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Typically 1 to 2 hours, depending on property size and scope.
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Yes. In most cases, the AHVA includes an early-stage cost forecast to help test whether the brief, scope and budget are broadly aligned before design work goes too far.
This is not a tender price or a detailed cost plan. It is a pre-design forecast based on the approximate areas involved, the type of work being considered, the likely construction systems and the broad level of retrofit or upgrade work required.
Where appropriate, we use specialist cost-planning software to make this more structured than a simple best guess or comparison with older projects. It gives you a more useful basis for deciding whether to proceed, adjust the brief, phase the work or explore a different route.
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After the follow-up meeting, we will discuss the most suitable next route.
This may be Full Architectural Service, retrofit guidance and strategy, Architectural Interiors support, further investigation, a phased roadmap or a decision to pause and rethink the scope.