Assess the proposed surveyor, understand the agreed-surveyor route, ask about fees and recognise warning signs.
Before appointing a surveyor, check whether the paperwork makes you personally liable for fees that are not awarded. A promise that “your neighbour pays” is not enough.
Read article →Choose on evidence: the notice package, response to enquiries, relevant experience, reputation, approach to awards and intended fees.
Read article →Party Wall Awards vary enormously in length and detail. Ask a proposed surveyor to explain their approach before you appoint them.
Read article →“The building owner pays” is not a good enough answer. Ask what the surveyor expects the matter to cost before appointing them.
Read article →A practical checklist for deciding whether a proposed surveyor is someone you should trust with the statutory process.
Read article →Use these short scenarios to test whether you can spot the difference between useful professional behaviour and warning signs.
Read article →Good party wall advice should leave you better informed, not simply more frightened.
Read article →The important question is not how dramatic the proposed work looks. It is whether the proposed surveyor has given you enough confidence to trust them to act competently and impartially for both owners.
Read article →Choosing two surveyors creates a third-surveyor mechanism, but the existence of that mechanism should not automatically be treated as an extra layer of protection for the adjoining owner.
Read article →A statutory appointment is not the same as employing an ordinary consultant whom you can simply replace if you become dissatisfied.
Read article →Reviews are not proof of competence, but they are one piece of evidence available to an adjoining owner deciding whether to trust a proposed surveyor.
Read article →The common statement that “the building owner always pays” is too simple and can give an adjoining owner a false sense that every decision is cost-free.
Read article →Appointing the most combative person is not the same as appointing the person most likely to protect you.
Read article →The fact that the building owner commonly pays reasonable adjoining-owner surveyor costs does not make price irrelevant.
Read article →