Professional advice is never cheap and there is some truth to the old adage that ‘you get what you pay for’. That said, there are some tips to ensuring that you get a good service and feel that you’ve had good value for money when commissioning a report or other service –
- check that your surveyor is a member of the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors), CABE (Chartered Association of Building Engineers) , IOB (Institute of Builders) or other recognized professional body.
- make sure that they are experienced in the area of service that you need.
- talk to the surveyor who will be carrying out the work. This is important. It will give you the best feel for whether the job will be done as you want and whether the surveyor is the person you want to work for you.
- surveyors tend to work from pre-set price guides for survey work. Often, these feescales are linked to the purchase price of the property – you’d expect prices to start from £400 upwards for a Homebuyer reports and £500/600 upwards for a Building Survey.
- Do speak to your surveyor, though. At Spencer Bray, we always like to discuss your property and your plans with you before quoting so that we can ensure the service we provide will be appropriate. It seems to work judging by the very positive feedback we receive.