Advice needed - Party Wall Surveyor fees - Loft Conversion

J_K_J

Hello,
Just a quick overview of the situation:
1. Currently wanting to do a loft conversion on our house.
2. Planning Permission has been approved
3. Party Wall notice was served to our neighbour - which they have dissented to.

I completely understand that our neighbour has every right to dispute this and that i would have to pay for a surveyor of their choice. My only issue is the cost of the Surveyor that they have appointed. Their Surveyor is quoting £350 + VAT per hour for their service as well as £150 + VAT per hour for the service of a junior Surveyor. I'm not even sure as to how many hours the job will be or what the final cost will be; not to mention the £1000 that it will cost for our own Surveyor.

Having done some research, I can see that this price is extremely high and just wanted to know if there is anything that i can say to my neighbour or if there's anything that i can do in order to reduce the cost.

E.g.
Is it worth approaching their Surveyor to find out if they could act for both of us to maybe lessen the cost?
As their Surveyor is charging per hour, how many hours work can we expect them to charge for? etc.

Thanks in advance.

vivster

You can share a surveyor - the agreed surveyor- which will be cheaper for you. We did this and the cost was about £1000. Lots of firms do it for a fixed fee.

If they don't want to do this though I believe they are within their rights to appoint whoever they like. Maybe go and speak to them and see if they would be amenable to an agreed surveyor?

My sympathies though. It's a flawed piece of legislation that gives neighbours an inflated sense of their rights.

G_M

I don't believe you can share the surveyor unless your neighbour agrees. They have the right

a) to use whichever surveyor they choose (at whatever cost) and
b) to a use a surveyor independant of you

I think the best approach is tea & cake. Try to reach a compromise with the neighbour either by suggesting their surveyor is cripplingly expensive and could they choose another, or by suggesting sharing, whilst at the same time making clear you are not trying to undermine their rights or protections in any way.

As for number of hours: who knows? Depends

* how complex the plans are
* how thorough your own plans are (ie if they are vague/unclear the surveyor will spend time seeking clarification)
* how many site visits are required
etc

It could be quite a few hours.......