Why are there no surveyor's in Scotland?

[SuperJohnG]

One thing I find with the ridiculously priced structural warranty's is that a massive proportion of the cost, in some cases 70% is that of the inspection fees. Which is largely because i am in Scotland and there seems to be absolutely no surveyors here. The closest is the Lake district and that drives the cost. 

 

In some cases very ridiculously high for those in the Highlands. 

 

Why is that there are no 'building surveyors' doing this freelance work in Scotland? is it that they are all employed by the council instead? 

 

Seems so daft.  But an amazing opportunity for someone to generate lost of cash who lives North of the border who wants the work and can price the survey fees reasonably. 

 

 

[nod]

I went for a professional certificate this time round 

Half the price CMLC

They have a surveyor visiting tomorrow On his way up to Scotland 

 

 

[saveasteading]

I would think that the inspection is critical to the risk taken by the insurer, and is basically the only cost they have outside the office.

The surveyor will have huge insurance premiums to pay to protect themselves in case of a claim, plus their time of course.

So I can see why it is expensive.

 

Would I want to be a surveyor for insurers? No. It wouldn't be very satisfying, has a lot of admin, and a lot of risk in spotting and judging other peoples' mistakes.

So I can see why there is a shortage. 

[nod]

We spent 3k on our last warranty (Buildzone) 

The surveyor visited three times Over two years He spent less than 30 minutes over the three visits 

The last inspection He didn’t go up the stairs or Weald around the outside of the house 

 

They rarely pay out I’m expecting tomorrows to be another pointless exercise

 

But I’ll get my bit of paper at the end 😁

 

[Simplysimon]

5 hours ago, SuperJohnG said:

seems to be absolutely no surveyors here

seriously? who do you think does all the surveys for house sales? i think shepherds and  graham & sibbald, two of the biggest in the area, may argue the point.

[Thedreamer]

I used a surveyor for building inspections and one for carrying our valuations, both were based on Skye.

 

 

[saveasteading]

2 hours ago, Simplysimon said:

who do you think does all the surveys for house sales

Not necessarily the same people. There are so many exclusions on house reports that only very obvious stuff is seen.

Then they perhaps say that an SE should also be consulted.

I' guessing though, that the insurers have different criteria of experience and qualifications.

 

[SuperJohnG]

14 hours ago, nod said:

I went for a professional certificate this time round 

Half the price CMLC

 

I had a quote from the architects cert people..but they wanted £9k - which is £4k more than the lowest SW quote - also seemed madness. 

 

12 hours ago, Simplysimon said:

seriously? who do you think does all the surveys for house sales?

I shoudl have maybe ben more particular in that there seems to be no surevyor's doing SW inspections. I'd think @saveasteading might be right in that the criteria for the eprson might be different. But a building inspector for the council will be just as qualified as a SW surevyor - so maybe it's an issue in that all our building control is done by the LA. If only the SW companies would accept the LA building sign off then it woudl make life very easy, there is possibiliy an opportunity for councils here to make some extra cash.   

11 hours ago, Thedreamer said:

I used a surveyor for building inspections and one for carrying our valuations, both were based on Skye.

 

 

was this for LA inspections or for a structural warranty?

[nod]

2 minutes ago, SuperJohnG said:

 

I had a quote from the architects cert people..but they wanted £9k - which is £4k more than the lowest SW quote - also seemed madness. 

 

I shoudl have maybe ben more particular in that there seems to be no surevyor's doing SW inspections. I'd think @saveasteading might be right in that the criteria for the eprson might be different. But a building inspector for the council will be just as qualified as a SW surevyor - so maybe it's an issue in that all our building control is done by the LA. If only the SW companies would accept the LA building sign off then it woudl make life very easy, there is possibiliy an opportunity for councils here to make some extra cash.   

was this for LA inspections or for a structural warranty?

We are paying £1500 on 416m2

£500 after the first visit 

[saveasteading]

2 hours ago, SuperJohnG said:

But a building inspector for the council will be just as qualified as a SW surveyor

There are multiple routes to being a Chartered Surveyor, (Auctioneer or Land manager may be the at the extremes away from construction knowledge, and then there are estate agents.)  ) let alone any technician levels.

I would be surprised if they were equally qualified and able in these regards.

[Simplysimon]

well graham and sibbald do project monitoring

[SuperJohnG]

1 hour ago, Simplysimon said:

well graham and sibbald do project monitoring

Seems like more developers focused. My point being that you do t get to select them either,m appointed by the SW company. 

[Thedreamer]

On 09/06/2022 at 09:29, SuperJohnG said:

On 08/06/2022 at 21:44, Thedreamer said:

I used a surveyor for building inspections and one for carrying our valuations, both were based on Skye.

 

 

was this for LA inspections or for a structural warranty?

 

One produced a certificate for my lender 'as the project manager' and the other did a valuations when I needed a draw down.

[markharro]

I am considering what I need too. I have enquired with my architect on whether he can provide a certificate but he has asked me what I need and I dont know what to tell him,. I know what I need the cert to provide me and that is access to mainstream lenders to re-mortgage after the build is over. I saw a ref on another thread on the form to "My build was inspected by an architect whom issued architects certificates PCCs which are accepted by the main lenders. "  my architect says he doesnt know what PCC stands for. Can anyone assist and for the avoidance of doubt I am in Scotland? thanks

[TonyT]

https://www.hardies.co.uk/news-blog/

[Roger440]

On 08/06/2022 at 15:49, SuperJohnG said:

 

 

Seems so daft.  But an amazing opportunity for someone to generate lost of cash who lives North of the border who wants the work and can price the survey fees reasonably. 

 

 

 

Hmmm. Not directly on topic, but if the charge resonable fees, they wont generate lots of cash.