How to Solve Building Disputes

building disputes

An introduction to Building Surveyors

If you have any problems at all that are building related please call us on our free phone 0800 298 5424. We deal with property problems, we carry out building surveys and structural surveys when you are looking to buy a property, and we also look at design and alterations to a property. We can also offer you valuations on your property.

Free phone 0800 298 5424

Find an appropriately qualified and experienced person to sort the problem out

They need to not only have experience of the problem that you have but also experience in resolving problems.

Who's best at resolving a building dispute?

We have been asked to deal with a dispute where both sides had appointed their own experts. Unfortunately in the building industry this can mean a great difference in the quality of the expert, particularly if no one has checked their qualifications and experience. This particular problem relates to a building project where the home owner and the builder have a dispute but have both appointed their own consultants however they have come up with very different answers as can often be the case.

One shared expert between the two disputing parties

In an expensive situation where each side has their own expert we are now being asked to comment in our independent surveyor's capacity. We feel the easiest way to have resolved this situation would have been to have originally have had one independent surveyor, which both sides pay an equal contribution towards, prior to them making a decision so this doesn't influence in any way the outcome.

Get the right Building Expert not the first person you find that knows a bit about building

Time and time again we find that both parties want their own expert consultant. We come across a whole range from architects to structural engineers to quantity surveyors that are carrying out this role. Sometimes they have the experience, often they don't. We would steer you towards using a building surveyor as they have a mixture of both hands on and technical understanding of the building from when it is purchased all the way through to maintenance cycles after. Their training involves working with an experienced surveyor for many years covering a range of surveying. This combination often means that they can solve a range of problems where an architect will perhaps focus on the design, a structural engineer the structure and a quantity surveyor the costs.

building disputesHow do you check that you have a Building Surveyor?

You can ring up The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors or go onto the RICS.org website and you can also go onto the Independent Surveyors and Valuers Association known as the ISVA. The Independent Surveyors and Valuers Association's website is surveyorsweb.co.uk.

How important is it to have a Surveyor that is knowledgeable and experienced in the area you wish to employ them in?

We believe it's absolutely essential. There is no point in having a problem with a roof on a thatched property if the surveyor is not used to dealing with thatch. We would also comment that whilst you can have an expert on one area such as thatch or one specific trade often people who are very good at that trade go into this expert advice area. This is when they have to combine this knowledge with knowledge of other parts of the structure that they can come unstuck. It's very common for problems to relate to several areas; in fact we would say 99.9% of the time there is normally a combination of issues. The building surveyor may well pick up specialists to use for very complex cases for very specific information. In most cases they will be able to cope.

If you are going to take a recommendation make sure the person that is recommending has nothing to gain

If you are going to take a recommendation make sure the people recommending understand about surveying. Whilst one of the best ways to find a surveyor is to have someone recommend one to you in our experience one of the worst ways to find a surveyor is to have an estate agent recommend one to you.

building disputesGo along and meet the surveyor at the property and ask them lots of questions

One of the best ways to find a good building surveyor is to have someone recommend them to you that has actually had a survey carried out on their property and been to the survey and met the surveyor there and has been shown around the property and shown what the surveyor sees. They are then in a good position to recommend a surveyor. You can ask friends, you can ask on social network sites such as Facebook, Gumtree, Netmums, Moneysavingexpert for a good surveyor for the type of property you are looking to buy. You often find that people want to have local surveyors but we feel it's more important to have a surveyor that is used to dealing with your type of property.

We have written some more articles on building problems and surveying which are available on our website as follows;

How to Buy a Property at Auction
Structural Surveys like Ours
Building Disputes
Estimating Building Costs
Good Design can Save you Money
Insurance Claim

Independent Surveyors

If you truly do want an independent expert opinion from a surveyor with regard to valuations, mortgages, mortgage companies, surveys, building surveys, structural reports, engineers reports, specific defects report, structural surveys, home buyers reports or any other property matters please contact 0800 298 5424 for a surveyor to give you a call back.

Commercial Property

If you have a commercial property, whether it is freehold or leasehold then sooner or later you may get involved with dilapidation claims. You may wish to look at our Dilapidations Website at www.DilapsHelp.com and for Disputes go to our Disputes Help site www.DisputesHelp.com .

We hope you found the article of use and if you have any experiences that you feel should be added to this article that would benefit others, or you feel that some of the information that we have put is wrong then please do not hesitate to contact us (we are only human).

The contents of the website are for general information only and are not intended to be relied upon for specific or general decisions. Appropriate independent professional advice should be paid for before making such a decision.

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