Watson Woods SURVEYORS
Party Wall Surveyors
Click Here for Terms, Conditions, Disclaimers and 'Fixed Fee' Limitations .
Party Wall Awards & Schedules of condition:
FEES BELOW RELATE TO OUR APPOINTMENT AS 'AGREED SURVEYOR' - If the Adjoining Owner APPOINTS A SURVEYOR AND WE ACT AS 'BUILDing OWNERS SURVEYOR' OUR FEES AS STATED BELOW WOULD INCREASE BY 20%.
Our simple fees: THEY MAY LOOK COMPLICATED BUT WE'VE TRIED TO MAKE THEM AS SIMPLE AND CLEAR AS POSSIBLE
THE NEXT STEP DEPENDS ON THE NEIGHBOUR'S RESPONSE:-
If a neighbour consents to a notice and a Schedule of Condition was not offered works can proceed without further cost or action.
If a neighbour consents to a notice and a Schedule of Condition was offered this needs to be done before works commence - see below.
If a neighbour dissents to a notice a 'Party Wall Award' is necessary - the fees will depend on the type of works proposed (see below).
Our fixed fees cover common domestic works. If your proposed works are unusual or if different considerations apply please call us or send us a set of your drawings and we will get back to you with an assessment of what is necessary and a fee proposal.
If you serve notice and your neighbour appoints a surveyor you will also have to pay that surveyor's reasonable fee. In that situation it can sometimes be a good idea to 'adopt' the neighbours surveyor who would become the ' Agreed Surveyor'. In that case you must obtain a fixed fee and satisfy yourself that you can rely on the surveyor in question as once appointed a surveyor cannot be discharged and it is difficult to challenge an Agreed Surveyor's decisions.
TO MAKE A PARTY WALL Award
for a basement project involving underpinning a Party Wall or deep excavation within 2 metres of and parallel to the wall of a neighbour's building:
Contact us for fee proposal
Work of thus nature presents a more significant risk to neighboring properties and the work necessary, and therefore the cost of agreeing a Party Wall Award for work of this type can vary widely dependent upon a number of factors, many of which may be unknown before a notice is served. For this reason it is not ideal for us to try and offer a standard fixed fee.
If we allow for all possible 'negatives' the fee may be unreasonably inflated but if we exclude unlikely events we stand to loose if those events arise.
Accordingly if you contact us we can determine the best approach based on the specific details of the project and provide a suitable and competitive fee proposal.
To Make a schedule of condition
for ANY domestic project:
£575 plus VAT*
We provide two digitally signed, bound and indexed PDF copies of the Schedule of Condition (or paper editions if requested).
Additional fees would only arise if we are appointed to deal with a subsequent dispute, for example, if damage is caused and you and your neighbour cannot agree on the necessary making good or on the level of any financial ‘compensation’ then a Party Wall Surveyor would resolve the dispute by an Award.
If no issues arise or if any that arise are resolved amicably then we would have no further input.
*Second or subsequent Schedules of Condition for owners of the same building are charged at £125 plus VAT assuming all parts are accessed in a single visit. (We can 'bolt-on' a Final Inspection for £250 plus VAT if required)
TO MAKE A PARTY WALL Award
for just a domestic loft extension:
£975 plus VAT*
or
TO MAKE A PARTY WALL AWARD
for a domestic side/rear extension plus loft extension or combination of any of the above (excludes basements):
£1,295 plus VAT*
The Award would include a prior Schedule of Condition of the adjoining property.
Sometimes additional inspections at the end of the project are necessary or requested, for example if damage has been caused or to inspect areas from scaffolding that might later be inaccessible. An additional fee would apply in these cases based upon the time needed (we would advise on this in advance).
See below for fuller explanation of when additional fees may apply.
*Second or subsequent Awards for owners of the same building, if we are appointed as Agreed Surveyor, are charged at £295 plus VAT assuming all parts are accessed for the survey in a single visit.
surveyor's fees depend upon the type of works proposed and how neighbours respond - the first step is to serve a notice. (If our free notices are used and neighbours consent without a survey being required there Is ABsolutely no cost!).
THESE FEES ApplY PER ADJOINING OWNER to domestic projects WHERE ADJOINING PROPERTIES ARE NO LARGER THAN A 4-BED DWELLIG UNIT AND LOCATED within 5 Miles of our base in Putney, London SW15. Projects more than 5 miles from us are subject to an additional fee of £25 + VAT per additional mile to cover travel time. (Our Fees assumes all parts of a property can be accessed in a single visit and THIS FEE therefore also applies to additional visits). Our fees include normal disbursements ie. Travel/Printing/Postage
TO Prepare A 'BESPOKE' notice
(We combine all necessary notices required into a single notice for eACH ADJOINING OWNER)
£195 plus VAT for the First notice then £95 plus VAT For EACH ADDITIONAL notice
This includes:-
Land Registry Search Fees (to verify neighbours' identity & address)
Annotating your drawings (if necessary) for clarity and to ensure the notice is valid, and providing explanatory notes.
Providing an Acknowledgement / Form of Consent.
Serving the notice together with a stamped reply envelope (unless you choose to hand deliver - this is recommended)
Providing follow up 'Ten Day Notices' if necessary
Answering neighbour's questions
All normal disbursements
We offer two types of notice*:
- A bespoke notice in plain English sent from our office and signed by the Surveyor.
- A 'friendly' notice direct from you to your neighbour (which you would sign and deliver).
*Notices can omit or include the offer of a Schedule of Condition (We recommend a Schedule of Condition).
AVOID UNFORSEEN EXPENSES CLICK HERE for things you need to know
*Our stated fees assume that access to all parts of a property for the Schedule of Condition can be made during a single visit. If additional visits are necessary a fee of £150 plus VAT per visit would apply.