How much did the party wall act process cost you (in time and money)?

[HiDBandSIL]

I'm extending and expecting my neighbours to want to appoint a surveyor for the party wall act stuff. I want to know how bad it could get...

So if you've had to go through the party wall act process with surveyors, how much did it cost you and how long did it take?

I've three quotes for party wall act surveyors and they're all £1k+.

Thank you

£3588 plus VAT and he earned it with the crap our neighbours put us through. Make sure you get an inclusive quote to see you through any disputes and settlements.

jaffa that's loads. Was that for a single surveyor acting for both sides? What do you mean by disputes and settlements? My neighbour doesn't want us to extend and will cause as much trouble as possible. The surveyor I spoke to said there wasn't much that our neighbour could do.

Also, was that a single joint engineer or two?

ours were £1800 for 1 side and £2200 for the other, ours was £1700, they took nearly 6 months, average is a month.

£3000 for 2 surveyors and possibly £8000 as my neighbours are twats.....

Just over 1k acting for both sides including VAT. I knew my neighbour would already have a preferred surveyor so I opened dialogue before issuing notice/instructing a surveyor to allow me to ascertain their surveyor and obtain a quote before deciding to proceed. I spent a number of hours understanding the party wall act, serving notice myself and contacting the owner of the neighbouring property. In the end it wasn't too painful. I would recommend opening dialogue before issuing notice, so you can get a clearer idea of costs. I think, however there is nothing to stop your neighbour deliberately choosing a different and extra expensive surveyor to you.

superram EIGHT THOUSAND POUNDS? [faints]. That's exactly the scenario I fear. How is it so expensive? I thought it was pretty much just a condition survey.

sorenipples unfortunately our neighbours will be hell bent on dragging things out and costing us as much money as possible. . I'll definitely be reading up and doing our own notices etc. My only hope right now is to offer them money In exchange for signing it.

And doodar - thank you! Did your own engineer's fee cover both party wall awards?

It's the remedial work that can cost money. If you cause damage to their property, you're liable to put it right. The surveyors decide if the damage was down to your works then a 'fair' sum is established/you put it right. This is where the problems start, IME... Also, if you build against their wall, say an extension on a terrace and they've already extended, you're then liable for half their build costs. Factor in a boundary dispute and it soon eats up the budget. Good luck!

Thanks for posting this OP as I had the same question and am also at some of the numbers here.

Yikes some of you have had a rough ride!! We live in a semi but served notice to neighbours both sides as we would be digging within certain distance of their foundations. We researched a bit and spoke to both sides regarding our plans first. We served our own notice using guidance you can freely get online. Our joining side signed but other side got spooked by all the scarmongering mail that kept landing on their door mat once we applied for planning permission. They decided they wanted a surveyor but agreed to a shared one. I used one recommended by our architect and costed us £800.

No, each neighbour appointed their own surveyor.