Is it really worth paying for a surveyor to oversee this work?

[KindaBinding81]

We live in a Victorian mansion block with 16 flats and my DH is one of three directors of the building (freehold).

It’s overdue to have the externals painted, so they have commissioned a survey so any other things that need doing can be addressed while the scaffolding is up. The survey has now been done and the directors are now seeking three companies to quote for the work.

The surveying company offer a service where they got quotes themselves (including any we suggest) and then pick the best one for us and oversee the work, signing things off at each stage of completion. The work is likely to cost around £150,000 and they charge 4.5% for finding a suitable contractor and 1.5% for overseeing the work, which would cost the building an extra £9000 (£562 per flat).

The other two directors are very keen to use this service but my DH is really against it. He has a joinery firm and has a lot of practical know how as well as extensive knowledge of the building, as he’s overseen so much work in the 15 years we’ve been here. He thinks it’s very telling that the largest percentage the surveyor charges is just for finding the contractor, which suggests they will actually do very little to oversee the work (and less than he would do).

He is trying to persuade the other two directors, but they would just like to push on and use the surveyor without consulting any of the leaseholders. I’m caught in the middle here as it’s getting a bit fraught, so wondered what people thought.

I think offering three quotes - with details outlined for each to the leaseholders, including costings, timeframes, etc. - would be the most democratic way to go. I suppose it depends if there are certain contractual rules around this which have been set in the past or else a precedence?

I think having a firm / surveyor, who will have PI insurance, overseeing rather than doing it 'in-house' means that should something go wrong between the qoute, vendor selection, work and oversight then there's someone to hold accountab;e and sue! If I was one of the leaseholders I'd see that as £500 well spent on something that expensive

*precedent, sorry can’t edit.

Good advice so far - thank you!

I think it would be wrong not to ask the other leaseholders. As a former leaseholder i'd have expected to be consulted on this - it is a massive sum of money (to me).

I think the other leaseholders need to be consulted asap as it's clearly major expenditure.

My DH used to do things like this but now moved on to much bigger projects but you would be daft not to have the surveyor to oversee it and manage it and manage all the different flats and all the different contractors. They could even save you money overall.

Good point @Florin

An added issue is that a Section 20 notice needs to be given to all leaseholders if their individual spend is more than £250.

They will obviously receive one when the works have been quoted for, but just the surveyor choosing contractors will be an extra £400+ per flat (at 4.5%).

The other two directors don't want to consult the leaseholders on this initial part as it will hold up the process too much.

Having a surveyor oversee the work sounds eminently sensible. As long as they do properly oversee it.

In contrast, paying them in the region of £6,750 just for getting three quotes does seem to be rather excessive.

Given that I would guess DH likely has some contacts within the building trades that can provide him with recommended contractors then I think this might be the better way to go about things.

Although, of course, this will take up some time for your DH so he should suggest that he charges the management company £x per hour for the time he spends on obtaining three quotes.

Are the surveyors only offering this as a package deal? That is, all or nothing, you don't get to pick and choose?

If so, then perhaps google something like "construction management services" to find companies that will oversee contractors on your behalf and what fees they charge in your area.

On the other hand, if these are separate services then it may certainly worthwhile taking up their offer of 1.5% for overseeing the project but getting the quotes and selecting the contractor yourself - so saving £6,750 less DHs payment for his time.

@Another2Cats that's a good question. I think it was put to us that they could do the choosing but don't have to do the overseeing, but wouldn't do the overseeing without doing the choosing.

Which is why DH is sceptical - they're charging a lot more for the first, much simpler service of choosing a contractor.