Owning your own home

You savages have laws? *headexplodes.gif*

Anyone speak legalese? I downloaded her title deed and there's a clause in there that sounds relevant. Wouldn't appreciate if someone could decode it for me.

Anyone speak legalese? I downloaded her title deed and there's a clause in there that sounds relevant. Wouldn't appreciate if someone could decode it for me.

Post it up, I'm happy to have a read. It's the definition of specific words that tends to really trip one up, rather than the grammar etc.

How dare she want to use her own expert.

Surveyors are impartial and regulated. As mentioned she's also not being effected in any way (her side of the wall remains untouched).
We also shared as much info reg our plans with her as early and frequently as possible, which she ignored.
How dare I expect communication between neighbours who were previously on good terms?

It’s also £900 on an £80k build - pretty sure you can manage that to keep her sweet.

You're the one calling her a prick.
How will she not be affected? Building work, drilling, banging, nailing, gluing, waste, etc.

True, almost, 2K rather than £900, and £2k is still £2k, how much money I have or have not is irrelevant when it is an unnecessary expense

The £2k isn't some sort of compensation for having to live next door to someone having work done - thats like suggesting I pay her £5 ever time I play music too loud.

I have concluded she is a prick from her handling of this situation, I thought she was very nice previously.

I'm just trying to understand here.
They're getting a surveyor in, which you have to pay for.
Right?

I know it's "not normally required" and you have to pay the cost (which, as you keep mentioning is 2k - do you have a mink coat as well?) but why shouldn't they?

Short answer: Yes, I have to pay for their surveyor.

Longer answer: My issue is being down a considerable sum of money when its not needed as, as previously mentioned her party wall is not effected in anyway and we have shared all plans and details at all stages as well as getting extra renders done to share just to help ease any concerns.

You don't legally have to have a party wall agreement because its not effected, but we needed to let her know we were putting foundations in within 3m of it.

I fully understand people want a little bit of reassurance that we are not going to hammer the shit out of our house until hers falls down too but there is option 2 (out of 4) for that, which is about 400 quid and our surveyor takes records of her house and its condition.

So to specifically answer "why shouldn't they":

1. There is an option that would cover her concerns.
   
2. Getting your neighbours to pay for things unnecessarily is never going to enhance relations.
   
   

For example - I thought our other neighbour was going to be a pain but has been super laid back and actually likes the 3m high wall we just built. This is possibly due to the fact we were also very laid back with his large loft extension, signed the cheapest option for him, and didn't bat an eye lid and all the shit falling into our backyard or the ladders across our windows (at the front of the house). I'm not sitting in his house to let his builders in to finish off to help him out, not a relationship I have with the other neighbour now.

Hope that makes sense?

Mink coat is packed away currently due to building work.

Maybe they're risk averse and having seen all the work that's been going on around them think "ffs, i'd like to be safe in the knowledge my house is going to be fine"

disclaimer:
I lived in a house (not mine, 4 years ago) where the owner got into a massive row (still ongoing I think) their house is listed, Lambeth and Notting Hill housing knocked down and then put up some flats, the noise was terrible. foundations went in all over the place. House developed massive cracks throughout.

ticking boxes for cheaper options to maintain neighbourly relationships isn't always the best way to maintain neighbourly relationships.

I hope you've vacuum packed your mink coat.

Oh I think they are very risk averse... but I did try and reassure them by sharing as much as humanly possible. The cheaper option would still have given them as much security legally, but would cost me less (which is where the frustration comes from).

Sounds like your previous place was a nightmare! Hopefully I don't run into any problems like that (although if my builders do cause damage I'll have no problem accepting paying for that - or their insurance may?).

People see things differently I guess, who knew ey?

vacuum packed

Dear lord! Won't someone think of the pile!

her party wall is not affected

It is though, isn't it?

putting foundations in within 3m of it.

I'd be insisting on my own surveyor - For both mine & the neighbour's sake. It's far from an unnecessary cost, and entirely reasonable.

The Act means that you can do the work, but that the other party is protected from anything going wrong.

No its not, as we are not touching it.

There is an option with surveyors that covers your concerns, rather than having 2 surveyors do the same unnecessary job.

Without wanting to pile on you, working within 3m will affect them.
Which was my point as evidenced by anectdata.
Inflammatory language ahead.
Trigger warning.
Architects are just project managers with fancy pens and knowledge of rules/regs/catalogs of nice things.

Where are the engineers? Are they surveyors?

Isn’t half of that for your benefit though? I get that it’s annoying but it’s a minor part of your costs (that it looks as if you planned for anyway). Better this than getting a bill later for pre-existing cracks in her house.

Ha, all good.

Totally understand the 3M rule, but thats not what I am talking about - you have to issue an excavation notice which we did, no hassles. Working within 3m will effect them, but not the party wall as we are not touching it (not going over it, which is what a party wall agreement is about as I understand it).

As the party wall is not being touched there need not be a party wall Survey, but she initiated a dispute and got her own surveyor because she "didn't trust" ours (they are a legit registered and regulated surveyor, not a lad I found down the pub). So me paying for 1 surveyor is expected and a non issue, I'd totally understand her wanting some record of the before and the after, sure, but she disputed our right to do the work and then went with additional surveyors, doubling the cost.

Also worth noting - we had conversations with her about this and we explained the costs we would have to pay which we would like to avoid so if she did have concerns could she please speak to us first. Next thing we hear she has instructed her own surveyor. Hence feeling aggrieved.

What engineers are you talking about? Structural ones? There have been structural engineers working on this (not the architects) and they are separate to the surveyors.

My architect (or one of them) actually works on site too - he was mopping my bathroom floor when I got home yesterday, hopefully I'm not paying an architects hourly rate for that.

God I'm waffling now.

Not really. She could have used our surveyor (at 1/4 the cost) and had the same reassurances and legals.

Not really. She could have used our surveyor (at 1/4 the cost) and had the same reassurances and legals.

But not when

she "didn't trust" ours

I think you're right to feel a bit put out.
Big picture:
you're going to be doing some work that will Affect your local environment
they are concerned
they want an independent survey done
this adds £2k on to your bill (unexpected, but I think you can accommodate it ?)
you don't like this because if (and when) the situation was reversed you would (and have) signed the cheapest option to help out with neighbourly relations
this work will cost xk (or x/2 mink coats)
this work will add xk value to your house
this work will add unquantifiable value to your house when you live in it (unless you measure it using some sort of qualitative index of "positive feels" compared to before the side return)
you are looking to hammer this person because they are costing you
you want to fire frozen sausages at them because that's the current way of displaying displeasure with people on this place

Personally?
I'd sigh and not call them a prick.

Thats a pretty fair evaluation of the situation.

I'm glad some of you lot aren't my neighbours.

We are talking about building an extension, not the f*ckin Burj Khalifa.

Guys can one of you change your avatar pic if you are going to continue this debate as it feels like someone talking to themself.

any excavations within 3m are notifiable under the act, so they are treated the same as notifiable works to a PW, except for the notice served. by a dispute arising, you are also protected by the act, in that your surveyor would have agreed a 3rd surveyor, who you can approach if the fees are unreasonable.