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Every one of my “paid at closing” events happened because the seller or his agent had hired me to cut out a parcel of land for them to sell. Never was being paid at closing a part of the contract, it’s has always been a good time to settle up the bill and if the sell falls through, I still have been paid, it usually takes a bit longer.
A bit off topic but reminded me of a situation I discovered several years ago. I came across an invoice from a now deceased surveyor who was one of my main competitors. He itemized the invoice for a small subdivision plan. $xxxx for the survey and plan, $xxxx for the local review fees and recording fees. He inflated the review fees and recording fees above the actual costs. Doing this he was able to reduce the cost of his survey work and pocket the amount he overcharged for the other fees. This made it possible to under bid the cost of his survey work.
If I’m the seller, why should I care about (or pay for) appraisals, inspections, surveys? I’m moving on. The inspectors and appraisers are controlling their market by working for potential buyers and getting paid immediately for the work they do. Sale falls through due to appraisal/inspection, another potential buyer comes along and they do it and get paid again. They also charge more per hour than surveyors.
The ethics I see involved are that surveyors are harming their own livelihood, hence the existence of the profession by accepting terms such as paid at closing. Course I do it all the time; too common and expected around here to fight it. And not sure how/why it would change my opinion of the boundary. Even if I survey my own land I want it to be right and stand up in court if necessary; same with the appraiser or inspector. I don’t see the incentive to avoid problems thing. Like I’m going to risk my license for a fee from a property survey? Course maybe some of you are actually making some real money from those things that you could retire on one or two; not in this neck of the woods.
And yeah, I charge $50 to file a map; filing fee is $10. If takes my time, I’m charging for it. So there.
- Posted by: Duane Frymire
If I’m the seller, why should I care about (or pay for) appraisals, inspections, surveys? I’m moving on. The inspectors and appraisers are controlling their market by working for potential buyers and getting paid immediately for the work they do. Sale falls through due to appraisal/inspection, another potential buyer comes along and they do it and get paid again. They also charge more per hour than surveyors.
The ethics I see involved are that surveyors are harming their own livelihood, hence the existence of the profession by accepting terms such as paid at closing. Course I do it all the time; too common and expected around here to fight it. And not sure how/why it would change my opinion of the boundary. Even if I survey my own land I want it to be right and stand up in court if necessary; same with the appraiser or inspector. I don’t see the incentive to avoid problems thing. Like I’m going to risk my license for a fee from a property survey? Course maybe some of you are actually making some real money from those things that you could retire on one or two; not in this neck of the woods.
And yeah, I charge $50 to file a map; filing fee is $10. If takes my time, I’m charging for it. So there.
The house we sold last year had 3 home inspections all paid for by the buyers. At least 2 appraisals were paid for buyers. First buyer backed out before inspections. Second buyer backed out as a result of inspections, didn’t ask for anything. Third buyer back out (2nd inspection) because the Feng Shui of the house was wrong; that one really pissed me off, lost a better offer because of those idiots, couldn’t they see that at the first showing? But I’m not bitter. Forth buyer had inspection no. 3 as a result of which they asked for a credit which we agreed to (finally someone with common sense). Forth buyers closed escrow, they are a 20 something couple, both Civil Engineers.
If the seller pays for an inspection or survey, doesn’t that make the property more marketable? Then a buyer doesn’t need to get one.
.Every buyer wants their own home inspection.
Many times I prefer to be paid at closing, especially on existing tracts and I am up front with the Client. I struggle with the local perception of value of the Survey for the standard lay person around here and more often than not, I am faced with the “This is far too expensive for a sheet of paper” argument. Yes, there is a small chance that the transaction will not close, however, I have not had any issues with it. I have a good relationship with the Title Companies I work with regularly and once they have my invoice in their hands, I am nearly guaranteed that the invoice will be paid, even if that payment is delayed. For some reason, Clients don’t argue much with the title folks. I have only been forced to file one lien that I can remember in the 10 years I have been licensed.
Paid on/at Closing or not, the temptation to omit some fact from the face of the survey is a question of ethics. I have a duty not only to my Client, but also to all of those other interested parties that fall under the category of “The Public”. More often than not, whatever encroachment or other conditions I come across ends up either as an exception in the Title Commitment that everyone else ignores…including the lender…or there is a resolution of some sort. Sometimes that resolution involves additional work for me (i.e. working up a variation/exception, or providing a lot line adjustment or plat/replat).
I can think of a project several years ago where the Client was made aware of a significant possible encroachment of the home they were trying to sell onto an adjacent property. They were provided the survey showing the condition and chose not to share it with the neighbor, they then proceeded to refuse to pay for the survey, and changed realtors. Funny enough, the title folks called me some time later to inquire about the likelihood of an outstanding invoice, which I provided, and all of a sudden we were paid. My guess is that the Realtors “spidey senses” started tingling, or another Realtor filled them in, I never asked.
The “payment at closing” deal is illegal for surveyors in Florida World. ????
Received two checks. One from title company, few days later from the client.
That happened to me once, on a job worth several grand. It was tempting, but…
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