Which raises the question for me, ??what actual liability expenses and how many dollars have you experienced/lost or heard about (excluding errors and omission which are presumable covered by insurance)??
If you have the requisite experience in construction surveying what is the unknown that causes the liability? ?ÿThe plans I have worked with are in black and white.?ÿ
what is the unknown that causes the liability?
For me it was plain old stupidity which cost me 600lf of Miami curb and gutter. ????ÿ
For me it was trusting an owner representative??s word. ?ÿI got it back. ?ÿIt cost them $800 more on the next job. I broke even. ?ÿAnother reason to like lump sum.
(excluding errors and omission which are presumable covered by insurance)?
Unless you have first-dollar coverage, you'll have to pay the lesser of the deductible or the defense cost even if the claim doesn't succeed.?ÿ A first-dollar policy is more expensive than a standard policy.
I honestly don??t care what value a client puts on a survey. They either sign the contract or they don??t.
The one example of value over T&M that I can really think of, where we as surveyors cut our own throats, is where we've done a survey of a property, and now an ALTA or something else on the same property is requested, by the old client, or even a new owner, and we give a lower estimate/fee, because we've already done work on the property - instead of quoting the fee for the entire work product, as if it were a totally new project.
we give a lower estimate/fee, because we've already done work on the property - instead of quoting the fee for the entire work product
It boils down to fairness and reputation.?ÿ If it's a new client with no relation to the old one, and you don't care who they talk to or if you ever hear from them again, then go ahead and bill the market value.?ÿ But in my experience that's not usually the situation.
Last year a commercial real estate broker I know recommended me to the potential corporate buyer of a property.?ÿ I did an ALTA on the property and charged full fare.?ÿ The deal didn't go through, and a month or two later the broker sent another prospective buyer (another corporation) my way for an ALTA update on the same parcel.?ÿ I offered to do the update for a fee that generously covered my time, but was way below the cost of a brand-new ALTA.?ÿ The buyer got what they needed, I was fairly compensated for my time, and the broker knew that I dealt fairly with his client.?ÿ Had I charged the new-ALTA fee for an ALTA update, the broker might think twice before referring to me again.?ÿ The reputational value of charging based on cost rather than market value was worth the difference to me, and I find that's usually the case.
