[USER=8629]@mattb[/USER]
There are too many of us on here who have walked in your shoes to some extent. Some have gone through divorce several times. Others, like me, just once. But, once is bad enough. In my case, when the decision to divorce was deemed acceptable by both of us the girls were 10, 4 and 1. For the next 14 years my home was their home and their mother's home was where they went to visit when it was convenient and then I remarried. Of course, the oldest was already out of the house by that time and the second was a few months away from departing for college. The youngest was the only one to live an extended stretch with a stepmother in the house.
I have yet to figure out why even poor shysters can charge large fees and people willingly pay, yet good, reputable, experienced, land surveyors get looked at sideways for hoping to cover the costs of a truck, gps, atv, and the newest carlson/autocad package. Yes, a tradesman turns out wonderful work you can display proudly in your living room for your guests to see. Your shyster can file the right papers and take your money and stand in front of a judge and say, yes, they agree to split everything 50/50 and have standard child visitation rights with the child support as described by the state. Your land surveyor only makes sure that the largest investment most people make, that of their home and property, is correct, and will stand against scrutiny by other surveyors, but means nothing to most people. And FWIW, there are a few of us in your boat ATM, well, in a similar boat at least, I guess, cause you on the wrong side of the ocean, that would be a damn big boat!
Maybe those other professions and tradesmen can charge more because of there perceived value to the clients in the way they carry themselves. Most reputable tradesman are in newer vehicles, clean cut and dressed well. The clients see this and think they are hiring a higher quality service and are willing to pay more. Do a lot of the field crews carry themselves in the same manner, because remember it's the field crews who are out in the public eye selling our services.
I'm worried. A fellow called today about maybe doing a survey. We were moving right along until I said it would be about three weeks before I could get to it. He immediately asked if I knew of anyone else that might get there quicker. I gave him a name of a good company with multiple crews. He called back less than 10 minutes later and said to put him on my list. Perhaps I shouldn't have given him a potential cost range. It must have been substantially lower than theirs. That tells me they are overloaded, too. It usually goes the other way.
I recently had a project for two attorneys. It was a nasty Conservation nightmare.
3/4 the way through one complained because we invoice like we are attorneys.
Unfortunately, we invoice about 1/4 to 1/3 the rate a big time attorney charges.
I was at a party a couple weeks ago. Good beer, good friends.
I met a friend of a friend who is a litigating attorney who serves on the Newton Zoning Board of Appeals. In my slurred state, I asked him for his interpretation of the Palitz SJC case and how the Counsel in Newton interprets the same. He blanked, so I rattled off the history, applicable statues and related case law.
He responded that as a Litigating Attorney, he did not need to know anything, he just had to be able to learn enough of what he needed to talk about fast enough to state an argument before the Judge.
Why does divorce cost so much? Because it is worth it. Good luck with the split. My first marriage did not last very long and I am lucky to have gotten out of that one relatively unscathed.
Hi guys
Thankyou for the kind words. As it seems a lot of you know its a terrible thing to have to go through but it seems like salt in the wounds to have to pay solicitors the amount they demand for what they do. I'm sure they have their expenses but trying to get them to provide an itemised account so I can see where the funds are going has proven too much for them.
I have had my share of "bank surveys', coming from the seller, it is usually smooth sailing. I show up, do the requested work, and then get paid. Dealing with a realtor is a different story, I show up, do the requested work, and then I usually have to wait until the lawyers finish before I get paid, that has taken anywhere from 2 - 3 weeks to 2 - 3 months. It's so frustrating because they'd need my work first and yet I'm the last to get paid.
On another note, what about charging 1% of the selling price? It's just a percent... What does a realtor get for selling it?
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I've been married to the same woman for 41 years....you could've been been rolling in the deep; I'm just saying...
mattb, post: 390738, member: 8629 wrote: Due to a marriage breakdown i have needed to employ the services of a solicitor.
I have been hit with a rather large bill for an initial 1 hour meeting and have been asked to transfer a considerable amount of money into their trust account to cover initial "expenses". The initial quote has a 30% range in prices.
This is what people that work in a profession that go to uni for years and then work for years to get a qualification can do. Oh hang on, i went to uni for years and spent years to get my license but i can't quote with within a 30% range, ask for large sums up front or charge several hundreds for an initial meeting. I wouldn't be able to charge $20 for photocopying 1 a4 sheet.
How come that profession can get away with it and not us?
My reply to you would be.. Why can't you quote...? Why can't you request...? Why can't you charge...? If you went to uni and you trained for years then demand what you feel is at least acceptable for the services you render (maybe not what you fully think you deserve).
Until everyone gets out this mind set of "out bidding" or "surveyor X will only charge $ so I'm going to quote $" attitude then don't complain about the $ you earn.
Sure, I don't make an excellent living but I don't desire to keep up the jones next door either. My bills are paid on time, food is on my table and my oldest is attending college so I'm not going to complain about the money I do make. Sure I wish it was higher but it could be far less too.
I estimate a project based on what I truly believe will be required by me to fully provide my professional service and enough to where I am comfortable with what profit I may be able to actually pay myself when all other expenses are accounted for. If the possible client is willing to pay that amount then they can high surveyor X down the road that will do the job cheaper by cutting corners and providing substandard work.
In my 20+ years of surveying, I have found eventually time and word of mouth catches up to surveyor X and he work becomes known for what it actually is. In the meantime, eventually his plate his full and those still in need of services are then willing to pay my fees. In the end I end up doing less work for more money than surveyor X.
Respectively, word of mouth travels about the quality of work provided by those of us who do the work properly and we get new clients based solely on recommendation. This scenario also allows us the opportunity to occasionally do probono work for things such as non-profits, churches and more. These probono surveys are the most satisfying projects I have ever done.
We are not merely surveyors! We are business men/women, we are "quasi judicial" officers of boundary law, we are often accountants, historians, arbitrators and more. Sometimes you have to step out of the surveyor mind set and be the "solicitor" you speak of and charge or demand what you think you deserve. If you don't try and you always just expect and ask for the crumbs don't expect to get anything more.
Lastly, if you are not charging a fee of any sort for your time, materials (ink, paper, etc etc) for additional plat copies that is your fault alone. Sure, if it is a client that does a great deal of work for me or was just a great client in general I will make a copy with no questions asked or fees required. But if some real estate agent calls up and requests a copy of a plat for a survey I did for a client years ago, I will not hesitate on requiring payment for said copy.
mattb, post: 390738, member: 8629 wrote: Due to a marriage breakdown i have needed to employ the services of a solicitor.
I have been hit with a rather large bill for an initial 1 hour meeting and have been asked to transfer a considerable amount of money into their trust account to cover initial "expenses". The initial quote has a 30% range in prices.
This is what people that work in a profession that go to uni for years and then work for years to get a qualification can do. Oh hang on, i went to uni for years and spent years to get my license but i can't quote with within a 30% range, ask for large sums up front or charge several hundreds for an initial meeting. I wouldn't be able to charge $20 for photocopying 1 a4 sheet.
How come that profession can get away with it and not us?
Oh yeah, and on a more personal note... (And maybe I should have started with this). I wish you luck and as little stress as possible in your personal matter. Divorces are certainly not an enjoyable experience (speaking only from stories and not personal experience). We all know the true winners are the lawyers as with any legal matters.
Only thing we really argued about was how to split the stuff. Part of my settlement was that I either had to pay half the apraised value of my survey equipment as determined by hayes or sell it and we split the amount. She thought she had hit the gold mine. The gun cost 12k when I bout it. That was before reflectorless guns. I think I got $1200. I would say give yourself about a year after it is final to start dating. And don't date women that are less than a year out of a divorce. It is crazy the dating world now with facebook. I tried the dating sites but didn't have much luck. Seemed like there was nothing but crazies on there. Good luck to you.
The first year of "new" dating is a sacrifice required to finally find the right one(s). The same applies to the other gender. They need a year as well.
As has been noted above, we seem to be afraid to charge for our knowledge. If we'd double our fees we'd only have half the work (and half the liability!) Why we can't grasp this is disturbing.
Jim in AZ, post: 391383, member: 249 wrote: As has been noted above, we seem to be afraid to charge for our knowledge. If we'd double our fees we'd only have half the work (and half the liability!) Why we can't grasp this is disturbing.
And the same $$$$
