02 Appointments Flashcards
What are the main considerations when preparing a fee bid for a client?
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Does the RICS publish fee scales?
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The client wants to appoint you as the building surveyor on a project - what would you do next?
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What RICS guidance is available for clients appointing building surveyors?
- The RICS offer a Standard Form of Consultant’s Appointment as well as a Short Form of Consultant’s Appointment
- These can be used with the Building Surveying Services form, which offers a comprehensive list of services that can be ticked to show what services are required under the appointment
What sort of information is contained in the RICS Standard Form of Consultants Appointment?
- Consultant/client obligations
- Scope of service
- Payment terms
- Insurance requirements
- Suspension/termination provisions
- Dispute procedures
- Execution (under hand or as a deed)
What would you expect to see within an appointment letter to the client?
- Who the client/other parties are
- Who the surveyor/surveying company is
- Date of instruction
- Precisely what service is being provided
- What is not being provided
- Limitations
- Involvement of other consultants and the extent of their appointment
- Timescales for completing the instruction
- Fee and how it will become payable
- Any additional expenses (e.g. travel, accommodation)
- How variations to the instruction will be assessed
- Surveyor’s standard terms of business
- Insurance provisions
- Dispute procedures
How do you confirm your terms of appointment with your client?
The terms and conditions of an appointment should be included within the fee proposal submitted to the client
Why is it important to always attach the Terms and Conditions to any appointment letter to a client?
They form part of the professional services contract, detailing the terms that the overall agreement is based on (e.g. exclusions, payment procedures etc.)
Why might you want to include a net contribution clause in an appointment document?
- To restrict the amount for which the business is responsible if sued
- Without it, under common law, all parties can be jointly and severally (individually) liable for the full amount of loss or damage that flows from a breach of contract if more than one party is responsible (e.g. if a design fault, failure to inspect and poor workmanship all contribute to a defect)
What are the different ways to appoint a sub-consultant for a project/survey?
- Direct appointment by the surveyor - surveyor is responsible for the coordination, delivery and content of the sub-consult’s submission
- Direct appointment by the client - contract is directly between the client and the sub-consultant, so client is responsible for payment and content
- Indirect appointment by the surveyor on behalf of the client
- The surveyor chooses the sub-consultant and establishes the terms of the appointment (including confirmation that payment will be made by the client)
- The surveyor should confirm that he is not responsible for the content of the sub-consults submission
How would you go about appointing a sub-consultant for a project/survey?
- Minimum of 3 quotations should be obtained from proven sub-consultants (supply-chain management team will usually identify/vet suitable organisations)
- Cost for the sub-consultant should be covered within the surveyor’s own appointment
- A back-to-back agreement should be in place, reflecting the terms of the surveyor’s own appointment (i.e. level of PII, payment terms, limitations, exclusions etc.)
- A detailed scope of service and timescales for delivery should be agreed between the surveyor and the sub-consultant
Would you appoint a sub-consultant that the client has recommended?
- Generally, a surveyor should not directly appoint a sub-consultant that the client has recommended - best practice is to ensure the appointment is directly with the client
- However, it may be acceptable if the recommended sub-consultant passes all the approved checks that the surveyor would have otherwise carried out for their own approved list of sub-consultants
A client wants you to recommend a contractor to use on the project, what are the implications of doing this?
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To give a better service to your clients, your director asks you to set up an approved contractors and consultants list. What key checks would you undertake prior to adding them to any approved list?
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