OK you wealth of information peeps.
My neighbour is having an extension done to the side of her house which brings it up to my boundary. Now I'm not against her proposals but...... I've been advised to protect myself by getting a Party Wall Surveyor to ensure that my property isn't adversely affected by the work she's having done as it will be within 3 metres of mine. There is a difference in the height of my ground level to hers of about half a metre. The houses are also higher at the back than at the front as the ground level slopes down towards the front but the gradient isn't that sharp. The house looks straight in case you're thinking I live in a wonky house (Am I making sense???)
Anyhoo due to the difference in the ground levels, I've been told that her foundations 'could' have an affect on my patio and the side portion of the garden/foundations of my house/sewer & drains, so I've been advised to get a Party Wall Surveyor to inspect my house/garden before the works commence and then again after the works have been completed. I've also been told from Citizens Advice, that my neighbour has to pay for my surveyor (anything between ÂĢ500 - ÂĢ700)
My main question (and yes I've finally got to the crux of the matter) is that some home owners employ the same surveyor as the neighbour doing the works to cut down on costs as ÂĢ500 twice is very expensive for them!!! I'm not adverse to doing this but I'm wondering how impartial would her surveyor be? Would he tell me everything is OK just because she's his primary client? What if something went wrong - where would I stand? Or should I just get an independent surveyor and let her suffer the costs???
Has anyone had experience of a situation similar to this? Or what would you recommend?