ᐅ Independent Building Inspector – Necessary or Are There Alternatives?

Hello – what has been your experience with your building surveyors (building inspectors)? Were they worth the – often high – cost?

For my planned new build with a regional construction company that hires subcontractors and also provides its own site management (I am aware that this company may not always be acting in my interest).

I have now received an offer from TÜV: 3,300 for 4 site visits plus inspection reports. That’s 825 per visit to the construction site. I find that quite steep, especially since you can’t be sure if you are getting truly competent professionals.

What do you think? What alternatives are there? No independent building inspectors and just hope everything goes well? Hiring a freelance engineer online and hope they are reliable?

I understand that finding defects early during construction by experts can save a lot of money. Using independent surveyors may reduce risks somewhat. But even then, you can’t be completely certain.

Regards from Lower Saxony.

If anything, I would hire an independent construction supervision service through an engineering firm, but that costs more than 3300 euros. In my opinion, the four visits from the technical inspection inspector can also be skipped.

It depends on the scope of these reports (after all, they still need to be prepared—possibly supported with photos). Honestly, I don’t find the price at all excessive. Travel to and from the site is also involved.

In my opinion, there are definitely more foolish ways to spend money. And as a layperson, you often won’t notice certain defects—whereas an expert usually will.

EdStark schrieb:
That's 825,- per visit to the construction site. I really find that cheeky.

That is actually a common daily rate in the field of expert assessments.

So, we are building without an inspector, but basically any money spent that gives the builder a better feeling is well invested. After all, you don’t want to have a heart attack because of building a house.

nordanney schrieb:
That is a common daily rate in the inspection field.

Exactly. A motivational coach can be more expensive but finds fewer defects...

So, we found an inspector from the IHK list, contacted him, and he was quite affordable... however, he didn’t write anything down or send any letters... but that was sufficient for us, as we just wanted to know if everything was okay.