The differences between these two professions are as clear as night and day, even their professional bodies and qualifications are different. The Quantity Surveyor belongs to the AIQS while the Property Valuers belong to the API. It's an undeniable fact that these two professions are fundamentally intertwined in the property industry. Undoubtedly, they offer unparalleled experience and expertise to specific projects.
Typically, a construction project involves both a Quantity Surveyor and a Valuer from start to finish. Quantity Surveyors estimate and monitor construction costs from the feasibility stage through to the completion of the construction period.
A Property Valuer would judge the project's viability by analysing sales evidence of land, building value, market conditions, DCF modelling, etc. Do you see how both professions can intertwine?
However, their differences diminish when it comes to who the more qualified building insurance valuer is.
Theoretically, when looking at the same property, a valuer and quantity surveyor should be able to produce an assessment within 10% of each other. You see, both property Valuers and Quantity Surveyors are highly specialised, qualified, and masters of their domains.
It is not a case of just choosing a qualified person. The question is, how much experience does the practitioner have? How much are they charging? What projects have they worked on in the past?
A Valuer and Quantity Surveyor should be able to produce very similar numbers. Their methods, however, can vary. Choose your practitioners based on their level of experience and background.
There have been cases of Valuers and Quantity Surveyors missing an entire floor of a building. It all boils down to experience.
At Delphi Consultants & Valuers, we have trained and worked with Quantity Surveyors and Valuers of varying experience levels. Contact us today for more information on our Building Insurance Valuation product.