House and land Precinct design

Hi we are bought house and land package in South Morang through Simonds.

Simonds has asked us to provide us with surveyor details or recommended Checkpoint Surveyor. What should we do, go with Simonds recommended option or look for our own surveyor?

The argument I have received thus far.

With builder appointed surveyor work will be smooth as it is precinct design and reputed builder, there is less need to worry. Also, the surveyor will be liable for their reputation as well so won't do a shady inspection.

The argument for my own surveyor is as I have appointed them there is more likelihood that they will do proper inspection and therefore less risky.

Please suggest.
Thanks

Arent these two different roles? Surveyor arranges the permits, check the plans etc. There can be only one surveyor per build. Easier to use builders usual one for this.

Inspector is your privately appointed quality checker. This is paid by you on your own.
At least that's how it works with my build with PD.

Yes surveyor and inspector are different roles. I am given the option to chose surveyor myself or go with builder appointed surveyor.

I will be picking and paying for inspector myself. Do you know at what stage to chose inspector? Is it at pre-handover of building inspection or we can engage inspector earlier for various stages of the build.

thanks

EDIT: Just read somewhere on the net
"Building inspections are carried out either by qualified building surveyors, or building inspectors acting on behalf of building surveyors. In NSW, they're referred to as the Principle Certifying Authority (PCA). Building surveyors and building inspectors are experts on both the Building Code of Australia - which covers the technical side of building a house - and the different interpretations and building regulations in your state or territory"

I am more confused now

Chop anyone can carry out building inspections, take photos and check them with the codes ...you can do it yourself
Building Surveyors certify design compliance to the National Construction Codes (BCA)
The problem arises on site with Non-Compliance as Building Surveyors and Inspectors
can't deal with non compliance. ie what happens if your footing details are non-compliant they generally turn a blind eye...there are plenty of examples where owners have queried footing details & Photos on H1?
Once the concrete is poured...nothing can be done thereafter without engineering data and proofs and the builder knows that
Be prepared hire your own Structural Engineer for critical inspections hth

I've informe PD from the beginnig that I will be using an independent inspector at each main stage, namely
pre-pour
Framing
Pre-plaster
Fixing/waterproofing(probably)
Pre-handover.

If you go down that path, forward all construction drawings including engineering to your inspector, as soon as you have them.
Normally pre-pour inspection time is directly arrnged between slab supervisor and your inspector due to very short time between steel work and pour. Rest of the inspections you need to arrange.

At the slab stage, PD appointed surveyor sent a one pager showing pass, while the inspector I appointed found few errors which I passed to slab sup. Slab supervisor took pictures of corrected steel work prior to concrete pour the following day.
While I dont know if all the errors were corrected ( hard to see from pics) I have a record that PD corrected them in case something goes wrong at a later stage.

Most likely you have next to no choice in this mater. Are they willing to pay and handle communications with the Building Surveyor only if you selected their preferred company? Most likely if you choose yours they'll make you pay for it all, and they'll make it extremely hard to via their lack of communications to that supplier.

Actually they are the same in the sense that the Building Surveyor is suppose to employ or perform site inspections the same as what you will pay. The failure here is that there is only 3 stages they have to inspect and they'll not inspect with your best intentions in mind, well the builders preferred supplier will not. This is how the big players bypass the spirit of the law, and how the industry of inspectors get to double dip at the buyers expense.

As I was going to point out, they are different but also the same. The VBA states that the appointed Building Surveyor is suppose to do all the things are second inspector people usually employ does.

So within the law you get the volume builder incorporating the cost of their preferred surveyor in your base price, which they have the builders best intentions not yours and you'll not get a credit for that if you use your own. Then you get to pay for it again, if you want someone to actually have your best interests and check what the person already paid to do is signing off on.

It's a huge rout, and everyone knows. VBA, volume builders, the inspector industry ... but they all do nothing as they get the double dip and no penalties for bypassing the spirit of the law and the individual buyers get the crap end of the deal.