Compare an Agreed Surveyor and Two Separate Surveyors for a Party Wall Dispute

One surveyor or two: the choice sounds procedural until the fees and the timeline start to diverge. This compares an agreed surveyor against separate ones on cost, speed, and how much control each side actually keeps, with a different recommendation depending on whether the neighbours are still on speaking terms.

Compare the two routes available once a party wall dispute needs a surveyor: appointing one agreed surveyor for both sides, or each side appointing their own surveyor who then agree a third. {PROJECT_TYPE} is the neighbouring work causing the dispute.

Cover cost (roughly how each route compares in fees), speed (which typically resolves faster), and how much control each side keeps over the outcome. Note the situations where an agreed surveyor is the sensible default and the situations where separate surveyors are worth the extra cost, such as a genuinely contentious boundary or a neighbour who is not engaging in good faith.

Give a short recommendation for a first-time party wall situation with no prior conflict, and a separate recommendation for one where trust has already broken down.