SECTION 3 - AGREEMENTS

3.1 Agreements

A clear and specific agreement with a client is a precondition of rendering professional services satisfactorily. Not only will it prevent misunderstanding and ill feeling; it will, in some instances, preclude a dispute and preserve the integrity of the practitioner.

Content
Prior to performing any professional services, a practitioner should
State with reasonable exactitude
the scope or extent of services to be performed,
the cost or fee basis of the services,
the approximate time of its completion, and
the payment schedule.
Explain foreseeable contingencies or repercussions of the work,
Come to an understanding about the survey specifications to be followed, and apprise the client of the consequences of non-standard performance.
At the same time, the practitioner should
Put the terms of the agreement in writing, and retain a signed copy of the agreement, and
Provide the client with a copy of the agreed-upon survey specifications, or inform the client of their availability.
Qualifications
Exceptions to the Agreement
Clients should be made aware of services that are not included in the agreement.
Any survey specifications not to be followed in providing agreed-upon services should be explicitly mentioned.
Additions and Amendments to the Agreement
The terms of any services that substantially alter the original agreement should be negotiated;
(i) as requested by the client,
(ii) as required by reviewing agencies, or
(iii) as arising from the circumstances of the agreed-upon work.
Any change in the required survey specifications should be negotiated.
Commentary:

3.1(a)(1)(A)(ii) If the cost of services is not a firm price but only an estimate, that fact should be stressed, whether the agreement is oral or written.

3.1(a)(1)(B) The stake-out of a building, for instance, is normally contingent upon a boundary survey. Protruding stakes or pins may inadvertently result in harm to person or machine.

3.1(a)(1)(C) This section may be made discretionary, if the client is already familiar with the survey specifications or demands a completion period too short for the survey specifications to reach him.

3.1(a)(2)(A) It is common in many areas of the state to perform surveying services on the basis of an oral agreement. The practitioner should, however, beware of making oral agreements, especially on projects the scope or extent of which is either indeterminate or possibly misrepresented.

3.1(b)(1)(A) Some services may be excepted as a rule, such as setting corner pins in doing a mortgage survey or placing a written certification on a survey plan.

3.1(b)(1)(B) Some standards are set by statute or municipal ordinance, or required by a lender or title insurer, and cannot be excepted, regardless of the client’s desire.