Commercial property consultancy fees depend on the decision you need to make, the number and complexity of buildings, the quality of available information and the agreed deliverables. Hope & Harbour provides a written scope and fee proposal before paid work starts. A quotation review and an ongoing management appointment are different commissions and should be priced against their own requirements.
Start with the decision, not a day rate
A useful brief might be: “We need to decide which maintenance quotation covers our requirements” or “We need a prioritised programme before setting next year’s budget.” That tells an adviser what the output must achieve. Asking for general property advice without a decision or boundary makes offers harder to compare.
Identify the property type, location, your role and the existing records. Explain any genuine deadline and why it matters. Do not send confidential building documents through a public form; first agree how the information will be exchanged.
What changes the scope and fee?
| Factor | Why it matters | What to establish |
|---|---|---|
| Number of buildings | Records and stakeholders may differ | Which premises are included |
| Information quality | Missing or conflicting records take work to resolve | What exists and what is unavailable |
| Site involvement | Access, travel and physical assessment affect delivery | Whether records review is sufficient |
| Output required | A comparison note differs from a maintained programme | Format, detail and intended decision |
| Ongoing involvement | Meetings and follow-up create recurring work | Review frequency and responsibilities |
Compare the total appointment
Check what is included, what depends on information from you and what is excluded. Ask whether travel, meetings, revisions and specialist input are included or separately proposed. Establish VAT treatment in the actual quotation. A low headline fee may represent a narrower scope; an expensive report is not automatically more useful.
A sound proposal should explain deliverables, assumptions, responsibilities, fee basis and the process for agreeing additional work. A fixed scope needs a change process when new buildings or tasks are added. A time-based arrangement needs clarity about authorisation and reporting. We agree these terms for the particular commission rather than publish a rate that cannot describe every brief.
A focused review can be the first step
Illustrative example: A managing agent has three quotations for one maintenance contract. A first appointment could compare the offers, identify exclusions and produce clarification questions. It need not include contractor appointment, site supervision or ongoing performance monitoring unless those are expressly added.
After the review, you may implement the recommendations yourself or discuss continuing support. There is no need to assume that every problem requires a retained management service.
Prepare a useful enquiry
- State the decision or problem in one sentence.
- Identify the building locations and the records available.
- Explain who will approve the work and use the output.
- Ask for a written proposal with assumptions and exclusions.
Explore maintenance budgets and lifecycle planning, use the quotation comparison worksheet or discuss a scoped review. These are descriptions of our appointment process, not a market fee survey.
Useful next steps
Maintenance action register · Questions by area
This guide provides general management information. Decisions about a specific property may need site assessment and appropriately qualified technical or legal advice.