Episode 113: How to work with a quantity surveyor to increase your profits and decrease expenses

In this week’s podcast episode we talk to Malepeli Malataliana, a Candidate Quantity Surveyor (QS). She was born and raised in Lesotho and moved to South Africa in 2012 to study at the University of Pretoria.

She is also an MBA graduate and has a financial literacy interest and an interest in getting people to become financial adults.

 

She explains that a quantity surveyor is a construction accountant, they tell you how much the construction is going to cost, how much you’re going to make per year from the project, they are also the link between the developer and the contractor and they are the contract manager.

 

A quantity surveyor manages the contract and makes sure that the contract is understood by both the contractor and the developer.

 

We’ve had a QS on the show before but this episode is completely different to that episode. Malepeli answered the following questions for us:

- How did you decide to study Quantity Surveying?
- What is a quantity surveyor and what does a Quantity Surveyor do?
- Why should ordinary real estate investors have building projects for small projects?
- How do you negotiate and navigate building projects when you have a friendship with the contractor?

- What is a JBCC (Joint Building Contract)?
- Is there a difference between a resident or commercial quantity surveyor?
- Can beginner investors team up with a QS to help them build their tribe in the industry?

- Are Quantity Surveyors taught how to mediate and negotiate for the clients at school or on the job?

This is another eye-opening episode and we recommend you grab a pen and paper so you can make notes as you listen.

Click play on the audio below to listen to this week's episode.