YESTERDAY was emergency general meeting day for both the Irish Auctioneers and Valuers Institute (IAVI) and the Society of Chartered Surveyors (SCS) which are due to merge officially on April 8th.

While the merger was always sure of success, there is a realisation on the part of the IAVI members that they face higher fees going forward for membership of the representative body.

The combined Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and SCS membership fee is about €717, per annum, €100 higher than the amount traditionally paid by IAVI members.

“There are guys out there who are struggling with the fees in general. They would have been offered stage payments over several months and as long as they were co-operating by paying something it was okay,” said one informed source. “But then of course, there were the guys who have always been slow. They would have been slow in the good times and theyre still slow.”

Now the question is whether people will keep membership of the RICS given it’s not compulsory. The annual fee is €317, a trifling sum in the boom, but some of the greyer haired members, being of a certain age, know theyre never going to work abroad and are questioning whether its worth it.

On the other hand, younger members want it because they are probably going to move to Australia while those on the building surveyor and quantity surveyor lists have always needed it as they usually spend some time abroad working.

Theyre particularly in demand in the likes of New Zealand and the Middle East, especially Abu Dhabi, where the Irish expat community seems to be growing rapidly.

SCS membership is €400 and both young and old are expected to retain that.