The Surveyor Hub Podcast

The title “Attracting the Right People” may sound a little bit misleading, but don't worry, I am not going to share dating tips with you. This piece is about engagement and visibility. You need to wave your flag high and proud to get attention. But then you've also got to hold the conversation consistently to be credible. This applies whether it's at your place of work or running your own business...

For this week’s episode of Women in Surveying, Marion had Clementine Munro and Joanna Tate talking about how it is to be women surveyors in the United Arab Emirates.  Joanna Tate is a RICS Registered Valuer for Colliers in Abu Dhabi, providing residential real estate valuations for banks, asset managers, companies, and individuals. Most of her valuations are for secured lending purposes (mort...

Do you know what it costs to run your business? Perhaps you earn enough, you do all right, and don't think it's right or possible to charge a higher fee than you already do. Either way, every business has an ebb and flow when it comes to money. Whether you do project work and have a plan and budget, or you work harder some months of the year, make hay while the sun shines as they say. Balancing ca...

Duncan Greenwood is a Partner at DAC Beachcroft LLP, a global legal practice with offices across Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America focusing on insurance, health, and real estate sectors. He is a professional indemnity lawyer who has been defending claims against professionals for the last 25 years -- leading the professional property practice in the UK. Duncan has dedicated his entire career...

Well-run businesses generally get fewer complaints and claims, and they're certainly less complex ones. There are three main areas you need to focus on when it comes to protecting your practice as a surveyor. These are the interactions you have with your clients and customers, the areas of regulation you need to navigate, and your responsibility as a business owner. What We Cover:  - Attracti...

Maria Coulter is the Founder of Construction Coach, helping clients to grow stronger, more profitable and happier businesses. She is the starter of The Construction Revolution to get away from the 'race to the bottom' on cost, and also the Non-Executive Director of the Construction Industry Council and Chair of their Diversity and Inclusion Panel. Maria is passionate about bringing change to the i...

When you know who you are being in business or life, you aren't compelled to compete. Why? Because you're clear on who you serve, what you do, the value you bring to your clients and you are able to charge what you're worth. And yet so many surveyors who run businesses, too often suffer from comparisonitis and have one eye on the competition, rather than doing the work to understand who their clie...

This week Marion sat down with Rebecca Jenkins and Michaela Perry-Kay for a Women in Surveying chat. Rebecca Jenkins is a Chartered Building Surveyor based in Sussex. The company, Sussex Surveyors, is based in Hove with offices in Haywards Heath, Eastbourne and, soon, Chichester. She spends most of her time working on party wall matters, writing specifications of works and inspecting defects in re...

At least once a week, a surveyor contacts me who has received a complaint or claim and doesn't know what to do, or is now struggling to obtain PII insurance. And yes, while the market for insurance isn't great, the premiums are high, customers are a pain in the neck and didn't read the report, the plain truth is that at some level, you do not have a well run business and you've left yourself expos...

Suki Kaur Gill is the Head of Investigations at RICS. She is responsible for enabling RICS to meet its obligations to deliver effective self-regulation, by delivering high quality, transparent and robust regulatory investigations. She is also responsible for making sure decisions are made in compliance with RICS' regulatory framework. Connect with Suki Gill: - https://uk.linkedin.com/in/suki-gill-...

Whether they are small business owners, managers, CEOs or students aspiring to run their own businesses, surveyors often reach out to me for help with business planning. There's a million different gurus, methods, books and templates you can follow to help you with business planning. Having invested in a lot of them, I’ve learned a few things about what works and what does not. What Is Covered: -...

Jen Lemen is a co-founder of Property Elite, Chartered Surveyor and RICS APC assessor. She is the author of 'How to Become a Chartered Surveyor', published by Routledge. She is also an experienced property consultant (co-Director of Projekt) with FRICS status, a RICS Registered Valuer and a RICS Accredited Mediator, with nearly 15 years' experience working in the commercial property sector. What I...

A question I'm asked a lot by surveyors is “Should I work for myself or not?”  Maybe you are a student starting out. Maybe you’re employed but not being able to create the work life balance that you crave. Or you already work for yourself, but find that you are working ridiculously long hours and feeling like getting off the treadmill. As surveyors, you love what you do, but you struggle with...

We’ve hosted a panel of Women in Surveying to discuss working under COVID, surveyors’ visibility and taking care of mental wellbeing, especially for surveyors who are also parents. Participating surveyors were Emma Snipp, Sana Gabriel and Stacey Price.  About Emma Snipp Emma is a chartered surveyor, confidence and resilience coach. She specialises in empowering women in property, propert...

When surveyors and trainees share their worries and fears about being a professional surveyor on social media, they typically fall into three categories. Firstly, they don't know how to use the tech or get overwhelmed by which platform is best. The second worry is not knowing what to say or post. The third thing I hear from surveyors is that they often have worries and a deep rooted fear about bei...

Geoff Hunt is a Chartered Building Surveyor, author of bestselling book Residential Building Defects and publisher of Architectural Timelines. He specialises in pre-war enlisted buildings, and he lectures at universities and surveyor training courses across the UK. He is also active in The Surveyor Hub as the group admin and shares his enthusiasm for surveying with our community. What We Cover: -...

In this episode, we are talking about looking after our wellbeing as surveyors in order to be able to thrive in our business. As much as wellbeing is an overused word, it's still not understood well and it's so critical to your business and your work, especially if you work for yourself. Our energy and wellbeing affects how we react to different situations, and when you're in the business of surve...

Nicola Allen is the Director at DA Associates Consultancy. She has 8 years of professional experience as a building surveyor, fire risk assessor and project manager, and has been involved in commercial, retail and public sectors. Nicola is a RICS Associate Assessor and acts a Consultant to Property Elite in providing support for candidates undertaking their AssocRICS assessments/qualifications. Wh...

You know you're a surveyor when you've been waiting all summer for this podcast to return. We are back now, and it’s been a tricky ride since we’ve learned about the outcome of the independent RICS review by Alison Levitt. I’ve had to take time to process what I've read and what I've experienced, not just as a member surveyor of RICS, but also as a member of the Governing Council. Like many of you...

Ray Simmonds is the Technical Manager at Countrywide Surveyors, one of the largest, most trusted property surveying and valuation practices in the UK. What we cover: - What is the relationship between the panel firms and lenders- How to make decisions and stand by them- How has the pandemic changed the way we work- Can AVMs replace surveyors and valuers? Connect with Ray Simmonds: LinkedIn https:/...

We've recently held a panel discussion about PII with a few experts in the field.  What we cover: - What is a PII and how does ARP work- How to cover claims in the PII- How to reduce liabilities- What is the current state of the insurance market Participants: Paul Holford BSc (Hons) MRICS is a member of the RICS with over 20 years post qualification experience. He is an RICS Registered Valuer...

Rebecca Lovelace is the Founder and Chief Dot-joiner at Building People CIC, a co-founder of Be Onsite and BuildForce, and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts. With twenty years’ experience in industry, Rebecca brings expertise in maximising the social impact of construction projects through enabling collaboration between multiple stakeholders and individuals from diverse and disadvantaged local...

Ian Jeal is the Global Director of Education and Qualification Standards at the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. Ian is responsible for RICS’ global university relationships and works with RICS’ technical experts to agree the criteria and assessment processes for RICS’ professional qualifications. What we cover: - How to get qualified and join RICS - What has changed in the APC Assessment...

Ann Gray, FAIA, FRICS is both a licensed architect and real estate broker. Ann founded GRAY Real Estate Advisors in 1995 providing consulting services to property owners, brokers, and land-use attorneys on entitlements, development, and positioning to optimize outcomes for complex properties. She is a member of the RICS Presidential Team elected to promote ethical and professional standards worldw...

A case that started with a survey in 2011, Hart v Large recently came to a climax, raising a number of issues that have sent shivers down the collective spines of the residential sector. Settled out of the court, the resulting level of damages was awarded against the surveyor.  We gathered a panel of participants to discuss this case. Leslie Milson is a Chartered Valuation Surveyor and RICS R...