Firstly, you want to make sure you are appointing the right surveyor. A professional and reputable surveyor should be able to advise you if they do not believe they have enough experience or expertise to help you on a particular matter. The key things to look out for are a successful track record and a firm grasp of exactly what you want out of the investment.

Denzity provides a great database for finding a surveyors in a particular market and you can also use the RICS Find A Surveyor webpage. In my mind though, the best thing you can do is have a chat with a couple of surveyors to find out who you find the best connection with. A true professional shouldn’t be too pushy and should be able to answer all your questions knowledgeably and honestly.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

These standards are essential for transparency. Ultimately occupiers pay based on the area available to them. Given there is scope for a large difference in the stated area for the same space, there is potential for occupiers to be misled about how much space they are actually paying for. It also makes cross-border work more challenging and prevents easy comparison between assets. This erodes trust in the industry and can seriously affect decisions that are being made.

We are currently seeing limited adoption of the new International Property Measurement Standards, particularly outside of the UK. However, part of this is due to awareness – Over time I expect more professionals to be aware of these standards and their benefits which should help to boost usage. However, you do see some landlords in particular who are reluctant to adopt IPMS as they don’t want to change their existing methods of measurement for their buildings.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

Absolutely – this for me is one of the biggest issues in our industry at the moment. It all comes down consistency and transparency with measurement, which at the moment we don’t have. Until 2016, there were no global measuring standards, so what we found is that buildings were being measured in different ways across the world. The best illustration of this was a piece of research which took the same office building, but had it measured by surveyors from across the globe. What they found was there was a difference of almost 25% between the areas for the same space.

This has massive repercussions in terms of how people for the space, how people perceive space and how people plan their space.

In order to address this, the RICS introduced a truly global standard of measurement which was formed by a multinational team of experts which should ensure real estate is being measured consistently across the globe.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

Surveying has traditionally been seen as quite an old-fashioned industry. Until recently, colleagues in the UK were still using tape measures when measuring properties and technology has always been seen with a degree of scepticism. However, I think this is now changing rapidly and new technology is revolutionising the industry.

One example which is starting to take off is Tokenisation. This is a new, digital method of buying and selling either part or the whole of a building. In theory this makes real estate investment much easier to access and opens it up to a much larger market.

Another example is the advancement of automation, specifically artificial intelligence. We are seeing AI computer models which are able to value assets within a much finer margin of error than they did previously which could really change how valuers perform their roles.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

The first scenario may be a fund who are looking at whether to dispose of an asset or not. To help with their decision-making process, they could engage a surveyor to provide them with an independent valuation of the asset which will help them realise what they can realistically expect to receive if they did sell the asset. They could also engage a surveyor to work with them on the disposal, advising them of how best to package the asset and market it in order to ensure they achieve maximum value.

Another example may be an investor who is looking to buy a second-hand asset which is in need of some renovation and re-development work. A surveyor would be able to work with the investor to identify the areas of work that need to be undertaken and the likely costs, whilst also advising the investor on the best additional works to undertake in order to optimally position the asset in the market, maximising rental return and minimising void periods.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

Surveyors could and should be involved in every aspect of any investors real estate decision making. In the first stage, an investor or developer could consult with a surveyor to find suitable land plots, assess development potential and constraints and advice on planning and development strategy in order to make the development as profitable as possible.

At this stage it pays to have a multi-disciplinary team of surveyors employed – for the viability, valuation and feasibility work, a commercial surveyor will be able to advise, whereas for the construction and project management work, a building surveyor will be able to advise, ensuring that the client is getting the best advice throughout the process, avoiding any pitfalls and maximising profitability.

A commercial surveyor will also be able to help with the marketing of the development scheme, either for subsequent sale, or for leasing. With leasing of uncompleted developments, it’s absolutely vital that a client gets professional advice, as the wrong lease or tenant could seriously prejudice any future lettings.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

I’ve seen so many instances of investors who have either failed to take professional advice, or engaged the wrong type of professional and it has resulted in them making costly mistakes which could so easily be avoided.

In my mind, the purpose of appointing a professional is to de-risk a decision and that is absolutely the case with real estate investment. A properly qualified surveyor will be able to provide an investor with an un-bias independent opinion on a property.

This sounds simple, but numerous investors pay over the odds for a property, or agree unfavourable lease terms because they haven’t used the right professionals to advise them.

One example that springs to mind is an investor who purchased a retail building which had a construction defect. A qualified building surveyor would have been able to spot this defect and saved the client a huge sum of money from the retrospective works they then had to carry out. Another example is a landlord who decided to lease some of their office space without appropriate advice. As such, they agreed a rental level well below the market tone and agreed lease terms with the tenant which were particularly unfavourable to the landlord.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

There are numerous routes of entry to the profession and it depends on which governing body you want to be a member of, but in order to join the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, there are two main routes to entry.

Firstly, you can study for an RICS accredited degree and then complete a two year training programme at your employer, before you will be invited to present to a panel where they will judge whether you display the personal and professional qualities necessary to become a chartered surveyor. This process is called the Assessment of Professional Competence or APC for short.

The second option is the professional experience route. Under this pathway, would be surveyors who have enough existing professional surveying experience (typically 5 years plus) can apply to sit their APC without needing an accredited degree.

You need to think carefully about whether you want to value property in the future though, as in order to be a RICS Registered Valuer, you will need to demonstrate a higher valuation standard than you would need if you don’t want to be a valuer in the future.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

Conveyancing is the process of transferring ownership of an asset between parties. Surveyors will have multiple roles within this process. First of all, when a party decides to either sell or acquire an asset, they will typically employ a surveyor to advise them on the process and to ensure they are buying the right asset at the right price, or selling the asset on the best available terms.

The surveyor will then work with their client to help push the deal through and will liaise with the clients other professional advisors, including continuing to provide real estate input and advice throughout the legal process.

At this stage, if the client requires finance to complete the purchase, a surveyor may also be employed by the lender to ascertain the value of the property and to ensure that the lender can be confident that they can recover the amount they have lent, should the borrower default and the lender then has to sell the asset. Because there is potential for a conflict of interest here, it is important that the surveyor acting for the lender is fully independent from the surveyor acting for the buyer/seller.

Essentially, during the conveyancing process, the surveyors role is to make sure that their client is fully informed of their options and the situation and that they provide their client with the best possible advice in order to achieve the optimal result.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk

Surveyors typically specialise in real estate where they are split into five main categories – Rural Surveyors, who will specialise in farm land, agriculture and energy projects, Commercial Surveyors who deal with Offices, Shops, Warehouses, Hotels, Hospitals etc, Residential Surveyors who work with houses and flats, Quantity Surveyors who provide building material and cost estimates and then Building Surveyors who typically deal with building defects, construction and project management. Outside of real estate, you’ll also find surveyors working in measurement and the appraisal and assessment of fine arts and antiquities, although these categories are generally more niche.

Within each of those main categories, surveyors will specialise in a particular area. For example, you may have one commercial surveyor who specialises in Office Agency, while another may specialise in Valuation work.

Real Estate investors will typically work with either a rural, commercial or residential surveyor, depending on what sort of asset they wish to invest in.

For more insights on surveying check out the episode I did with Denzity! https://youtu.be/lRp0f978Xvk