I am the other half of Chichester Surveyors (if you haven’t read about Sarah yet, find her here:
https://www.chichester-surveyors.co.uk/about-me-sarah and I wanted to come and introduce myself.
It’s been a whirlwind year for me. Creating a firm like Chichester Surveyors has been something I’ve been thinking about for some time but, like many people, I struggled to find the time and energy to plan it. Nearly three years ago, my husband and I had just bought our ‘forever house.’ We were in the thick of applying all of my building surveying knowledge to it and, in particular, our bathroom which turned out to not have one, not two but three leaks! We were coming to the end and I wanted the wow factor from the tiling and knew I needed a professional. Enter ‘Sarah The Tiler.’ I’d taken a look at her work on Instagram and decided she’d be perfect for the job. Little did I know that this would be the start of Chichester Surveyors, years before either of us were at all ready for such an adventure.
Fast forward to 2024 and Sarah and I had become good friends. We’ve spent hours discussing our ideas of what would make this industry better for everyone; the Clients primarily but also the vendors, the estate agents and the surveyors themselves. We talked about how we could build a firm that looked different, worked differently and offered better value.
For the previous 7 years I had worked for other firms, always the only female surveyor, and relished the challenges and opportunities within those roles. But, I knew I needed something more!
In my working life, I have had many roles. I’ve been a letting agent, an estate agent, a block manager and a residential maintenance manager. I’ve been a freeholder, a leaseholder, a tenant and a landlord. I’ve bought and sold properties and advised others on the same. In 2016 I started looking around for what might be next and Building Surveyor seemed a natural choice. Using my years of experience within property, I enrolled onto a Masters degree at Kingston University and began to study alongside my day job. It was incredibly hard work and it didn’t stop once I graduated with a Distinction in 2017. I went on to apply everything I’d ever known about property and everything I’d learnt on my degree and dove straight into my first Building Surveying role.
In 2020, following years of further study and on-the-job experience I was successful in achieving Chartered status with the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors, RICS. A real highpoint of my career so far!
I have been lucky enough to work with some great people who have supported me through this journey. It’s not been easy but the rewards speak for themselves!
With my experience in all areas of property I feel I have an almost unique perspective as a residential Building Surveyor. I know and understand the dynamics between the various parties involved in every area of property. I pride myself on my interpersonal skills, being able to use my knowledge and experience to improve our Clients’ experiences.
Now with Chichester Surveyors I feel we are building something new, something a little bit different and something very exciting.
2025 is looking good and I’m excited to see where it takes us. I hope you will come along with us for the ride!