Summary

In this episode of This Is Surveying, Nina Young speaks with Rosie Wills, a chartered construction manager and ASSOC RICS surveyor based in North Devon.

Rosie shares her journey from over ten years in social housing into private residential surveying. We discuss damp and mould, peer review, Level 2 surveys, estate agent relationships, vendor surveys, pricing transparency, and why collaboration matters across the UK surveying profession.

This is a practical conversation about raising standards, reducing complaints, and building trust in residential surveying.

What We Cover

• Rosie’s route into surveying and chartered construction management
• Damp and mould expertise and building pathology
• The transition from housing to private practice
• Peer review between surveyors
• Understanding the RICS Home Survey Standard
• Working constructively with estate agents
• Vendor surveys and pre-sale strategies
• Transparent pricing and website improvements
• Complaints handling and professional risk
• Collaboration across UK surveyors

Guest Links

Rosie Wills LinkedIn – https://www.linkedin.com/in/rosie-e-wills/
Nova Surveyors – https://novasurveyors.co.uk

Useful Links

Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) – https://www.rics.org/

Guest Bio

Rosie Wills is a chartered construction manager and Assoc RICS surveyor based in North Devon. She spent over ten years working in social housing, developing specialist expertise in damp and mould and building pathology. Rosie now works in private practice delivering residential property surveys, including Level 2 and Level 3 home surveys, alongside specialist defect investigations. She is passionate about collaboration, peer review, professional standards, and improving trust in the surveying profession.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

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Summary

In this episode I’m joined by commercial property surveyor and Property Elite co-founder Rachel Saint. We talk about APC pathways, the Senior Professional route, and why structured support matters so much for UK surveyors at every stage.

Rachel shares how she went from secretary to chartered surveyor, built a career in landlord and tenant and retail consultancy, and then pivoted into training surveyors across a huge range of pathways. We dig into the reality of the RICS APC, how to choose the right route for you, and what good mentoring and counselling actually looks like in practice.

What we cover

• Rachel’s unconventional route into surveying and early years in residential block management
• Moving into commercial property, retail consultancy and mixed use development
• Setting up Property Elite and the surge in demand for support during COVID
• How diverse the surveying profession really is, and why that makes APC complex
• Choosing the right APC pathway and competencies for your actual work
• The role and challenges of APC counsellors and supervisors
• Why structured support is harder in smaller or non-surveying organisations
• The three alternative RICS routes, including Senior Professional, and who they suit
• Senior Professional interviews, leadership and management-focused competencies
• Why valuation is both science and art, and why you still need to get out and see property
• Market myths about people “giving up” on APC, and why the picture is more nuanced
• Free resources and newsletters from Property Elite for APC candidates

Guest links

• Property Elite website: https://www.property-elite.co.uk/
• Rachel Saint on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachel-saint-1103b09/

Useful links

• LionHeart charity for surveyors: https://www.lionheart.org.uk/

Guest bio

Rachel Saint is a chartered commercial property surveyor with over 30 years of experience across landlord and tenant, retail agency, and retail and mixed use development. She started her career in residential block management before moving into commercial work, advising on shops, supermarkets and wider retail strategy. Rachel is the co-founder and owner of Property Elite, a specialist training and mentoring business that supports surveyors through RICS routes to qualification, including APC, Associate and Senior Professional routes. She now spends most of her time helping UK and international surveyors navigate pathways, competencies and assessments, and is particularly passionate about making the process accessible for candidates who do not have structured in-house support.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn

In this episode I am joined by Ola Alade, a chartered commercial surveyor and RICS Matrics Commercial Property Surveyor of the Year 2025. Ola shares how he went from biomedical science to commercial property, and why he has chosen to focus his work on helping small businesses understand and negotiate their commercial leases.

We talk about AI in surveying, from the reality on the ground in property firms to the tools that are already saving time for small practices. We also get into access, diversity and retention in the surveying profession, and Ola’s work as an APC counsellor, assessor and chair.

What We Cover

• From biomedical science to commercial surveying
• Discovering property via CoStar and NHS Property Services
• Working at The Arch Company and negotiating directly with small business tenants
• Why Ola founded Olawill and chose to sit on the tenant side
• How commercial leases and rent reviews really affect SMEs
• Where AI tools actually help surveyors and small businesses today
• Data, hallucinations and negligence risks in AI-assisted professional practice
• Why the word “surveyor” confuses people and how that affects recruitment
• Diversity, progression and the reality of representation in senior roles
• Making the APC interview process fairer as a counsellor, assessor and chair

Guest Links

• Olawill – Lease advisory for SMEs
• Connect with Ola on LinkedIn

Guest Bio

Ola Olade is a chartered commercial surveyor and founder of Olawill, a lease advisory practice focused on supporting small and medium-sized businesses. After an early academic path in biomedical science, he retrained in real estate development at the University of Westminster and built his career across roles at CoStar, NHS Property Services, The Arch Company and LCP. Ola has worked extensively in asset management and lease events, particularly with SME tenants in railway arches and neighbourhood parades, which inspired him to focus on redressing the knowledge imbalance between landlords and tenants. In 2025 he was named RICS Matrics Chartered Commercial Property Surveyor of the Year. He also serves as an APC counsellor, assessor and chair, helping the next generation of surveyors navigate the chartership process.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room

Connect with me - Nina Young on LinkedIn