Careers > My Career In...
Commercial Surveying
Varied experiences in providing services to clients through transaction and portfolio management and valuation of commercial property.
In This Article
Role Overview
Organisation Type
Large Corporate
Role Type
Professional
Starting Salary
£28,000
(£5,000 extra for being London based)
Av. Weekly Hours
47.5
Organisation Type
Large Corporate
Role Type
Professional
Starting Salary
£28,000
(£5,000 extra for being London based)
Av. Weekly Hours
47.5
About the Author
Role Requirements
Role Name:
Commercial Surveyor
Time in Role:
2 years 9 months
Degree:
- University of Manchester – BSc in Planning and Development – First Class
- University of Manchester – Masters in Real Estate – First Class
A-Levels:
Geography (A), Biology (B), Chemistry (C)
- Social Skills
- Good organisation
- Ability to be resourceful
- Good with numbers
About the Author
Role Name:
Commercial Surveyor
Time in Role:
2 years 9 months
Degree:
- University of Manchester – BSc in Planning and Development – First Class
- University of Manchester – Masters in Real Estate – First Class
A-Levels:
Geography (A), Biology (B), Chemistry (C)
Role Requirements
- Social skills
- Good organisation
- Ability to be resourceful
- Good with numbers
Key Responsibilities
- Valuing commercial properties within the City of London
- Keeping up to date with current market trends
- Interpreting comparable sale and leasing information
- Building relationships with internal and external investment and leasing brokers
- Co-ordinating client instructions with other business lines
A Day in the Life
Some of the day-to-day tasks I typically undertake are:
Team meetings to discuss current workload and instructions
Recording and analysing recent sales and lettings within the market for use in reports
Modelling valuations by adding inputs to an automated model – this can also be done via discounted cash flows and excel
Drafting fee quotes
Drafting engagement letters
Liaising with clients to ensure the brief is being met and appropriate information is shared to undertake the instruction
Delegating work and managing the workload of graduates in the team
Additional Details
Working in the office vs working from home
I am asked to be in the office Tuesday – Thursday. So I work from home on Monday and then go to our other office on Friday to catch up with colleagues I don’t see between Tuesday and Thursday. My line manager is very relaxed about taking additional work from home days if we have the doctors or commitments after work etc.
How is your work assigned?
My work is assigned by my manager and workloads are regularly reviewed / discussed as a team. It’s a good transparent way of doing things, in my opinion.
Is your role client-facing?
This specific role is less client-focused than previously; we still have interaction, but any business development comes from the top of the team. Albeit, I still have to interact with clients once business has been won.
Do you receive commission?
This specific role is not commission-based, but I am hoping to move to a different role that is.
Do you take professional qualifications?
You do a professional qualification which is linked to salary growth and job opportunities that you take in the first 2 years of the graduate scheme if you have a masters or done in 2.5 years alongside masters if not.
Author's Opinion
- I find the work very interesting, although this can be very dependent on the team/department you end up in
- There are benefits and drawbacks of working for a large corporate company vs smaller firms
- It is a very social role both in terms of talking to clients and being part of a graduate scheme. I have made a lot of very good friends from work.
- There is a big difference in terms of the team/department you end up in. If accepted onto a grad scheme for property, I would recommend using LinkedIn to network and speak to people in various roles to get their opinion on rotations and teams to target. You don’t always have a choice, but it definitely helps to have shown an interest in the team(s) you want to end up in.
Share This Article
Explore All Careers
Explore insights on a range of careers, written by those who already have experience within the field.