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Mon 23 December 2019
A day in the life of a …
From time to time we like to go behind the scenes with a key member of staff at Andrew Granger & Co Ltd.
This time we’re introducing you to Rural Surveyor, Rebecca Falder BSc (Hons) MRICS who works as part of the rural team, which operates out of the Loughborough office.
Rebecca graduated from Harper Adams with a degree in Rural Enterprise and Land Management and then worked towards her Assessment of Professional Competence to become a qualified Chartered Surveyor in November 2018.
How does your day in the office start?
My day starts before the office when I go and see to my horse. When I arrive at the office, I may flick through Farmers Weekly whilst waiting for my computer to start up and then I check my emails. We have clients that email all hours of the day!
What can a typical day involve for you?
When asked by my friends, ‘what is it that you actually do?’ I tend to reply with a very cliché answer which is that, there are never two days the same. It may be cliché, but it’s true. This job is so varied and that’s one of the reasons I enjoy my job. We spend around 75% of our time in the office and around 25% of our time out and about.
When leaving the office, I could be off to; inspect land with instruction to market it for sale or to let, meeting tenants to discuss their tenancy or a contractor to look at property maintenance. I could be going to meet a client to report an update, we like to keep regular contact and build good working relationships with clients so meeting with them to keep them updated on things we are currently working on is really important. I could be meeting someone to provide advice on the potential diversification of agricultural buildings (agricultural building conversion to residential), or meeting somebody about a disputed right of way, or to provide a valuation. Visits also include trips to farms to assist with countryside stewardship agreements and applying for grants. This list really could go on ….
In comparison to my time spent out of the office in the countryside, the office is based in the town centre of Loughborough, where we share our office with one of our residential sales and lettings team. When back in the office, with copious amounts of tea and a great team around me, I am able to work on all of the things seen out on site, at my desk.
The rural team act for a diverse range of clients, including private, institutional charities and trusts. It is important that we can adapt to different clients who each have different needs with varying property types be it; residential cottages, agricultural land and farms, commercial units, churches and woodland.
What do you like most about your job?
I enjoy how varied my job is and that I can get out of the office. I also really enjoy talking to farmers whether they be clients or tenants, I find it really interesting to learn about how individual their farming systems are.
What is the most challenging thing about your job?
Although I love how varied my job is, it does bring with it its own challenges. As with everything, regulations are often changing so one of the main challenges we face is keeping clients up to date and providing advice on all the latest changes surrounding all types of property.
What do you like to do when you’re not working?
The weekends seem to fly by as I try and pack as much as possible in. Normally including riding out on my horse, spending time with family and friends, gardening and baking.
Are you an early bird or a night owl?
Definitely an early bird. Even at the weekend! I like to make the most of the day.
