Roger Southam FRICS (born 29 June 1962) is a British chartered surveyor [1] and managing agent. He appears on property and consumer TV programmes as well as in national newspapers.
Roger Southam FRICS (born 29 June 1962) is a British chartered surveyor [1] and managing agent. He appears on property and consumer TV programmes as well as in national newspapers.
Southam graduated from Trent Polytechnic with a bachelor's degree in Urban Estate Surveying in 1984. [1] Having worked as an asset manager and senior development surveyor, Southam established his own company, Chainbow, in 1989, becoming chairman and chief executive. [2] Chainbow was founded as a property investment company, specialising in shopping centre and mixed-use asset management. In 2006, it moved into residential block management. [3]
In 2016, Southam was appointed a director in Savills Property Management team, after the company purchased Chainbow. [2]
Southam has been or is a panellist for leading organisations’ advisory boards and committees including:
In 1992 Southam became a Freeman of the City of London and a Liveryman and subsequently Master of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors. [1]
He is a former chairman of the Chartered Surveyors' Training Trust, the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors' Apprenticeship Scheme, which provides opportunities for 16 to 24-year-olds to form a career in the property industry (appointed 2005). [1]
Southam is known as a consumer and leaseholder advocate through industry and Government campaigns to license managing agents and to make them more accountable, thereby protecting the rights of homeowners and leaseholders.[ citation needed ]
Before the 2010 UK election, Southam's campaign ran alongside the work of groups such as the Campaign Against Retired Leaseholder Exploitation (CARLEX), Property Standards Board (PBS) and the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS).[ citation needed ]
He was appointed as non-executive chair of the government-funded Leasehold Advisory Service (LEASE) in December 2014. [5] Since then his suitability for the role has been questioned, for example see Private Eye No 1448, 27 July 2017, page 37 "Going Southam". [6]
In February 2017, Justin Madders MP (Labour, Ellesmere Port and Neston) questioned Mr Southam's suitability in parliament for the role. [7]
In October 2017, Sir Peter Bottomley (Conservative, Worthing West) asked Housing Minister Alok Sharma: "Will the Minister please give serious consideration to whether the chairman of LEASE—the leasehold advisory service—can properly remain in his role, or whether it would be better to let him retire and have him replaced?" [8]
Southam has been a regular columnist for London newspaper The Docklands and industry publication Shopping Centre.[ citation needed ] He has also made guest appearances on Channel Four’s Property Ladder, ITV's Tonight with Trevor McDonald , BBC News (TV), ITN and Sky News as well as BBC Radio 4’s You and Yours. Southam provides weekly comment on his own blog [9] as well as on Property Week’s blogs.
An estate agent is a person or business that arranges the selling, renting, or management of properties and other buildings. An agent that specialises in renting is often called a letting or management agent. Estate agents are mainly engaged in the marketing of property available for sale, and a solicitor or licensed conveyancer is used to prepare the legal documents. In Scotland, however, many solicitors also act as estate agents, a practice that is rare in England and Wales.
Real estate appraisal, property valuation or land valuation is the process of developing an opinion of value for real property. Real estate transactions often require appraisals because they occur infrequently and every property is unique, unlike corporate stocks, which are traded daily and are identical. The location also plays a key role in valuation. However, since property cannot change location, it is often the upgrades or improvements to the home that can change its value. Appraisal reports form the basis for mortgage loans, settling estates and divorces, taxation, and so on. Sometimes an appraisal report is used to establish a sale price for a property.
The Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) is a professional body promoting and enforcing the highest international standards in the valuation, management and development of land, real estate, construction and infrastructure.
A Quantity Surveyor (QS) is a construction industry professional with expert knowledge on construction costs and contracts. Qualified professional quantity surveyors are known as Chartered Surveyors in the UK and Certified Quantity Surveyors in Australia and other countries. In some countries such as Canada, South Africa, Kenya and Mauritius, qualified quantity surveyors are known as Professional Quantity Surveyors, a title protected by law.
Sir Paul Rupert Judge was an English business and political figure. He served as Chairman of the Royal Society of Arts, President of the Chartered Management Institute, and Deputy Chairman of the American Management Association. He also served as the Director General of the Conservative Party and a Ministerial Advisor to the Cabinet Office. He was educated at Trinity College, Cambridge.
Under Part 5 of the Housing Act 2004 a Home Information Pack, sometimes called a Seller's Pack, was to be provided before a property in England and Wales could be put on the open market for sale with vacant possession. There is separate legislation for Scotland that requires anyone selling a property to provide a Home Report. The pack was a set of documents about the property: an Energy Performance Certificate, local authority searches, title documents, guarantees, etc. The introduction of HIPs was subject to delays and reduced requirements, but they became mandatory for homes with four or more bedrooms on 1 August 2007 and were extended to three-bedroomed properties from 10 September 2007.
A leasehold valuation tribunal (LVT) was a statutory tribunal in England which determined various types of landlord and tenant dispute involving residential property in the private sector. An LVT consisted of a panel of three; one with a background in property law ; one with a background in property valuation generally a qualified surveyor; and a layman, although some decisions of an LVT were decided by a single member. LVTs were non-departmental public bodies.
Savills plc is a global real estate services provider listed on the London Stock Exchange and is a constituent of the FTSE 250 Index.
Chartered Surveyor is the description of Professional Members and Fellows of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) entitled to use the designation in Commonwealth countries and Ireland. Chartered originates from the Royal Charter granted to the world's first professional body of surveyors. Chartered Surveyors are entitled to use "MRICS" or "FRICS" after their names as appropriate.
Savills North America is a company that represents tenants of commercial real estate. Savills offers a wide range of commercial real estate advisory services.
The Worshipful Company of Security Professionals(WCoSP) is the 108th Livery Company of the City of London. It is a non profit making organisation providing education and health services to members of the security profession.
RH & RW Clutton founded in 1743 is an independent firm of Chartered Surveyors that has a history in providing property services to Homeowners and Landowners from offices in the South East. It is based in East Grinstead and has offices in Petworth and Guildford.
Smiths Gore was a firm of chartered surveyors with 32 offices and 18 estate offices across the UK. It is noted for its rural property consultancy services.
Kevin David McGrath is a British businessman and philanthropist.
Isurv is an online information service for expertise in natural and built environments. It was launched in September 2003 by the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors (RICS) and provides insight from verified legal experts and industry practitioners relating to construction.
The University College of Estate Management, formerly the College of Estate Management (CEM) is an independent higher education institution which provides courses by distance learning for people in the real estate development and construction industries throughout the world. UCEM is also one of eight original members of the Independent Universities Group, made up of universities not funded by the HEFCE. As of 2013, UCEM had educated over 150,000 students.
International Property Measurement Standard (IPMS) is a standardised and globally applicable method for measuring property. It aims to address current inconsistencies in the way property of all types is measured from one market to the next, improving property market data and providing greater transparency.
Steven Fogel is an English former solicitor who, in 2000, as senior partner, led the English law firm, Titmuss Sainer, into one of the first transatlantic law firm mergers. The US firm was Dechert, Price & Rhoades and the combined firm, where he joined the policy committee until 2005 and became managing partner until March 2012, is Dechert. When Fogel left Dechert at the end of 2012 he joined the board of the London-based European law firm SJ Berwin. He served there until 2016 as a non executive and advised on such matters as the combination of that firm with King & Wood Mallesons. In May 2019 the film “Raki’a” he co-made with artist Judy Goldhill was shown at the Venice Biennale, and then at WOMAD in July 2019.
Chestertons is one of the oldest firms of estate agents in the world. First established in 1805 by Charles Chesterton, the firm has sold property for over 200 years, initially in London. Recently it has expanded into international markets, such as the Middle East. Today the Chestertons network covers 21 countries and five continents through over 100 offices.
Jonathan David Harris, CBE, qualified as a chartered surveyor in the United Kingdom and went on to become President of the Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors in 2000/2001. He is Founder and Chairman of the Harris Foundation for Lifelong Learning, and has received honours for his services to surveying and to further education.