It could be said property is in James’s blood. His stepdad was a builder, and his uncle a Chartered Surveyor. James grew up bingeing on Homes Under the Hammer!

Incredibly proud of working with the great team at Novello, James covers London and Surrey and enjoys using his expertise to advise and guide people through the biggest purchase of their life. This is backed up by his reputation across the industry with solicitors, estate agents, and clients for his informed, friendly, frank expert advice.

Career Highlights

2020 was definitely James’ year; he won the “RICS Young Surveyor of the Year Award for Residential Property”, which will be hard to top! James won this prestigious award for his success in developing and launching Novello and its bespoke set of surveys; Level 2 HomeLevel and Level 3 Novello building survey.

James and fellow Novello co-founder Jack Pye were keen to champion the use of digital technology to provide surveys to meet the requirements of today’s world.

Professional Qualifications

James is an MRICS Chartered Surveyor and an Assessment of Professional Competence (APC) assessor. He finds being an APC assessor hugely rewarding - helping new professionals gain MRCIS certification.

Areas of specialism –

• Building Surveys
• Roof Surveys
• Valuations
• Expert Witness Services

Education

James gained a BA (Hons) in Politics from the University of Leicester, writing his dissertation on the history of UK housing policy. He then went onto Sheffield Hallam and studied for an MSc in Building Surveying.

Hobbies and Interests

Originally drawn to a life of rock and roll, James played the guitar in an indie-pop group Bamboo & Co. Sadly, the rock star life wasn’t to be, and he chose the dizzy heights of surveying instead.

James can be found playing football at weekends for the Old Thorntonians’ FC, but he might be looking for a new pastime, as he’s not sure how much longer his creaking knees will last!

With a newborn baby in tow, James is kept very busy. But he does hint at looking forward to the re-opening of pubs and enjoying a summer of beer gardens.