:: homeinspectors.co.uk - Our People

Stephen Callaghan Dip Arb FRICS FBEng, Chief Executive

Stephen Callaghan is the creator and Chief Executive of property-careers.com and its specialist trading brands including homeinspectors.co.uk, energy-assessors.com, and the-energy-portal.

Well known within the surveying profession, Stephen is a chartered surveyor, author and educator with a background in professional practice and standards. He has a wide range of experience in the independent as well as the corporate surveying sectors.

For more than 20 years he has been a contributor to many reform groups including the Government Advisory Group to improve the home buying and selling process, and currently represents the company on the Government Home Inspector and Domestic Energy Assessor Working Group. He recently chaired the RICS Working Group responsible for redefining the guidance for residential building surveys and assisted in the development of the Home Inspector National Occupational Standards and Guidance Notes. He is a member of the Asset Skills Property Services Board and represented property-careers.com on the ODPM Technical Standards and Business Processes Working Groups to define the blueprint for the IT infrastructure requirements of the Home Condition Report and Energy Performance Certificate.

Stephen continues to advise a wide range of organizations on the implications of the Housing Act 2004 and in 2005 secured the official government contract as lead writer of the standard text to be used by Home Inspectors in preparing Home Condition Reports. He assisted Asset Skills to develop and deliver the official technical training for Home Inspector Diploma Assessors.

He is author of the "Home Condition Report", "Building Survey" and "Homebuyer Survey and Valuation" chapters of isurv.co.uk, a prize-winning online surveyor resource (published by RICS Books from March 2005 to date), co-author of "Leasehold Reform - The Way Forward" (College of Law) published in 1994, and author of "Homebuyer Survey to Home Condition Report - Making the Change" (published by RICS Books January 2006 - ISBN 1-84219-246-9). Stephen is a contributor to technical journals on a regular basis for RICS, ABE, RIBA, College of Law, Contact Property Training, Professional Conferences, CPD Conferences, The CPD Foundation and others on a variety of surveying and valuation topics.

As an acknowledged authority on the surveying and home buying industry Stephen is a regular contributor to national newspapers including The Financial Times, Observer, Evening Standard, Sunday Times, The Independent, and the Daily Telegraph as well as trade journals including The Negotiator, Mortgage Strategy, and Building magazine. He has also contributed to BBC Breakfast News, Channel 4 News, GMTV and ITV Meridian News, BBC Radio 4, BBC local Radio, Commercial Radio, Einstein Network TV and Owlion audio tapes.

Paul Latham BSc (Hons) MRICS, Non-Executive Chairman

As non-executive Chairman, Paul helps to develop and drive forward the company's strategy to become the country's leading HCR and EPC training provider and work supplier to its growing membership.

With over 30 years experience of the housing industry, Paul has worked in the independent and corporate surveying and valuation sectors, becoming Managing Director of e.surv chartered surveyors in 2000.

An innovator in the surveying industry, he was one of the first to launch Panel Management, a first in the industry, reducing lenders costs and streamlining their administration, managing complaints and customer expectations. Paul has overseen the development of e.surv into one of the UK's largest distributors of residential valuations. He holds an honours degree from the University of Reading and is a qualified Chartered Surveyor.

Paul is recognised by customers as a leading exponent of technology solutions to provide real estate valuation advice to financial institutions.

Steve Bull MRICS, Operation Director

Steve joined the business in August 2005 from a long career in Residential Estate Agency and Surveying. He was formerly a Regional Manager with e.surv chartered surveyors, the UK's most successful and fastest growing Surveying and Panel Management business.

Steve explains his decision to join the company:

"I decided to take up the challenge of running this Company to make a real difference for the independent sector. I will create a level playing field over which all Home Inspectors can access a full range of Home Condition Reports (HCR) and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) Energy Rating work into the future.

Numerous changes to legislation have made the route to qualification for new starters and independent professionals very confusing indeed. Property-careers.com and its specialist trading brands including homeinspectors.co.uk, energy-assessors.com, and the-energy-portal. will guide you through the most appropriate training route and will provide opportunities for business.

But it cannot stop there if we are to add real value! We will continue to support and guide our members all the way through their formal assessment and onwards into a new business opportunity. I am frankly appalled by how seemingly "similar" businesses merely introduce candidates to academic centres and then leave them to struggle through this minefield alone. I personally guarantee this will not be their experience of our company."

Steve has a clear knowledge of the challenges of qualifying and running a business in this new marketplace.

".. Believe me! - You do need help and guidance to get through this process. We provide the unique mix of free up-front advice, competitively priced training products and ongoing mentoring throughout your formal assessment and qualification processes.

We provide the unique mix of free up-front advice, competitively priced training products and ongoing mentoring throughout your formal assessment and qualification processes. We can then provide our Members with quality Home Condition Reports (HCR) and Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) work, through the-energy-portal, on competitive terms.

This is a really exciting time for all independent practices to move forward with us and embrace these new opportunities."

Andy Featherstone – Head of Business Development

Andy joined the company in January 2006, having previously worked for SecureMove Property Services, formerly part of the Black Horse organisation and subsequently the Bradford & Bingley Group, for just over 10 years.

Having left the Royal Navy, Andy worked within the relocation industry, initially in an operational capacity before moving into a national sales role. From here, Andy joined Black Horse Corporate Property Services as their Sales Manager, responsible for promoting the Company's property solutions to major corporate lending institutions, institutional investors and developers throughout the UK. For the last few years, Andy has been responsible for marketing and distributing a survey franchise to independent surveyors in England & Scotland and promoting Home Information Packs (HIP's) solutions to independent and corporate practitioners.

Andy is responsible for building and maintaining relationships with Home Information pack providers and other customers seeking to instruct property-careers.com and its specialist trading brand the-energy-portal.

Andy commented,
"It is very exciting to have joined such an innovative organisation where the focus is on providing independent quality advice and solutions to would be energy assessors and home inspectors, from addressing training needs and supplying the necessary training through to providing credible business solutions once the candidate is qualified."

"The next few years are going to be a huge challenge for the industry, but I firmly believe that we are uniquely positioned, with the quality of our people and hands on approach, to be able to deliver our vision to the marketplace, be it new entrants, sole practitioners, independent estate agents and surveyors or larger corporate bodies. This is a massive new opportunity for all of these people and I believe that we will continue to rise to the challenges that a new opportunity such as this presents."

Barry Hall FRICS, MCIArb

Barry is Chairman of the Residential Valuation and Survey Group of the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors). One of the most popular trainers in the surveying industry, he was recently involved in the working groups behind the formation and training requirements for Home Inspectors and Energy Assessors as part of the Government package of reforms which include the Housing Act 2004. He is also a member of the Examination Board of the Awarding Body of the Built Environment (ABBE). Barry has been a Chartered Surveyor since 1972, and an Arbitrator since 1983.

Until his retirement in September 2003 he was the Chief Valuer of Ekins, formerly part of Woolwich/Barclays plc.

Richard Johnson Dip HI, MBA - Consultant Trainer

Richard, originally a practising Civil Engineer, is now a fully qualified Home Inspector and NVQ Assessor. He assists in the delivery of our Home Inspector Exam Preparation Courses.