Bella Legard

Name

Bella Legard

Department

Residential Development

I work within the Residential Development Department in the Valuation team at Associate level. Currently work is tough as the market dictates the conditions and this can be seen in all aspects of residential development. I am currently working on a number of projects including the Gateway Plaza in Barnsley which is a large development valuation this scheme comprises a total of 188 residential units, nearly 6,000 sq ft of retail and nearly 100,000 sq ft of offices, with a multi-storey car park with 548 spaces and a large hotel. This involved going on a site visit and taking photographs of the site, walking the site boundary and inspecting plans for the proposed development to make sure that the boundary's were correct. I also went to the council office in Barnsley to inspect the planning permission to make sure that there were no conditions which would affect the development and spoke to all the local agents in Barnsley as well as the National Agents in Leeds to get an idea of proposed sales prices and see if they were in line with what the agents thought.

This report has now been written up and we are currently inspecting the Report on Title before the land completes to make sure everything is in order. The development report was very interesting to write and also involved an appraisal which was based on a residual appraisal and also involved work in the office section which I was helped out with by our commercial department in the Leeds office.

As the market at the moment is difficult, we are having to find ways to bring in income other than the instructions we usually get. The working atmosphere is good and everyone is working together as a team but at the moment it is very challenging. My level of responsibility is high I am helped by a graduate who I also have to manage on a day to day basis and make sure that the APC work is carried out. Highlights of what I am doing involve inspecting site which I enjoy and interacting with clients. I enjoy client entertaining which involves going to the races, going out to lunch and there are a lot of evening do's which I enjoy as I live in the city centre and actually work around 5 minutes walk from my apartment which is great fun.

I recently enjoyed a day at York races which was provided by some clients and also involved interacting with a lot of the banks which I do most of my work for.