Diary of a housing QS

Monday

am Finalised details for a presentation that I’ll be giving to one of my social housing clients to update them on the development of a new scheme which will provide them with 16 units of accommodation. Feel slightly concerned, as the client has arranged for the meeting to be held in an old people’s home that it owns. This will be a first for me. I’m more used to formal meeting rooms.

pm Chaired a meeting between one of my housing association clients and the contractor for an office refit. This proved a little stressful, as a quarrel broke out among the housing association’s staff as to how much office space they should all get. It was my job to play peacemaker. Once an agreement had been reached, it then emerged that the housing association’s IT manager, who was off sick, had already agreed terms with contractors about how many computers were needed and where to put them. I was not impressed.

Tuesday

am Chaired a much less stressful monthly update meeting between a social housing client and the developer of a 31-unit scheme currently on site in west London. The meeting went especially well as it emerged that the developer owns an Asian restaurant in Southall. He then suggested that we hold next month’s meeting over a meal (on-the-house) at his restaurant. I graciously accepted.

pm Received the news that development proposals for a site in north London owned by a housing association client had been turned down for the third time. It is clear that the council is fobbing us off, but we’re not sure why. They seem to like our client. We now have to go back to the drawing board.

Wednesday

am Gave the presentation that I was preparing on Monday for a new housing scheme. It was held in the dinning room of the old people’s home and was very surreal. The room had big glass windows leading into the lounge area and it was hard not to be distracted by elderly residents staring in and then shuffling off with their zimmer frames. Despite this, it went well.

The video showed a man jumping off the adjacent building. Thankfully it turned out he was a stunt man

pm Left work early to go and support JRP in a group five-a-side football game against the accountant Ernst & Young, which was organised by [QS News’ sister magazine] Property Week. I’m apparently not good enough to be in the team. During the match, one of JRP’s managing partners, who did make the team, was kicked in the face. He received a cut to his head that later required gluing (of the medical variety) at hospital. But as a good representative of the company, he played through to the end of the match.

Thursday

am Carried out a site inspection on one of our largest developments, which involves 191 units. I arrived late after being stuck in traffic for an hour and then had to climb seven flights of stairs and two ladders (in steel-toecapped boots) in order to find the site contractor. He was eager to show me a video clip that he had just recorded on his mobile phone. It showed a man jumping off the top of the adjacent building. Thankfully it turned out that it was a stunt man filming for a TV programme. The rest of the site visit went well.

pm Went back to the office and tried not to laugh at the big bruise that had appeared on my manager’s face – hardly the ideal look for holding important business meetings. Luckily he saw the funny side. I spent the rest of the afternoon looking at land purchasing possibilities for a client.

Friday

am Had a meeting with the JRP partners to discuss our business plan. Not the most exciting way to start a Friday.

pm Finished the week with a business lunch with a client to discuss possible development ventures. I have become well known for my Friday lunches by colleagues, as they often end up in a pub somewhere, as this one did. It’s the perfect way to conduct a meeting of this kind and an ideal start to the weekend.