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Rebecca Freeman nearly became a lawyer. A clearing phone call changed that, and she ended up in residential surveying instead. It turned out to be exactly the right fit. She built a career that now sits at senior leadership and risk at Legal & General Surveying Services. But the most important parts of that journey aren't on the CV.

In this episode, Nina talks to Rebecca about what residential surveying is really like to do. You're going into people's homes, often alone, navigating situations that no training manual fully prepares you for. She speaks openly about lone working, personal safety, and why the profession needs to take both more seriously. She also talks about emotional intelligence as a practical skill, not a soft one, and what it actually takes to do this job well over a long career.

This is the kind of conversation the profession needs more of.

What We Cover

• How a clearing phone call led Rebecca into surveying instead of law
• Why residential surveying suited her from the start
• Starting out at Countrywide and learning the job in Bath
• Mentorship, MRICS and building a long-term career in the profession
• How the 2008 crash reshaped day-to-day working life
• The shift from paper to digital and early surveying technology
• What residential surveying reveals about people and how they live
• Lone working, personal safety and the support surveyors actually need
• Emotional intelligence and handling difficult situations on site
• What AI and technology might change, and what will always need a human

Guest Links

Rebecca Freeman: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rebecca-freeman-frics-98312019/

Legal & General Surveying Services: https://www.legalandgeneral.com/surveying-services/

Women in Residential Surveying: https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13733915/

Useful Links

LionHeart: https://www.lionheart.org.uk/

Guest Bio

Rebecca Freeman is a residential surveying leader with more than 20 years’ experience in the profession. She is Risk Director at Legal & General Surveying Services and previously spent 22 years with Countrywide Surveying Services, building her career from graduate surveyor through to senior leadership. Rebecca is also the founder of Women in Residential Surveying, where she has been championing better support, visibility and practical conversations around the realities of working in the profession. Her background spans residential valuation, surveying operations, risk, training and professional development, with a particular interest in lone working, resilience and the future of residential surveying.

If you want to connect with surveyors across the UK and keep up with the profession, join The Surveying Room. It is free to join and open to all types of surveyors, students, and professionals who work with them. Surveyors UK & The Surveying Room  

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