Website £20/month
Website-only subscription is £20/month, purchasable in three month blocks.
See also Personal coaching below.
APC Answers
APC Answers
APC Answers
LETTING YOU TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR APC
A fresh approach
The inspiration for this website came from hours and hours of personal APC coaching, during which I kept giving different candidates, the same advice, again, and again, and again. I thought, why not create a place where all this information could be accessed by any interested candidate?
Although each candidate is unique, there is a finite amount of professional knowledge that we look for when assessing, which inevitably leads to the same questions being asked. A high proportion of the final assessment interview is predictable.
I was also frustrated by seeing the question 'lists' that are circulated, where highly-likely questions appear adjacent to extremely unlikely questions. I felt there had to be a better way.
APCanswers.co.uk brings together that repeated and predictable learning into a one-stop shop for candidates, to learn at their own pace, in their own place.
Is it for me?
APCanswers.co.uk covers all APC entry routes for the Commercial Real Estate and Valuation pathways.
Much of the content will be useful for Property finance and investment, and Corporate Real Estate candidates too.
I have also added a Supervisor, Counsellor, Assessor option for qualified surveyors who are training APC candidates.
The science of spaced repetition
The rationale for the core content of this website, the Q&A, is a powerful learning technique, known as spaced repetition.
Rightly, or wrongly, passing the APC requires learning and, more importantly, being able to recall, under pressure, lots of knowledge.
Competencies
All of the frequently declared competencies are covered plus some of the more niche ones too.
The Basics section explains provides a quick walk-through of each competency, including pros and cons, key knowledge, level 3 questioning and examples of issues that have led to referral.
Q&A providing many of the FAQs together with model answers. Level 1 sets out the knowledge required for the competency, whilst experience examples and case studies, provide examples of experience and possible key issues.
Final assessment
Final assessment covers all the aspects that lead up to your one hour interview.
This includes choice of enrolment, route, pathway, diary, CPD, competencies and their levels, specialism, case studies etc.
There is detailed advice based on 250+ APC interviews on writing your submission, interview technique, and case study presentation.
Resources
Each competency has its own resources section, which Is a one-stop shop for many of the key documents.
There is also a general resources section, including In brief summaries and links to topical articles, which relate to the APC and competencies.
There is also a glossary, which provides definitions of many terms and phrases that you need to know.
Subscription options
Personal coaching £125/hour
Personal coaching is £125/hour. VAT is not payable.
Personal coaching candidates that have at least one hour per month receive website access for free.
I'm not a believe in prescriptive approaches to studying for the APC, as every candidate's personal and financial situation is different.
Ideally, this e-learning platform should be used alongside some personal coaching, as there are many situations that are unique to each candidate.
Submission review
Submission review is a service that can include:
- reading your proposed submission
- checking for validity (competencies, levels, CPD etc.)
- commenting on suitability of experience examples and case study, with suggestions for improvements
- grammatical and typographical errors
- providing specific likely questions, not covered on the website
There is no fixed charge for a Submission review, rather I discuss the brief with the client and try to adjust to their budget.
If your budget is unlimited, expect at least three hours for a full review, from scratch. This will be cheaper if I have been coaching you, as I will already have provided advice on examples and probably have proof-read it already.
Mock
Mocks are essential for ultimate preparation. They familiarise the candidate with structure, timing and feel of the final assessment process.
Ideally, you would have three experienced assessors but that would be costly (unless you have this in house). A suitable alternative is one or two assessors, but make sure that you are going to get 30 minutes of technical questioning on your case study, not 15 minutes of technicals and 15 minutes of mandatories because that is not what happens in the real thing!
Q&A sessions
Q&A sessions are like mini mocks but are structured around your competencies. A typical Q&A might last an hour, and include two or three technicals plus several mandatories with a heavy emphasis on Ethics. These are ideal in the run-up to a mock or as further practice once you've had a mock and need to brush up on some areas. These are also charged on an hourly rate.
Supervisor role
Your Supervisor has to sign off that your work is your own. I do not see how an external advisor can do this, it should be a senior colleague. I am, however, prepared to take on the responsibility for 'signing off' your APC preparation to a line manager, with them signing off your professional work. This is a free service for candidates on an APCanswers structured training programme.
Structured training programme
Structured training is engaging APCanswers to be responsible for setting your APC revision programme, including CPD.
Again, this can be flexibly-priced, to suit budget and proposals are modular allowing candidates and their employer to pick and mix between components e.g. monthly or quarterly calls, submission reviews, mocks Q&As etc.
About the creator
APCanswers was created by Ralph Charlwood, FRICS.
Ralph has been assessing since 2016 and has undertaken over 250 final APC interviews for the RICS. Ralph is a panel Chair, as well as a Chair/Assessor on two-person panels.
In addition to assessing candidates, Ralph is also a member of the RICS APC appeals panel, helping decide candidate appeals as well as a panel Auditor.
With thirty years of experience in the real estate industry, Ralph brings hands-on experience on experience examples and case studies.
Ralph has assessed Commercial Real Estate, Valuation, Property finance and investment, Corporate real estate and Planning and development candidates.
Ralph's primary work focus is APCanswers and associated APC coaching. He has coached many successful candidates.
About the creator - Ralph Charlwood FRICS
My name is Ralph Charlwood. I qualified as a Chartered Surveyor in 1993 and was elected a Fellow in 2014.
I am an RICS APC Chair, assessor, member of the Appeals Panel and Panel Auditor. I started assessing in May 2015 and, since then, I have assessed, Chaired (and Chair-assessed on two-person panels) over 250 candidates. In addition to formal RICS assessments, I have coached, including mock interviewed, and reviewed final submission documents for dozens of candidates.
In addition to my assessing and coaching, I have written a number of articles on the APC for the Estate Gazette - below.
The APC has only significantly changed three times since I started assessing. The first change was the introduction of the new pathways and competencies in 2018. The second was the decision that panels would no longer know whether a candidate had been previously referred. The final one was the 2020 change to online ‘virtual’ assessments. Other than that, all of my APC experience has been in the current format.
I bring deep real estate practitioner experience to the assessing process. I did my real estate degree at what is now DeMontfort University (I preferred it as Leicester Polytechnic). I had summer jobs at both the City of London VOA and JLL and was on the JLL graduate scheme between 1991 and 1993, when I qualified. Whilst at JLL (1991-2000), I gained experience in:
- Rating (Local taxation)
- Valuation
- Property management
- West End Leasing (Leasing/letting)
- Fund Management (Purchase and sale, Investment management, Due diligence)
- National Investment Agency (Purchase and Sale, Due diligence)
After completing my MBA, I joined an American Bank, GMAC Commercial Mortgage. In 2007, I left GMACCM to join the two founders of Longbow Real Estate Capital LLP, which is now ICG Real Estate, part of ICG plc. Whilst there I was an Equity Partner, Director responsible for sourcing, appraising, structuring, closing and managing high-yield transactions in the UK. We were ‘hands on’ lenders and in that role, I appraised business plans, including leasing and other asset management initiatives. I was a director of two equity investment companies.
My banking experience covered a broad range of relevant competencies, including:
- Property finance
- Investment management
- Valuation
- Inspection
- Landlord and tenant
- Financial modelling
- Corporate real estate
- Leasing/letting
- Purchase and sale
- Accounting principles and procedures
- Communication and negotiation
I am also a Liveryman of the Worshipful Company of Chartered Surveyors and I co-ordinate the Livery APC Masterclasses.
Frequently-asked questions
You don't know my experience, so how useful can a website be?
Whilst candidates are told that the APC is focused on personal experience, nearly 250 assessments has taught me that the same questions come up again and again, and again. Assessors may frame a question around stated experience but, fundamentally, they go into every assessment with a relatively fixed idea as to what knowledge they expect a candidate to have. There are, of course, new questions and this site cannot 'guess' every single one, but it serves as a very strong base of knowledge and understanding.
Does the website cover every question I might be asked?
In a word, no. Unless you have the easiest panel ever, there will be questions you cannot answer. After nearly 250 RICS interviews and mocks, there are still questions I cannot answer. Sometimes these are just really hard and sometimes they are just badly-worded.
If I subscribe does that mean I don't need any other help?
No.
This site is not meant to be instead of other help or personal coaching but in addition to it. There are many aspects of a successful APC training programme that have to be discussed but, at the heart of it is a strong base of knowledge and understanding.
Personal coaching varies considerably. It can be as little as undertaking mock interviews through to providing a full, outsourced Counsellor and Supervisor role. In my experience, personal coaching nearly always includes some element of motivation and stress management.
In house supervisors are invariably juggling their own workload and a life outside the office. This means that some don't give their APC candidates enough attention. For APC coaches, getting you to pass is their entire focus.
Whilst many counsellors and supervisors are excellent not all are fully conversant with the current APC structure. APC coaches have to know all of the latest changes and requirements and, given their exposure to many final assessments, they have insight into which competencies, examples and case studies work best (and which to avoid!)
There's just you, isn't there?
Yes, APCanswers.co.uk is one person's work and I do all the coaching. There are other providers, with consultants who work for that particular brand. Some try to cover many pathways and specialisms, whereas I keep it focused and only cover what I know. Given it's just me, it's easy for me to keep the standards high.
Why don't you have testimonials?
I'm always skeptical about published testimonials. My preference is to offer you a private chat with Chartered Surveyors that I have helped qualify who are prepared to speak to potential clients. If you are close to signing up but need reassurance, contact me and I will arrange for you to speak to one of my former clients.
I have been referred, can you help?
Probably. It depends on why you were referred, and whether I was involved in your referral.
I generally choose not to assist anyone I have referred, as this raises ethical considerations. I don't ever want anyone to think that deciding to refer might create business opportunities. However, if you were referred and your referral report states that the panel were satisfied with your Ethics and professionalism section, I may be able to help.
Referrals are rarely exclusively about lack of experience. I cannot help with what you are doing in your job, although experienced assessors and coaches often identify aspects of your experience that should be emphasised to demonstrate level 3 experience. We can also spot topics that should be de-emphasised or excluded. A coach can help with areas of weakness in your experience that may be useful feedback to your employer.
Referrals are often based on a candidate's inability to explain the underlying technical knowledge relating to level 2 or 3 examples. APCanswers.co.uk can definitely help with understanding and remembering core technical knowledge.
Referrals are understandably disappointing but having already sat the interview once, re-sitting is less of a surprise.
Why is your logo a swift?
The original logo was going to be a Yeti microphone as I thought that APC answers would be podcasty audio coaching. The more I thought about it the more that a content-rich website with quizzes and resources would be better, with audio and video as additional resources rather than the core resource.
The next iteration was a play on three little birds from the Bob Marley song. I felt that the lyric, 'don't worry about a thing, because every little thing is going to be alright' provided the kind of reassurance that I like to give every candidate. We chose a wren, because I like wrens. You hear them but don't see them.
Three birds was not working so we went for a single bird. I really liked this but, assessing from home in spring of 2021, I was watching the swifts above the houses opposite and had a change of heart.
The common swift (apus apus) is migratory and is only in the UK for 12 weeks in the late spring and summer. They make a c.5,000 mile trip to mate and lay eggs from sub-Saharan Africa. Swifts are the fastest bird in level flight at 70 mph (the peregrine falcon is quicker in a gravity-assisted dive) and they spend most of their life, including sleeping, in flight.
Although their historic habitat was ancient woodland in modern times, swifts nest in buildings. Recent redevelopment and endeavours to make buildings more energy-efficient has resulted in destruction of swift nests, making them a victim of the wider real estate and construction sector. That, combined with their presence whilst I am assessing led to the choice of logo.
