Property Typing Jobs: Do You Have the Skills?

Fast Fingers? Property Typing Could Be the Job for You

What does it actually take to become a professional property typist?

Are you a fast and accurate typist? Do you like the idea of working from home rather than spending your mornings sitting in rush-hour traffic? If so, property typing could be worth considering.

Property typing involves turning audio dictation from chartered surveyors into accurate, professionally formatted documents. Building surveys, valuation reports, Schedules of Dilapidations, Schedules of Condition and site notes are just some of the documents you might encounter.

But listening and typing is only part of the job.

First Things First: Can You Type?

You need to be able to type quickly. At BackupTyping, our property typists are required to have a minimum typing speed of 80 words per minute.

But speed on its own isn't enough.

There isn't much point in typing 100 words per minute if you then spend the next half an hour correcting what you've written. Accuracy, spelling, grammar and attention to detail matter just as much.

You also need to be able to listen and type at the same time, recognise when something doesn't look or sound right and go back to the original audio when necessary.

A good property typist is fast. A very good property typist is fast and accurate.

You'll Need to Speak Surveyor

Not literally, of course, but property typing comes with its own vocabulary.

Chartered surveyors regularly use terminology that somebody without property experience may rarely encounter. Building elements, defects, construction methods, lease terminology and industry abbreviations can all appear within a single piece of dictation.

Knowing the terminology makes the job much easier. Instead of trying to work out what an unfamiliar word might be, an experienced property typist will often recognise it immediately from the context.

That's why property experience matters to us at BackupTyping. All of our typists have previously worked at senior levels within chartered surveying organisations.

If you're interested in the process from the surveyor's side, our guide to audio transcription for chartered surveyors explains how dictated reports become finished documents.

It's Not Just About the Words

Typing the words is only part of the job.

A surveyor doesn't generally want a great block of accurately typed text returned to them. They want a professional document they can actually use.

That could mean working with an existing company template, applying headings and numbering, formatting tables, inserting photographs, sorting out page breaks and following a client's house style.

A strong working knowledge of Microsoft Word is essential. Depending on the work involved, familiarity with Excel and other Microsoft applications can also be useful.

That's where property typing goes beyond basic transcription. The job isn't necessarily finished when the last word has been typed.

You can read more about what is involved in professional report formatting.

What Equipment Do You Need?

The good news is that you don't need to turn your spare room into an office full of specialist equipment.

You will need a reliable computer or laptop, a good internet connection, the appropriate software and somewhere reasonably quiet to work.

A transcription foot pedal is also an important piece of equipment for a professional typist. It allows you to play, pause and rewind audio using your foot while your hands remain on the keyboard.

And, of Course, You Get to Work From Home

For many property typists, this is a big advantage.

There is no daily commute, no rush-hour traffic and no spending money simply to get to and from work. Your journey to work may consist of walking into another room and switching on your computer.

Remote property typing can also give you more control over your working day. Depending on your deadlines, you can often fit the work around children, appointments and other commitments.

But there is an important difference between flexible working and working whenever you fancy.

Flexible Doesn't Mean Deadline-Free

Property transcription can be time-sensitive.

At BackupTyping, our clients can choose 2 Hour Urgent, Same Day, Overnight or 24 Hour turnaround services. If you've accepted work that needs to be returned within a particular timeframe, that deadline matters.

Working remotely therefore requires self-discipline. Nobody needs to be standing over your shoulder, but the work still has to be completed accurately and on time.

You get flexibility, but you still have to get the work back when you said you would.

Is Property Typing for You?

Property typing isn't going to suit everybody.

If you hate sitting at a computer, find detailed documents tedious or don't enjoy listening carefully to audio, it probably isn't the obvious choice.

If you can type at least 80 words per minute, have a good eye for detail, are comfortable using Microsoft Word and enjoy working independently, you're already off to a good start.

Property experience is a big advantage. So is being the sort of person who spots that a heading is in the wrong font, a paragraph number has gone astray or a sentence you've just typed doesn't make sense in context.

So yes, fast fingers matter, but they're only part of it.

You need speed, accuracy, good Word skills, attention to detail and an understanding of the language used within the property industry. You also need to be organised enough to work independently and meet deadlines.

If all of that sounds like your kind of work, property typing could be worth a look.

Interested in Working With BackupTyping?

BackupTyping has specialised in property transcription and document production since 1999. Our typists work remotely and have previous senior level experience within chartered surveying organisations.

If you're an experienced property professional with excellent Microsoft Word skills and a typing speed of at least 80 words per minute, we'd be interested in hearing from you.

Contact BackupTyping to introduce yourself and tell us a little about your property experience and typing background.

Who Is Formatting Your AI Reports? And How Long Is It Taking?

AI can produce a surprising amount of text in a very short time. For surveyors using speech-to-text and AI-assisted report writing, that’s an obvious advantage.

But there’s something we keep coming back to. Who is formatting all these reports?

The Part Nobody Talks About

Imagine you’ve finished a building inspection and used speech-to-text to prepare your initial report. You’ve got the content, you’ve checked it and made the necessary corrections.

Now it needs to keep to your firm’s report template. The headings aren’t quite right, the spacing has gone peculiar, a table has moved onto the next page and then the photographs need inserting.

Before long, you’re spending an hour doing something you thought the technology was going to save you from. Sound familiar?

Your Time Is Still Valuable

Chartered surveyors spend years developing their professional knowledge. Their clients are paying for that knowledge, their judgement and their experience.

Spending the afternoon wrestling with Microsoft Word probably wasn’t part of the plan. We explored the cost of this in Fee Earner or Typist? Why Outsourcing Typing Works.

It may be worth considering whether professional document formatting services could take some of that work off your desk.

We Can Work With What You’ve Already Produced

You don’t have to send us an audio recording. If you’ve used speech-to-text to produce a draft, we can work from that. If you’ve prepared the report yourself but need it formatted into your existing template, we can do that too.

Our team works with property reports, building surveys, dilapidations schedules and other specialist documents. We understand the importance of following a firm’s established layout and producing consistent documents.

We won’t pretend to replace the surveyor’s technical judgement, that remains with the person preparing and approving the report. Our job is to make sure the document is properly presented and to flag anything that needs clarification.

For a closer look at this workflow, see Using AI for Survey Reports? Here’s Where Human Support Still Saves Time.

Perhaps It’s Time to Change the Process

AI may reduce the time spent preparing a first draft but there’s little benefit if all that saved time is spent correcting formatting afterwards.

Prepare your report using whichever method suits you, then send it to BackupTyping for document production.

Already using AI or speech-to-text? Send us your draft and let us take care of the formatting.

To speak to a human call 020 7096 1663 or email us hello@backuptyping.co.uk.

The Hidden Cost of Poor Microsoft Word Templates in Professional Report Production

The Hidden Cost of Poor Microsoft Word Templates

For many surveying practices, Microsoft Word templates are used every day without much thought. Once created, they often remain unchanged for years.

Over time, however, even well designed templates can become increasingly inefficient as branding evolves, reporting styles change and additional content is added.

Small inefficiencies repeated across hundreds or thousands of reports every year can quietly consume a significant amount of valuable time. Many of these issues are caused by templates that have simply evolved over time without being reviewed. We explored this further in our article, Why Every Chartered Surveying Practice Should Review Its Report Templates Every Few Years.

A well designed template should help report production, not slow it down.

Professional Reports Deserve Professional Templates

Surveyors provide the professional expertise that clients value. Their knowledge, inspections and recommendations form the heart of every report. The document itself should support that expertise by presenting information clearly, consistently and professionally.

When Microsoft Word templates are designed with document production in mind, surveyors can focus on producing excellent reports rather than dealing with unnecessary formatting issues.

Hidden Time Loss Often Goes Unnoticed

Many inefficiencies become accepted simply because they happen every day.

Examples include:

Manually applying formatting throughout a report.
Inconsistent heading styles.
Tables of Contents requiring manual updates.
Images that move unexpectedly.
Different versions of the same template.
Users creating their own workarounds.
Repeated formatting corrections before reports are issued.

Individually these may seem minor.

Across an organisation, they quickly become a significant drain on productivity.

Small Improvements Create Large Savings

Saving twenty or thirty minutes on a single report may not initially appear significant.

Across hundreds or thousands of reports each year, those minutes become many days of productive time.

Well designed Microsoft Word templates can reduce:

Manual formatting
Quality control corrections
Document inconsistencies
Staff training time
Repetitive administration
Version control issues

Those efficiencies are repeated every time the template is used.

Good Templates Begin With Good Planning

One common misconception is that document formatting happens after a report has been written. In reality, the most efficient report production starts long before the first word is typed. Templates should be designed around the way reports are produced.

Features such as Microsoft Word Styles, automatic numbering, automatic Tables of Contents, consistent page layouts and carefully planned formatting all contribute to a smoother document production process.

Attempting to improve formatting after reports have already been produced often takes just as long as producing the document correctly in the first place. Planning templates properly from the outset delivers far greater long term benefits. Planning templates carefully from the outset also helps create consistency across every report produced. Our article, Why Consistent Document Templates Matter More Than Most Businesses Realise, explains why consistency benefits both businesses and their clients.

Involve The People Who Use The Templates Every Day

Successful template reviews often involve more than marketing teams or external designers. The people producing reports every day understand how documents function in practice.

Surveyors.
Administrators.
Document production specialists.
Quality reviewers.

Each group experiences different parts of the report production process. Their combined experience often identifies practical improvements that would otherwise remain hidden.

We have recently begun discussions with a large international property consultancy that is undertaking exactly this type of review. The objective is to create a consistent look and feel across the organisation while also ensuring the templates are straightforward to use, efficient to produce and make full use of Microsoft Word's automation features.

That combination benefits both the business and the people producing reports every day.

Attractive Templates Are Only Part Of The Story

We have seen some beautifully designed templates that reflected a company's brand perfectly. Presentation is important, but efficient document production should always be considered alongside branding. We discuss this in more detail in Why Report Formatting Matters More Than Most Businesses Realise.

Unfortunately, some of those beautifully designed templates were also unnecessarily complicated to use:

Multiple text boxes.
Inconsistent styles.
Manual formatting.

Features that looked impressive but added unnecessary time to document production.

The most successful templates combine professional presentation with practical usability.

Both are equally important.

Looking Beyond The Visual Appearance

When reviewing Microsoft Word templates, organisations often focus on branding, colours and presentation.

Those elements certainly matter.

However, equal consideration should be given to how efficiently the templates work for the people using them every day. Well structured templates support consistency, improve productivity and help maintain high standards across every report produced.

Over time, those benefits become increasingly valuable.

Microsoft Word templates are much more than branded documents. They are an important part of the document production process. Investing time in reviewing and improving templates can reduce administration, improve consistency and support the production of high quality professional reports across an organisation.

For practices producing large numbers of reports, even relatively small improvements can deliver meaningful long term benefits. If you would like assistance in producing simple to use Microsoft Word templates call 020 7096 1663 or email.