PM Gems: Helping tenants in natural disasters

A memory that has stayed with me was during the Cudlee Creek bushfires in the Adelaide Hills which resulted in the loss of many homes, and many families found themselves homeless over the Christmas period.

I was on leave for the holidays and I found myself in a mad panic to try and source accommodation for those who had lost everything. The phone calls kept coming through from people in need and I had to think outside the box.

I started calling prospective clients and past landlords who I thought may be able to offer either short or long term accommodation. I managed to place five affected families in rental properties through doing this. The one that really hit home was a gentleman who got caught fighting the fire on his farm and received burns to 60 per cent of his body. He and his wife lost everything, even had the clothes on his back.

I managed to get a previous landlord to agree to rent their beautiful fully furnished home again in the local town, leaving to live in their caravan for an eight month period so the wife had somewhere to live while her husband was undergoing skin graphs, surgery and rehabilitation.

They have since re-built a new home on their farm in the same spot they lost their family home. It truly was amazing to help people so badly in need.

I enrolled in a six week sales agent course straight out of high school and got a job in a real estate office once I had finished that. I worked for six months in administration and decided I wanted to get into property management which is when I was offered a job at a Ray White office. I had only just turned 19, employed in a sales-only office with no experience and had the task of growing and managing a rent roll from zero properties. It was a real 'sink or swim moment'; and I had no choice but to learn fast.

I love that every day is different, no two days are the same. I enjoy the mix of being in and out of the office and having the ability to work in such a beautiful area. We're so spoiled in our area that we have a real mix of properties from units and townhouses, family homes and acreage properties. I love helping people lease properties and finding homes to rent; and I also enjoy the challenge that comes with the role.

I've been in the industry 18 years this year and I've had a lot of people find me again years later. They have either been a tenant at the time or a previous landlord and wish to engage my services to manage a property for them. I'm certainly no pushover when it comes to this job, you can't afford to be. Many tenants often engage me to manage their property knowing what level of expectations I had with them when they rented from me.