PM Gems: The beautiful side of property management

"A story that stands out for me this month is about a lovely young couple, who 10 years ago leased a property through me. They had just met and moved in pretty quickly, and I took a chance on them in a new build in Perth. Shortly after, he started working FIFO, and as a young girl at the time, I kept a close eye on our tenant, contacting her from time to time to see how she was faring living on her own for most of the time. They were model tenants but after a year, she decided to move up north closer to his mine.

This month I got a message on Facebook from her, asking if I was still in property management, and that they'd love me to manage their home here in Perth as they were moving back to Karratha.

They are happily married, with two beautiful children in school! I couldn't believe she remembered my name after 10 years and such a short time with me back then. I met with them at their home, and I couldn't be prouder of how far they have come, and that they are now investors and I was the only person they would work with, what a privilege!"

It just goes to show though, how you treat people, whether they are lessors, tenants or contractors, is not forgotten, so it's imperative in our industry to work at making those memories positive!"

I was destined for real estate. My mother was in conveyancing and my father was an astute building inspector and valuer for a big bank in South Africa. I always had a passion for houses from a very young age. I would fake being sick so that my father would take me to work with him and I would get to walk through houses instead of going to school! I studied interior design, worked in the printing industry for an interior magazine, and eventually stepped into real estate selling property in South Africa for a decade before moving to Perth. Within a year I was back in the industry as a property manager. I couldn't imagine doing anything else.

I love the combination of working with people and property. I love the feels when you get it right. Most of all, I am passionate about growing the wealth of investors and building relationships with our Investors and building their dreams with them.

There are so many amazing memories, from young tenants growing into investors, to tenants whose families grow before our very eyes. I worked for a company for eight years and there was one particular family who had a young 10 year old daughter when they moved into a home at the start of my career there. This little girl loved inspections and her room was always immaculate, often with little gifts, cards or letters left for me on her bed. When she turned 16 I made a book of bedrooms for her, using pictures from routine inspections, I gave her a book that showed how her bedroom had changed over the years. It was so amazing to put that together and give her (and her mum) as a special reminder of how absolutely pedantic she always was!