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Stacey Moseley
Brisbane real estate agency Place has appointed the Real Estate Institute of Queensland’s (REIQ) Sandra Larkin to help build a ‘first class customer service’ property management division, the company said.
“Place is an organisation that I truly believe in and have always been passionate about how they do things,” said Ms Larkin, a former business development manager with REIQ.
Paul Curtain, joint managing director of Place, created the new role of general manager of property management to service the booming property management division.
“Place has been growing rapidly, especially the property management division. To exceed expectations in customer service and to create a world class property management service it was necessary to appoint a dynamic, driven and highly experienced individual. Sandra was the perfect fit and will bring knowledge and experience to the role,” said Mr Curtain.
“The first change we will see is ‘first class customer service’ to landlords and tenants. We have distributed the everyday property manager duties among the division so property managers can focus on responding to landlords and providing excellent customer service.
In order to benefit both clients and the organisation Ms Larkin believes loyalty and staff retention is the priority.
“The Place property management division will have a great culture of professionalism and comradeship. Regular training will be held so we can drive property management at Place to provide a world class service,” she said.
Managing director at Sydney-based True Property, and executive director of Leading Property Managers of Australia (LPMA), Bob Walters, agreed that quality training is at the heart of a successful property manager.
“It may sound cliché but when you talk about best practice in property management it is all about understanding the needs of clients and being prepared to meet those needs,” he said.
“Property management has, and always will be a people business. Clients mindfully choose an agent they personally know and trust. I take the stance that it is up to the employer to implement good quality training.”
Mr Walter also said that property managers must be willing to stay at the cutting edge of technology as he predicts clients needs will become even more demanding.
“Clients expect to be able to be connected to their agent at all times. There are higher expectations in terms of providing better quality and faster reporting,” he said.
