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Staff Reporter
Laing+Simmons, a Sydney-based group, has announced plans to move into strata management.
The network has appointed strata management veteran Samantha Turnbull to head up the division, which will focus on commercial and mixed-use properties, as well as residential apartment buildings.
According to Ms Turnbull, large agency networks typically refrain from competing in the strata management market, but the opportunities and synergies available through the Laing+Simmons model make strata management an obvious growth area for the company.
“For some reason, relationships between strata managers and real estate agents are often in a state of breakdown by default. One of the guiding principles behind the establishment of Laing+Simmons Strata is to challenge this premise,” said Ms Turnbull, who has 20 years of experience in the industry.
“If the strata management enjoyed a strong relationship with the agent, working towards a common goal, then everyone benefits: owners, tenants, trades people and other stakeholders.
“We see significant potential to grow a thriving strata management business by focusing on facilitating better relationships underpinned by exceptional service that can’t be replicated by a mass produced strata management approach,” she said.
Laing+Simmons general manager Leanne Pilkington said the launch of the new strata management business represents another point of difference for Laing+Simmons - one set to benefit the group as well as individual franchise offices.
This news comes just weeks after Laing+Simmons started to roll out a new model to centralise their franchisees’ business administrative functions.
Under the new model, responsibilities such as trust accounting, payroll, human resources, employment contracts and recruitment fall under the corporate umbrella.
The Sydney-based network has also just experienced a rebranding that, according to Ms Pilkington, reflects the “changing nature and greater sophistication of the real estate market while respecting the core values and integrity of the Laing+Simmons name”.
