I wanted to make NC Real Estate a platform for property wisdom, knowledge and insights. It is a place to give back to the real estate industry. We are going to be launching our new feature; interviews with property professionals. It’s a chance to understand what drives each individual and to learn how they got into the industry, what they do now and their thoughts on the future.
To kick it off, I thought I would tell you about my background and how I got to this point. I was never on the property pathway. At A-Level I was very into geography and computing, subjects I ended up taking as my undergraduate degree. I had dreams of coding my way across the world and the University of Worcester allowed me to work towards fulfilling that.
In my second year I got into quite a bit of debt, I liked to party and shop, and my part time jobs were not bringing in the cash at the same fast rate as I was spending it. By the summer it was crunch time. I worked 7 days a week, in admin and supervising in a retailer to pay back the bank. During that summer I vowed never to get in the situation again and started applying for more administrative positions in between my studies. I landed a great role as a lettings agent and negotiated my hours around my lectures. At this stage I was still very determined to be a geography or computing graduate once I finished university and so was applying for every job under the sun that had anything in common with either of these subjects.
My third year at university was going well, working a lot of hours meant earlier nights and so I was saving and getting my work done, which resulted in great grades. I was learning a lot as a letting agent; landlord and tenant skills, the basics of buying, renting out and managing property and I realised that I could hold fort in an office and that the working life really would be for me.
All the while I was still looking for other job opportunities for my third year. It was by Easter time I was starting to worry that I wasn’t having much success with finding the right job for me. As luck would have it, a guy came into the letting agents looking for a property. Unfortunately I didn’t have any properties on the market that were of interest to him, but I, being a naturally chatty person, ended up having a long conversation with him about what I was doing in a letting agents in the middle of Worcester. Taking a liking to me, he asked if he could help on the job front and asked me to babysit for his kids, and so being the poor student that I was I gladly accepted. After a couple of babysitting sessions for his three lovely boys we broached the subject of what I wanted to do once I graduated from university. I explained that I didn’t know, but had booked a trip to America just to get away and that I would worry about jobs when I came back. He suggested that I took a look into surveying and if I liked the look of it then to talk to him more about it. I looked into it, not really knowing exactly what it was all about, but it was in the property field so I was interested and let him know. This turned out to be the greatest thing I could have done because he promptly put me in contact with his friend in London who was looking for a graduate. His friend agreed to meet me – we had a 30 minute chat in Birmingham New Street station and that was that for the time being. I went travelling and hoped for the best. I soon received an email while I was in Florida asking me to join Miles Commercial Ltd, an offer which I gladly accepted. Having returned from my travels I moved down to London to start the next chapter in my career.
I know it’s not easy to get a job, but thankfully that was where the property roller coaster began for me. It was new and confusing, I was thrust into commercial property management and I was learning on the job, sink or swim. I tried to learn from my superior, however he left 3 months after I joined and I took over the management of the whole portfolio. I’ll tell you, this builds your confidence like nothing else I could have expected. I dived in and embraced it (the good and the bad).
My new found status made me think, I was managing everyone else’s properties, but had none of my own, how could I relate to any of my clients while not knowing what it feels like to be in their situation? So, I decided to buy a property and rent it out, I had no money but was determined to do it. I went to my parents and put my idea to them, they thought it was great and decided to invest money into my business venture (note I said invest – nothing comes for free, this was purely a business deal). I did some research into areas vs. rental income and settled on a tiny 1 bedroom flat in Notting Hill. I must admit I was a novice, but somehow pulled it off. I worked really hard on tidying the flat, making it clean and presentable. I put it on the market and got some great tenants in no time – to this day it still feels surreal, I had a dream, I pursued it and it went really well – I believed in myself.
Following my success with my rental property I decided it was time to become professional. I wrote to the RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) and asked them what it would take to become chartered. I soon found out that it isn’t that easy, I didn’t have the right degree and had only been working in property for a couple of years. Again it was back to the drawing board – what was the most suitable way for me becoming chartered? I settled on a Masters in Real Estate Surveying, a course offered through the College of Estate Management and the University of Reading. I got all of the information and I asked Miles Commercial to sponsor me, which they did. If I had known back then how much hard work was ahead of me, I don’t think I would have applied. For anyone who is thinking of doing things the way I did, by all means apply, but do not get bogged down with the thought of the road ahead, simply take each day as it comes and commit to the work. In the end the hard work will pay off, but along the way it is undoubtedly time consuming, and even emotionally devastating if you don’t look after yourself whilst doing it.
I learnt the hard way how draining it could be, I let my life revolve around my course and doing the APC to become chartered. I stressed myself out, I worried and I pushed myself to my limits. My days were monotonous and grueling – 06:00 gym, 08:30 work, 19:00 get home and work until 22:00-23:00. It was too much, I was burning the candle at both ends and I came out the other side a wreck (it doesn’t have to be like that!). Once I had finished my masters I felt that I had to do my APC straight away, like my friends were, and went on a crazy APC rampage and put all my portfolio together for the next sitting immediately after I graduated. I failed my APC first time and blamed it on the people who carried out my final exam; a spoken test in front of a panel of three. I wasn’t ready to sit it the first time round, not because I didn’t know what I was doing and not because I don’t have the experience, it’s because I wasn’t the person that I am today – I was a mess. I hadn’t stopped to take a step back and look at my life, I had taken every thing on myself, not asked for help and was blaming everyone else for my inability to look after myself. If I had taken some time to reflect on my current situation at the time, I would have seen there were so many amazing things that I achieved in my personal and professional life outside of studying – I’d purchased my second property, this time with my partner – looking back on it now, the process was made far more stressful because I couldn’t think of anything other than work. All the while at work we were bringing in record fee, but I was on autopilot.
I took two weeks off over Christmas 2014 to take stock of my life, I could finally see what a mess I was i, but I was determined to make it right. In January 2015 I started asking for help, I learnt a lot from some wonderful people. I got APC coaching, I met with surveyors from other firms to get revision help and advice and I worked at being the best surveyor I could be. I had help with everything from your standard valuations and ethics (typical APC modules) to mindfulness, mediation and yoga. I managed to restore the lost faith I had for the industry, and ultimately in myself. I took my APC again only 6 months after failing the first and it was a whole new story – I became chartered on 7th May 2015 an, to my surprise, really enjoyed the experience. I had achieved another dream, I was free of studying and my life was shaping up to be epic.
At Graduation for my Masters
I have since gone on to get involved in a lot more property purchases, you can often find me at investor networking events, RICS Matrics meetings, CPD training and Woman in Property meets. I am really involved in the industry and aim to continue that. I have also made space for balance, I sleep well, I eat well, I lift weights, I have such a happy loving home, I ski in the winter and paddle board in the summer, I run, I have a great group of friends who I try and make as much time for as possible for and I travel as often as I can. I have really learnt life is what you make of it, you need to grab opportunities, speak to as many people as possible and look after yourself. There are going to be ups and downs, things will change but determination and hard work really pays off.
I set up NC Real Estate as a way to give back to the real estate community, whether you are chartered, want to be chartered, are in residential development or just really want some information about the industry. I have had so much help over the years from people who really and truly believed in me, even when I was doing a really good job of messing up. I still get amazing help, advice and support and this is my thank you.
NC
