Brett Wheatland has been in Property Management for more than 11 years, and during that time has won many awards including LJ Hookers top property investment manager for SA and NT in 2010 and 2011, and has been accredited to the elite “Captains Club” as a top 5% performer within the network. Some of the key ingredients in his success are an obvious passion for the industry, energy and enthusiasm for everything he does – and let’s not forget the latest addition to the toolbox – the iPad!
What made you choose a career in Property Management?
I fell in love with the idea of driving around in a BMW, selling and leasing big expensive properties, and working Monday through Friday, nine-to-five. Clearly I had been watching too many movies and had no idea what I was in for!
I love property management because every day presents a new challenge, and there is never “nothing to do”. I think the industry is shifting quickly now towards a heavy technology focus, and being at the forefront of this change is exciting.
Tell us about some of the awards that you have won?
I have been an LJ Hooker Captains Club Member for four years now. It’s challenging to meet the criteria to achieve the targets and perform at the highest level year after year, without taking a step back. I was awarded “Top Property Manager 2010/2011” by LJ Hooker SA/NT, a very humbling experience and certainly something I’ve been aiming for.
What are the biggest challenges in property management today?
Meeting the increased expectations of modern day investors and the educated tenants. It is a constant challenge to come up with innovative and workable outcomes in this modern age. People have access to all kinds of technology these days, and finding the suitable resolution to their issue in a very short time frame is certainly the expectation imposed on all modern day property managers, and some people still can’t believe we don’t work 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
What is unique about your agency?
We have a good sized portfolio, which is run extremely efficiently and relies very little on extra support staff. We follow a strict system of management and procedures and ethics which we strongly stand by with a “Service Guarantee”. We do have a heavy focus on technology, which aids communication, making a lot of the relevant information for landlords available at their fingertips 24/7, and helps us streamline our practice.We all love our iPads for this reason!
What do you like most about the iPAD?
I really like the fact that you can have access to data “on-the-go”. You can take almost everything with you while you are out and about: the office is at your fingertips. I love doing listing presentations with the iPad using Keynote, it’s awesome and our prospective customers love to touch the screens and move the images around; it becomes a bit of a bonding thing. I also particularly love Console’s “Live Agent” inspections module for the iPad. We are still playing with it, but its very cool, it steps you through inspection reports step by step and prompts you to do various things along the way.
So, what are your favourite iPad Apps?
LiveAgent for all electronic inspections with photos and all client details, Keynote for presentations, GoodReader for storing files and easy access to PDF’s, DropBox for providing secure access to my files anywhere, Bamboo Paper – a great sketch application for drawing notes, sketches and quickly writing information down, realestate.com.au – great for showing competitors listings and prices onsite! Don’t forget to add James Halliday’s wine comp showing which alcoholic stress relief is most suited to your mood, or Zynga Poker: whilst your sitting around waiting for your clients to show up, it’s perfect for killing time.
What are your most important values?
Honesty is always the best policy. One other word – “Communication”. It really is that simple. I think it safe to say that most complaints and loss of business can nearly always be avoided with good communication.
Do you have a mentor, or someone that inspires you?
In property management, it’s Jan Malmstrom of LJ Hooker HQ. She is the corporate backbone of our property management chapter that spans across 800+ offices and manages over 120,000 properties. She is the “Dalai Lama” of Property Management! In life, it’s Gordon Ramsey. The massive success of Gordon is based on three things, passion, dedication, and perfection! This coupled with his brutally honest approach is a recipe for success in any field.
What’s the best advice you have been given?
The common law of business prohibits paying a little and getting a lot.“It may be unwise to pay too much, but it is worse to pay too little… ” (J. Ruskin, 1819-1900). When you pay too much,the only risks are monetary; however, whenyou pay too little, you sometimes loseeverything because the agreement reachedwith your supplier cannot be sustained It cannot be done.
What are your predictions for the Real Estate Industry for the next year?
Things are starting to really tighten up, and those with property portfolios and investment properties should have no problems pushing through any predicted quiet times. Technology is only just starting to touch the edges of the industry and the next five years will see some dramatic changes and an even greater demand on property managers to deliver results consistently and reliably. It should be exciting and fast paced, so for those not willing to grab hold of the changes, step aside and make way for those young guns which will soon be the ones revolutionising the way we do business!
