Blog / Time Management


Put more time on your side, Sarah Dawson


By Sarah Dawson, Head of Real Estate Sales Rockend

Nicholas Hayes’ desire to achieve a better work-life balance led him to a career in property management. Here he explains how moving to cloud-based software is helping him achieve this.

The typical pathway for many starting out in real estate is to use a stint in property management as a stepping stone into sales. But for Nicholas Hayes, a Senior Property Manager at Belle Property Wilston in Brisbane, it was just the opposite.

“After I finished my Real Estate Licence, I worked in sales for about three years,” he explains. “It was a fullon experience. I was working seven days a week. I was always on call. It seemed I never had any downtime.

“My decision to move into property management was very much about work-life balance. Yes, property management is hectic and things are always busy, but I don’t feel that same pressure to be ‘always on’ 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

“Since moving into property management, I’ve been able to better plan my week and reclaim my weekends.”

Nicholas always felt he was headed for a career in the real estate industry.

“When I was growing up, my parents always had investment properties,” he remembers. “Dad, in particular, had a keen interest in property and by the time I finished high school I’d decided to complete my Real Estate Licence.

“Unlike a lot of new starters in the industry, I headed straight into sales. But I’ve now been working in property management for about six years and have never looked back.”

Born and bred in Sydney, Nicholas recently made the move to the sunny climes of Brisbane. It’s meant he’s had to quickly come to terms with new legislation, new forms and new processes.

“Making the change to a different market in the same state can be hard enough,” he says. “But moving interstate is a whole other thing. When I stepped into this job, I had to hit the ground running.”

As one of two Senior Property Managers at Belle Property Wilston, Nicholas shares responsibility for the agency’s portfolio of 250 properties with his colleague.

“Managing the portfolio is definitely a joint effort,” he says. “For us, time management and adaptability are key. Having an ‘ideal week’ is important, but being flexible enough to adapt as and when things arise is critical. In property management there will always be emergencies and things will pop up, so while you plan things out as best you can, you also need to take every day as it comes."

Making the move to the cloud

Nicholas explains that using all the benefits technology has to offer is an important factor in the agency’s success and the team is always looking for ways it can help streamline processes and generate efficiencies. Belle Property Wilston made the swap to Rockend’s PropertyTree several months ago and is already reaping the benefits.

“We’d been hearing a lot about PropertyTree’s features and the level of automation it provided,” Nicholas says. “And given that we’re out of the office and on the road so much, the fact that it’s a cloud-based system was really attractive.” A former REST Professional user, Nicholas is now a true PropertyTree convert. “The fact that PropertyTree is cloud-based has made all the difference,” Nicholas explains. “It’s enabled us to be more efficient with our time.

“If I’m away from the office and have an hour to kill between appointments, I don’t have to waste time driving back to the office just to get a few small tasks done. I can sit down in a coffee shop, open my laptop or pull out my phone and get straight into it. Everything I need is at my fingertips, no matter where I am.” Since changing over to PropertyTree, Nicholas has been able to au

tomate a myriad of manual and routine tasks and he’s been particularly impressed with not only the efficiencies this has created but also how much it has contributed to his ability to communicate with clients.

“Actions really do speak louder than words,” he emphasises. “It’s easy to say ‘yes, I’ll do that for you’. It’s harder to follow through and actually do it. “What I like about PropertyTree is that it makes it easier to ensure our words always result in action. We can do tasks quickly and then report back to our clients to let them know we’ve done what we said we would do. PropertyTree makes follow through easier.

“We can also tailor and personalise the statements we provide to our landlords, so every client is receiving the information they want, in the way they want it.” Nicholas also points to PropertyTree’s Owner & Tenant Portal as one of the features that has made a big difference to the way he communicates with clients.

“Landlords and tenants always have lots of little questions. Whether it’s a query from a landlord about the status of a repair or a tenant asking when their rent is next due, it all takes time. Now with PropertyTree, our landlords and tenants can simply log into the portal and find the information they need,” he explains. “It streamlines our processes and provides an enhanced level of communication for our clients. “By using PropertyTree, we’ve been able to save a bit of time here and a lot of time there – it definitely adds up,” he says.

And what’s Nicholas going to do with all that extra time? He’s keen to start growing the Belle Property Wilston portfolio – and spend a bit more time on the life side of the work-life balance equation.

Developed by Rockend, PropertyTree is Australia and New Zealand’s first cloudbased property management solution. You can experience PropertyTree firsthand with a free demonstration by calling 1300 778 733.  

 


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