We chat to Loretta Morgan from Jam Property on the Sunshine Coast, who has just been named the 2015 Residential Property Manager of the Year in Queensland.
How do you feel to have won a 2015 Real Estate Institute of Queensland Award for Excellence?
I’m stoked! It’s really a huge thing for me, I’ve worked so hard for so long and it’s great to be chosen. I’m so excited about it.
How did you get your start in the real estate business?
I came out of school and went into retail, and my boyfriend at the time, his father was running on-site holiday letting. He was going away and asked if I could handle things just for the week, come in and collect the rents and ensure people are paying on time and things are clean and tidy. I just fell in love with it straight away. He then got me an interview at a real estate firm. I went to the interview and heard nothing so I kept calling and kept calling until they gave me a job. I think they got sick of hearing from me! So I worked my way up from reception and was given a small portfolio. This was in Cairns in the late 1990s.
What do you love about your job?
The diversity. I’m a Gemini so I love things to be different all the time, and constantly challenging. I feel like I’m growing every day. I think it’s a career where you never stop learning and growing.
How do you juggle a busy business and raising a small child?
The most important thing is to be really be structured in your day and manage your time well. Also keep a clear head. I find my water skiing really helps, so having time for you. I think that goes for any Mum – to be a great Mum, to be a great business person, you need to take time out for yourself, even if it’s just a few hours a week where you do what you love and reset.
What would you say are the biggest issues facing the Australian real estate industry at the moment?
I think it’s a major trust factor. I find that the status of real estate agents is that they’re dishonest. I really strive to give my clients, and my community, a lot of information and education and really explain the process to them so that they understand how it all works. People don’t trust what they don’t understand.
What’s your career advice to a young person interested in real estate?
It’s not what they expect. It’s about giving more than you receive and being really willing to seek knowledge. Get as much help and information as you possibly can. Attend as many breakfasts and lectures and networking events to connect with leaders in the industry and learn the right way to do things.
What was your first home?
I bought my first home when I relocated to Brisbane fairly early in my career. Six months after I got there, I bought my first home for $140,000, which is unbelievable, you can’t get that now, but I was very fortunate to get into the market at a very young age. I understood it because I was already in it so I guess that was the advantage for me.
Where do you live now?
I live in the Glasshouse Mountains, it’s beautiful here and it’s a 25-minute drive to the office. It fits really well, the Sunshine Coast.
If money were no object, what would your dream property be?
Everybody asks me this, and I’d like to own my own lake. I’m a real waterski nut. I do it a couple of times a week. The kind of water that I love is flat, so it’d be nice to have a lake house property with a private lake.