What was your first job and what did it teach you?
My first job (part-time) was at Coles as a checkout chick. It taught me the importance of money as we had to balance the till after every shift.
How long have you been in real estate?
I’ve been selling real estate for seven years. This time for about five years and in the early 2000s for a couple of years. It’s not good timing as I missed the Perth boom.
What does the market look like in your area right now?
The market in Mount Pleasant is ticking along nicely and better than some other areas in Perth, which still have an oversupply of property compared to buyers.
What do you love best about your area?
The proximity to the beautiful Swan River and being centrally located, which means you can go to the city, beaches and hills all in less than 30 minutes.
What does your ideal day look like?
My ideal day includes speaking to and following up on buyers and their queries, keeping vendors up-to-date with their property campaign, updating our database and preparing for appraisals and vendor meetings.
What’s the best piece of advice you’ve received?
The importance of attitude. Life is 10 per cent of what happens to you and 90 per cent of how you react to it. Every day we have a choice of what attitude we will embrace.
In 2015, you ran for local and in 2017 for state government. What did running for election teach you that has helped in your real estate career?
We are in the people business. People want to be heard and have their opinions and concerns addressed.
It is the same when you run for local and state government. People need to trust that you will represent them and their property to the best of you ability to achieve a great result.
If you could change one thing in the industry what would it be?
I’d change the public perception of the real estate industry. Good agents are highly trained, need to understand the elements of contract law, marketing, influencing and customer service.
It would be great to see the industry change to have a cadetship to become an agent.
It is too easy to get a representatives license, which leaves the industry open to inexperienced reps selling people’s biggest asset.
I’d also change the “used car salesman” tagline, which is due to not being paid unless you sell the property.
If you had to start from scratch tomorrow, what would be the first thing you would do?
Work alongside a few experienced agents and learn everything I could from them before I went out on my own. My first year in real estate as a rookie was a real eye-opener.
Who or what inspires you?
People who sacrifice their lives for the benefit of others.
I owe a lot to my parents who moved away from their home country (India) to bring their family to Australia for the sake of our future.
For that I will be eternally grateful, as I love living in this country.
What can’t you live without?
Family. I have a beautiful family and I treasure the time we spend together.
Many times I have considered living in another country, but the thought of being away from my family stops me from making this choice.
Where would you like to be this time next year?
I would love the ability to spend two months a year overseas in another country.
