When Arden Armstrong dipped her toe into the property management waters she knew she had found her true calling. The Century 21 Eastern Beaches Maroubra senior property manager explains why she ditched becoming a selling agent and what she loves most about her job.
How many years have you been in the industry?
I’ve been in real estate for seven years. I started when I was 19 in a leasing consultant position, working under a great property manager in an excellent office.
I was in this position for six months before I moved into a property management role.
Over the past seven years, I have learnt more about the industry, and now I am the senior property manager at Century 21 Eastern Beaches Maroubra.
I have been with C21 Maroubra for four years.
Did you choose property management or did property management choose you?
I knew that I wanted to get into real estate as I love meeting and talking to people.
I had been in customer service beforehand, and I loved trying to help people and make them happy.
My first role was a leasing agent position as I initially wanted to go into sales.
However, after learning the industry and dipping my toe into property management, I soon found that being a property manager was what I wanted to do and what I discovered I was good at.
As the years went on, I wanted to learn as much as I possibly could in all areas of property management with the goal of eventually managing a team.
Describe a special location in your area and why you love it?
Maroubra Beach is a special place for me. This is where I grew up, and a lot of my family and friends spend time there as well.
After school and in school holidays we would always be at Maroubra Beach swimming and enjoying the area.
I have always been a big fan of the water and big waves, and Maroubra Beach is the best place to catch both of those!
What’s your most memorable rental property and why?
A penthouse apartment in McKeon St, Maroubra. This property was stunning, with ocean views and the most gorgeous finishes inside.
The landlords at this property were the most beautiful people to work with, you could see how much they loved their home and how much it meant to them to find the right person to rent their property.
Due to the condition of this property and how beautiful it was, we had a lot of interested groups coming through. One family, in particular, loved the property and the owner went ahead with their application.
It was wonderful to see how happy the family were having secured the property.
It meant the world to them, and it was so nice to see how appreciative they were.
Being able to make both our landlords and tenants happy is such a great feeling, and what I love most about my job.
What key areas are you focusing on in 2021?
Developing my leadership skills and improving leasing strategies during a pandemic.
We want to, as an office, hit our overall targets for new managements for the year and grow the business, while also giving the utmost service.
We want our office to be one people speak highly of, and an office known for going above and beyond for its clients.
What’s the most important part of your day?
The morning is the most important part of my day as it sets the tone for building the remainder of my day.
I try to do my most challenging or important tasks in the morning.
If you could change one thing about the property management industry what would it be?
I believe we are over-regulated as an industry, but we can find some common ground between the right thing to do (tenant and landlords) and legislation.
What’s the best piece of advice that you’ve been given?
Never leave a stone unturned. This is critical in property management as any issue, no matter how minor, left unattended to can become a major problem, and either cost the landlord or the company much more in the long run.
