RESOURCE TECHNIQUES - Key Persons

At the age of 17 a friend of my father introduced me to estate agency in Northampton. If I'm honest the fact that he had a brand new Mercedes Benz and a private aeroplane might have influenced my decision to get in to the business! So that was it I was hooked on property at an early age and having served my apprenticeship in Northamptonshire I headed south to East Horsley as a 19 year old in 1978 where I joined a well-respected practice called Bridgers. I moved up through the ranks from negotiator, senior negotiator and manager and then the bombshell hit and Bridgers were sold very quickly changing to a ‘corporate animal'. My working ethos has always been about knowing your client and providing a service that was second to none. This became an impossibility with the new regime, so it was time to head out and go it alone in partnership with another disenchanted ex Bridgers employee. This is when Henshaws was born in the early part of 1987.

Having worked within the property industry in various forms for most of my working life, from Conveyance Solicitors/Developers and Estate Agents I was tempted to join Henshaws in 1999 at a time when henshaws were expanding their Lettings Department. After several months of ‘in house training' and qualifying as a member of ARLA I hit the floor running and have not looked back since. I thoroughly enjoy the varied aspects of a Lettings Department and the often diverse dealings with both Landlord and Tenants, that coupled with keeping on top and ahead of the constant change of legislation within the Industry leads to wide-ranging challenges. I believe and always strive for a high level of customer service but with very much an individual personal touch

After graduating in Economics at Loughborough University in the early 1990s my first career was in advertising sales where I received the best sales training available whilst working in central London. I worked on a number of publications including Total Film & The Week and even a small stint on Caravan Plus! As a new century dawned it was time for a change, I had met my wife Karen and was disillusioned with the publishing world so decided to follow in my Fathers' footsteps who had worked in property all his life as a Chartered Surveyor, and the rest, they say, is history. I joined Henshaws in 2002 and after a short stint in the Bookham office have been holding the fort in East Horsley ever since.

I have lived and worked in Surrey for about 30 years and gained an interest in property from when I was the Advertisement Manager for Property Weekly. Previous jobs have included working for The PGA, to working in a bunker in a secret location! Prior to Henshaws I worked for a local Antique Auctioneers which enabled me to enjoy my other passion of collecting/buying/selling Antiques.

I have had various Administrator PA roles in my career including my role as a Legal Secretary for a Partner in a firm of solicitors in London in the Private Clients department where I attained skills of speed, accuracy and confidentiality in a highly pressurised environment. When I had my children I started working in a local school as a Special Needs Teaching Assistant which was very rewarding.

I was born in Guildford, schooled and brought up in the local area until I graduated from University of Bristol with my degree in marketing. I returned back to my roots and decided to take up 2 weeks work experience at one of local estate agents and 12 years on they still have not got rid of me! Must have done something right! Having working in the construction industry during my teenage years into my early 20's I have always found property interesting and how people adapt and change I to suit their lifestyles. So putting together my passion and understanding of building combined with my marketing background, this seems a good path for me to follow. Seeing Henshaws friendly warm and local values combined with their positive customers focus it make it a lovely environment to work in within the agency world. The ability to give a client focus approach rather than looking solely at the figures and selling secondary product enables me to treat the client as number 1. My proudest moment was winning "Personality of the year award" at the local Surrey property awards.

Having left Cranleigh School in 1985 and a short service commission in the army cut short due to an injury, I started working in Estate Agency as a trainee negotiator in Cobham where I stayed until the early 1990's. After a short stint working on the Weekend FT property supplement, I was working out of St Martin's House in East Horsley for a developer in the role of Sales and Marketing Manager, selling large detached houses on St George's Hill and Cobham.

I've been married to my husband, Amit for 18 years we have a daughter, Khushi and have lived and worked in 3 countries (Qatar, Ireland and India), before moving to England. We started renting from henshaws and that's how I was introduced here. I have a Masters degree in Mathematics that helps me with my Accounting job. Having done accounts for different industries (Distribution company, Property services, Oil & Gas, Construction company, Estate agency) I find henshaws to be a very warm and friendly place which provides a positive work environment. I enjoy it here as I continue to progress and see myself working with henshaws for a long time to come.

After many years in a construction recruitment consultant role my career diversified within recruitment to accommodation, housing employees in rental properties who were working away from home on long term projects. I progressed to Accommodation Manager and whilst managing the employee's tenancies my time was predominantly spent dealing with Letting Agents & Property Managers and my interest just grew and grew in the industry and my recruitment career was over! It felt like a natural progression when I started to apply for Property Managers roles with a new enthusiasm and my career change and subsequent appointment at Henshaws is definitely the best decision I have ever made and wish I had done it years ago! At Henshaws we pride ourselves in our personal approach to all our landlords and tenants, taking the time to get to know them and build lasting relationships with them all. I love to hear what's going on in their worlds and pick up on conversations when we meet again, this friendly approach often assists me in carrying out my job, the tenants and landlords are often more understanding of how difficult my role is as Property Manager…. as at the end of the day people only ring me when something is wrong. No two days are ever the same and I continue to grow in my position as Property Manager supported by a great Henshaws team.