With over 20 years of experience in the property industry, Seeff Pretoria East's older estate agents are the big deal and continue to excel.
Seeff Pretoria East older estate agents, Norma Prost, Nicky van der Westhuizen, Bixie van Schalkwyk, Joan Hack and Isabella Aucamp.
The estate agents in their 60s are respected for their integrity, professionalism, experience and expertise. The most senior person is 80 years old.
The multi-award winning Nicky van der Westhuizen (68) entered the property industry after a successful modelling agency career. She has been an agent and a top achiever for many years.
Her colleagues Joan Hack, Norma Prost and Isabella Aucamp are also in their late sixties.
Bixie van Schalkwyk (80) is an award-winning agent who still puts in a full day's work managing her area in Lynnwood Manor.
Van Schalkwyk has been in the property industry for more than 26 years and won the Top Achiever award 21 times.
“I think I achieved this by always putting the feelings and needs of the client above all else and maintaining a focus on that at all times,” she says.
She says if one commits oneself to sole mandates awarded by motivated sellers and then to gives it all to the clients, success follows.
Van der Westhuyzen says she loves her work and approaches everything with enthusiasm and loads of energy.
“There has never been a replacement for good, hard work in this industry and there are no short cuts.”
“Focus on your goals, and the rest will follow,” says Van der Westhuizen .
They say drive, attitude, ambition, initiative and being able to think outside the box is what makes a good estate agent.
An estate agent valuates, negotiates and undertakes organisation and administration skills, marketing and promotional activities.
“Working as an estate agent is an incredibly varied job with lots of travelling during the day as well as office-based work,” they say.
The agents say the sale of a house is believed to be one of the most stressful experiences during a person's life.
A good estate agent can make all the difference to how smoothly a sale goes as well as negotiating an excellent price for the seller or buyer.
“An experienced mature agent can facilitate this process even further by utilising her extensive knowledge and intuitive abilities to instil confidence and trust in the buyer or seller,” they say.
Confidence, knowledge, reliability and tenacity make older people valuable employees or successful business owners.
Gerhard van der Linde, managing director of the award-winning Seeff Pretoria East says their estate agents love what they do and they are doing what they love.
He explains that the team comprises very experienced agents including the team of mature women.
“It is a blessing to have experienced agents, not only experienced in real estate, but people who have life experience which they are prepared to share with their colleagues,” he says.
He says the agency’s success is not only measured against concluded transactions but also by the level of satisfaction from clients' experience when dealing with agents.
We constantly strive to improve our level of service and being able to tap into the experiences of Van Schalkwyk, Van der Westhuyzen, Hack, Prost and Aucamp makes our task so much easier, he says.
Seeff Pretoria East, one of the flagship branches of Seeff Properties in South Africa, has experienced a growth in sales of 20 percent when compared with the corresponding first five months of 2010.
It encompasses suburbs which include Waterkloof, Brooklyn, Lynnwood, Faerie Glen, Garsfontein, Silver Lakes, Moreleta Park and Woodhill.
These are sought after areas and there is exceptional demand for security and golf estates as well as properties in close proximity to schools, embassies, the University and shopping amenities, he adds.
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