Two decades' experience in the estate industry makes Linda Erasmus, chief executive officer of the Fine & Country Property Group in South Africa a remarkable leader in the field. She knows the business inside and out, can predict what sellers and buyers want and what estate agents need to succeed.
Linda Erasmus now owns 51% of Fine & Country shares, after being headhunted in 2005 to bring the British Fine & Country brand to South African shores. One year and a total of 30 offices later, Fine & Country is stronger than ever before.
Erasmus, a qualified radiographer, set foot on "holy ground" when she started her award-winning career as a sales agent at Johannesburg's Oriain Estates in 1986. Having sold 52 houses in her 2nd year of being an agent, she was awarded the Top Sales Agent – Most Units sold award more than once in her then "fairly new" career.
In 1990, Linda moved on to Seeff Residential Properties where she bought the Randburg Seeff franchise in 1996, becoming the owner of Seeff Pletterbergbay and Knysna not much later on in her career. She excelled, having won Seeff's first trophy for national franchise of the year for 3 consecutive years. More awards followed, including the prestigious international 5-star Platinum Award for the Best South African Estate Agent in 2002. It was during this time that she exhibited at three of the International Homes Exhibitions in Doncaster, Canterbury and Ascot respectively. Erasmus continued exhibitions in the United Kingdom, sharing the stage in London with Dr Andrew Golding of the Pam Golding Group of Properties in 2003 – Linda received the 4-star Platinum Award for Best South African Agent after entering only 3 of her Seeff franchise offices.
It should come as no surprise that Erasmus, who is the current President of the Randburg Chamber of Commerce and Industry, chaired the Seeff Licensees Forum in Gauteng. She was also vice chairman of Gauteng's Institute of Estate Agents for 4 years. That said, Linda Erasmus is a woman who knows what she wants. "As long as good moral and business ethics, integrity, respect for yourself and others apply," she replies.
