An Interview with Ajay Valanju
Ajay Valanju is our Director at Location Property Group. We interviewed Ajay to find out how he got into real estate, what interested him in property and to provide some tips for anyone looking to get into property as a career.
How Did You Get into Real Estate?
I realised that it was my passion, after speaking with friends and family about property and investment and investing myself.
I really enjoyed it so much, more than accounting and finance, which I studied at university. It really made sense for me to be a real estate agent and do my passion. Work didn’t feel like work any more. Work doesn’t need to be hard.
In terms of influence or role model: my best friend’s parents (from high school) had been investing for many years.
The lifestyle that they enjoyed was great, they had a lot of time to spend with their children and had the money to be able to travel and enjoy life.
I found this inspiring, as in comparison, I saw that my father worked long hours as a doctor and had less time.
What Did You Do Before You Got into Real Estate
I studied a business degree and majored in finance. I worked in finance for a couple of years before deciding to do a Diploma of Property at Crows Nest Tafe.
I did this full time for a year, then immediately after started my business.
What Interested You About Real Estate?
I like the way property values generally increase over time and produce a predictable income through rental. The ability to finance against them, overall its a very unique opportunity presented by property.
Did You Take Any Risks?
One of the biggest risks was starting a real estate agency straight after doing my course.
Most people recommend working for a couple of years at a real estate agency first.
It was a steep learning curve. I understood a lot of things from the perspective of buyer, landlord and seller, but I didn’t have the experience of an actual agent itself and that’s what I learnt.
Have You Completed Any Further Qualifications In Property?
I did a Masters in Property Development part-time from 2011- 2014, with the intention of becoming a property developer myself.
However, understanding the details on what was involved actually changed my mind and I decided it really wasn’t what I wanted to do.
When Did You Start Location Property Group?
I started the company in July 2005 and it was probably around September that year that I began to hire staff.
The company was called Location 2065 and the name changed to Location Property Group in 2012.
How Did You Get Clients When Starting Out?
Mainly through family, friends and friends of friends.
When I started University, back in 1998, I bought my first mobile phone, I would take the contact details of the people I had met and kept in touch with them.
By the time I had started the business I had 2000 contacts in my mobile.
The first property I sold was in Melbourne, overlooking Albert Park. I called all those people in my contacts to reconnect and tell them about the property (where it felt appropriate). This got me my first sale.
What Makes Location Property Group a Great Place to Work?
We do away with a lot of politics in a lot of workplaces. Being a small team we are fairly efficient and fast moving.
In the workplace, we have a lot of flexibility with the team and I myself work from home as well as in the office.
Some of our staff work different hours to avoid peak hour traffic or spend more time at home with family.
The only condition on flexibility is that the team can still provide the best level of service to our customers.
We have shifted to a full cloud system so the team can access everything remotely.
No longer is there a need to go to the office to sort things out. It’s possible to complete tasks on the road or at home.
How Do You Keep up to Date in Your Industry?
We attend conferences to keep up to date, for example, we will be attending AREC 2019 on the gold coast.
The Property Management team also attends the ARPM – Australasian Residential Property Management Conference.
As part of being a real estate agent, we are required to do 12 points of CPD ( Continuing professional development) courses each year. We also run a lot of internal training.
Any Tips for People Looking to Make a Career in Property?
Make sure you are passionate about property and enjoy dealing with people.
If you are interested in Property Management it’s important to have attention to detail and be very methodical in your approach to work.
In the sales area, you need to be a relentless self-motivator. You do face a lot of rejection and unsuccessful encounters and need to be able to get back up again and be ready to go for the next one.
In property investment and in a real estate career; slow and steady wins the race. It takes time to build a strong network of clients that trust you and it takes time for the property market to grow.
As long as you are in it for the long haul you will be successful. Sometimes when the market is hot, it looks like a good way to get rich quick, but unfortunately, it does work like that.
