EPMEPM: BD & Growth

Paperless Property Management: Bianca Birnbauer

Bianca Birnbauer moved into property management nine years ago and now works as a Senior BDM at Noel Jones in Victoria, where she juggles a multitude of tasks and enjoys (almost) every minute

Tell us a bit about yourself and your role at Noel Jones.
I have been with Noel Jones now for just over four years. My position within the property management department involves numerous jobs, but my main role is Senior Business Development plus overseeing the day-to-day management of the department. I also manage a small portfolio.

What motivated you to get into real estate or property management?
I originally got into real estate as the opportunity arose while I was at TAFE studying public relations. I started on reception and would help the property manager with admin tasks. From there I moved into property management and nine years on I still love it.

What is the market like in your area right now?
We work and live in a very mixed demographic of tenants: families, couples, singles and students. In our pocket we find that houses and units always lease within a couple of weeks to quality tenants at premium rental amounts. Generally we have 25+ open for inspections on a Saturday, with over 100 groups always attending.

Who or what inspires you?
The business owners –they exceed at their roles and vision for the office, have good work/life balances and are overall really nice guys.

In your ‘briefcase’ right now is…

We recently became a paperless office and are currently moving our database from server-based to cloud-based, so the ‘briefcase’ doesn’t exist!

The iPad is now the ‘briefcase’; everything from new business listing kits, routine inspections, landlord and tenant contact details and so on is available on iPad or iPhone.

Something (or someone) you couldn’t live without?
My other half, James –he supports, encourages and motivates me. He is a very, very patient man.

What do you enjoy most about Elite Agent Magazine?
It is all relevant, from technology suggestions to people’s stories. I can relate to it all.

What apps do you use most at the moment on your iPhone or iPad?

  • PropertyMe –our new tenancy database
  • Slack –no internal emails; we all communicate via this program
  • Wunderlist –any notes or tasks that need to be completed get added and actioned from here.

What advice would you give someone starting out in property management?
Don’t take it personally; you are the main point of contact for landlords and tenants and have to deal with some difficult conversations and situations. Just remember it isn’t a reflection of you and to remain professional no matter what.

Any words to live by?
Treat people how you want to be treated – this isn’t just when dealing with clients but also interacting with people within the office.

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