Hello British Expats Forum!
 

Hello everyone! I have just joined this forum...not too sure on how things work.

I moved to Auckland (Howick to be more precise) in November 2006 with my wife and two 'kids'. I say 'kids' as they are 21 and 18 now, but both are still living with my wife, Carol, and I.

We initially entered NZ on a Long Term Business Visa and we got our PR after 2 1/2 years. If anybody is thinking of applying for a LTBV for NZ I would be happy to share our experience and thoughts on it.

I am now a fully qualified Real estate Consultant (don't groan or tut-tut...we're not all dodgy ex-car salesmen!) and loving my new found career. Again, if I can give anybody any help or advice on buying/selling property in NZ I am more than happy to.

All in all we are loving our new life here in Godzone but still miss things and especially friends and family from back home. We are from Merseyside and although we moved for some very real reasons (crime rate, unemployment, etc. etc.) we did have a nice life there. But, not once have we doubted that we made the right choice, both for our kids as well as ourselves.

I am looking forward to 'meeting' people on the forum and maybe even for real.

Chris

Re: Hello British Expats Forum!
 

Hey Chris and Welcome.

Surprised I am the first to say this - but maybe because your post is in the immigration part. I'm sure Bevs will move it.

Very interested to hear how you got into real estate over here and how it works. I worked in the property industry in the UK - mainly lettings and management etc and was never a proper "estate agents" as I always worked directly for Landlords.

I'd been considering getting into it over here but know that you have to be qualified to practice here. How did you do it - did you do the course then find a job or can you get a job without doing the course? How does it differ from the UK? It seems much less client focussed to me - open homes rather than viewings to suit the buyer etc - i've not bought so I don't have that view point, but I would be really interested to hear how you find it, particularly competition wise, negotiating with kiwis etc etc etc.

Caroline

Re: Hello British Expats Forum!
 

Hi Caroline

Thank you for the welcome.

I come from a background of sales/marketing/negotiation - various sales and sales management positions and then running my own manufacturing and retail businesses.

I had considered real estate back in UK but never did anything about it. I got talking to somebody in it over here and that rekindled my interest in it.

I saw an advertisement for a careers evening with Harcourts Real Estate and decided to give it a look. I was sold on the whole thing and decided to go for it.

With Harcourts they assist you to get licensed and then you join them as a self employed salesperson. Other companies tell you to go and get licensed and then give you a desk and a phone and leave you to it. I was happy with the way Harcourts have their own training academy here in Auckland (Newmarket) where they do some of the training - the main qualification can be done at home, online, at your own pace. That means you can keep your job right up until you are licensed and ready to get out there.

I took around 3 months to get the NCEA qualification that you need by studying part time at home, although you can go to Unitec in Mt Albert on a Saturday and Wednesday evening but that costs a bit more.

With Harcourts, once you are licensed, or just prior, you go on a 4 day sales training course where they teach you the nuts and bolts of the job, how they want it done. It is very comprehensive and there is ongoing training also - most real estate companies just do in-house training.

There is a cost to getting licensed and the training, but if you think about what cost it is to set up a business from scratch, it's a good option. It would depend on the company you decided to go with as to what the cost was, and the commission rates can vary also.

As far as being client focussed, it is actually very client focused here. The open homes just reduce the inconvenience for the owner with viewings at all different times. We do private viewings also. In UK the agent doesn't generally attend the viewings - it is left to the owner to show them round - here we do all the hard work and follow them up etc. I feel the system is much better here.

The industry is very competitive which is why you need to go with a company that has a good reputation in the area. There are a few around where I live that have not.

There is a good living to be made in real estate but you do need to be prepared to work weekends, evenings etc. and there are plenty of salespeople that go broke whilst others are making over a million a year! Most are somewhere between - more towards the nil figure than the million, admittedly.

I have no expectation to become a millionaire in real estate but I am confident I can make a decent living and enjoy doing it. I would suggest you speak to Harcourts if you are considering joining the industry - they have recently started a cadet ship where they pay a salary and pay for all your training. Once you are ready, you then go commission only - not available when I joined but seems like a good option.

Hope that helps.

Chris

Re: Hello British Expats Forum!
 

Wow Chris. thank you for the really comprehensive reply. Its exactly the sort of information I've been wanting. Admittedly I had not really made an effort to find out. I'd gone as far as looking online quite the qualifications and the cost.

So I assume that for you personally then as self-employed, if you don't sell you don't make money - there is no salary to fall back on, and that is generally the way it works here for everyone?

I know that if you aren't selling and doing the deals you will be out of a job anyway - but you do get slow periods in real estate so it is a concern of mine.

Good to get a view point from an insider anyway! How do you find it negotiating with Kiwis? I'm wondering how different it is.

Re: Hello British Expats Forum!
 

Good day mate, welcome to the forum!