Page 93
Stevie Walmesley
Interview & Words Krystle Sarkodie
When many of us think of luxury realtors, our minds may cross the sea over to our friends Stateside, thinking of tv programmes like ‘Selling Sunset’ or ‘Million Dollar Beach House’ which make the real estate game look so desirable; it makes you wonder do we have anything like this in the UK? Well I’m here to introduce you to London’s luxury lettings secret weapon and her name is Stevie Walmesley. From becoming a mother at the age of 19, to now letting properties of up to £125k a week; she’s seriously trailblazing and setting a path for young woman who want to leave their mark in this industry to follow. Stevie took some time out of her business schedule to have a chat about all things property, celebs and the corporate glass ceiling.
First of all, tell us a bit about who you are. Where did it all begin for you? Why real estate?
So, I actually had my daughter when I was quite young. I was 19 when I had her, she's 16 years old now. I was a working mother my whole career. The reason I actually got into real estate is because my mum at the time was running the Stirling Ackroyd Office in London Bridge. She headed up that team and so after about a year after I had my daughter, I was desperate. I was keen to get into work, so I started doing Saturdays at one of the other offices. I would be making the tea and doing everyone else's viewings on a weekend with about 20 sets of keys. I did the stuff people didn't want to do and I really, really enjoyed it and I got on well with the people and the manager at the time said, ‘Look, we're getting really good feedback. Do you fancy doing this full time?’ And I was like yeah, I'm really enjoying this so that's kind of where it all started.
I was in sales at the beginning and that was great, then the 2008 crash hit, and we were trying to sell to all the city guys, and they were telling us, no one's buying right now and it's quite deflating. So, then I decided for the same level of fees that you get in the city like London Bridge or Shoreditch, I could go into high end lettings in Belgravia or Knightsbridge and the fees would be the same, as the rental was so high. It wasn’t too much of a change and I could still make money.
I then went on to work for Cluttons in Belgravia for about 3 or 4 years, but I'd always set myself goals and said I really wanted to work for Savills. So, I got there and worked in the Sloane Street office. Then Knight Frank approached me and asked me if I would run their St. John's Wood office as a manager; and I'll be honest, I was terrified, because I had always been a fee earner, but I took the leap of faith and that was amazing. I was running a team of 4 people there, we had around a record year and then after that, I think because I've always worked in kind of expensive areas, I actually wanted to do something that really excited me. I'm sure a lot of people have aspirations to wanting to do the high-end stuff. So, I said to my friend, I really want to focus on the top end and actually we created this little team called ‘Super Prime Lettings’ and that's where I am now. I deal with everything over £5k plus a week, and I pretty much can go wherever I like in terms of looking after people that are looking to rent; it’s a lot of fun.
That’s amazing, what a journey. It’s so inspiring to hear that you were a single mum and you worked your way up right to the top. To be able to get to work for a High-End relator like Savills is a massive achievement.
I struggled being a mum and also trying to get to the top but this year it's looking like I could be the top female negotiator for billings in residential at Knight Frank, which will be a huge achievement. They're an amazing company to work for and are huge on promoting women, so I feel like I'm representing the women in the Estate Agency.
So, working in one of London's top luxury lettings brokers, what challenges have you faced along the way, what’s the journey been like for you?
What I would say is from a letting’s perspective, there has been a lot of change in compliance. So doing a deal now, there's a lot of processes to get to that point for example all the anti-money laundering that's now in place and all of the legislation is very administration heavy but it’s something that we've all adapted to and we've got a lot of administration help within Knight Frank to be able to manage all of that. So, I would say that is definitely something where you have to adapt to all these changes that keep coming, and I think that probably from a letting’s perspective it’s quite hard.
But I think also in terms of challenges, as I would say for a long time, I've been a fee earner and that is a lot of pressure. Every year you go back to zero, it’s very high pressured, very competitive as more and more people coming into the market. The most challenging part especially when you've got clients, people expect everything instantly, everything is digital now. People expect responses immediately whether it’s a Saturday or Sunday. So, it is making sure that you've got a good work balance and you take care of yourself because you can very easily burn out. So, I think that that is something that you have to master in knowing how to take care of yourself, of being a very high-pressured environment.
So, you've been in the industry for almost two decades. What advice would you give to young women who are just beginning in the real estate industry?
I would say always make a plan, it's the most incredible time to be joining Real Estate, we need more women. So, there's a lot of opportunities for women at the moment and the future. But I would say make sure that they join a reputable company because a lot of these good companies have got amazing training programmes. So, you really learn all the basics, you’ll get to do everything properly, compliantly, and there'll be a lot of opportunity to grow within these companies. So, it's important where you start off and think starting off those goals. So, if your goals are wanting to get into central London then have a look at which are the top agencies and how they are operating there, also look at how many properties they online. Do your research, look and see who the best agency and I aspire to get there.
Amazing, as we are on the topic of women, we already know that the real estate industry is very heavily dominated by men. There are few women that we see go into the more senior roles. So, what changes would you like to see, or would you hope to make in the real estate industry?
I think given the position that I'm in at the moment, I think it's really important, just to promote what is possible and there's absolutely space in that market for women like myself. I hope I can inspire women to be like you can be selling or renting the most expensive property. That is not just for the men. And there are some unbelievable women that I work with at Knight Frank, who are leading the way in terms of leadership and making sure that we've got a balanced team because women bring some amazing actually to a company. It's about having that balance, so it's changing which is such a great place for women at the moment, I think, in general. So, for any women that do want to get into it, now is the time. And also mentoring I think is also quite important, most recently I had a situation where a young guy approached me on LinkedIn and he just finished his university degree and he said, look, I sent my CVs to a lot of people but I haven't had much back. Would you mind having a chat? And I said, of course, no problem so we had a really good chat. He texted me the other day to say thank you I got a job at our Canary Wharf office. I would say get in touch with these people, don't be afraid to pick up the phone to people that are in the industry and get advice.
What will the letting market look like in the next five years?
I think we are definitely seeing the kind of activity where people move to houses that the flat market has definitely been affected at the moment. But I think, when you look at five years, everybody loves London, they want to be at the heart of it. So that's I don't think that's ever going to change, you know we have a lot of international travel, we have a lot of students, the education is a massive driver in London. And those people, you know, those youngsters they want to be in the heart of the centre. So I think the rental market is going to get stronger and stronger and I think if you look at 20 years ago, every 1 out of 20 would rent but in the last 10 years it’s now 1 out of 10, whereas I think forward to five years you're going to be looking at 1 out of 4 renting. Quite interestingly, I think people now in the olden days, you had a lot of finance people in the City and that's all starting to change on a lot more of the tech companies. If you look at how people invest their money now, it's not just property, you can be a trader online and set up your own account. So, there's other ways of investing your money now it’s not just property and it’s becoming accessible to these younger people. So I think, with the tech world, they like to feel free they don't want to be tied down; so actually renting is now becoming a much more preferred life then being tied up with having to potentially refurbish a property, maybe the younger generation, it is the renting generation and actually it's a more convenient way to live.
It's so funny how things change, because I remember when I was younger, I was told, ‘you need to buy a house, you get married, you have kids or whatever else.’ But then when I got into property, in a short time I've been able to see how everything has changed. Literally we are now in Generation Rent, that's what people want to do; they don't want to be tied into a mortgage for X amount of years. They want to have the freedom to live somewhere for a year or two, then change location and live somewhere else. So, what you're saying is so true, I'm really excited to see what the rental market has in store.
And it's going to be for investors, I think, again, it's still a great time to invest. I know that landlords are being heavily taxed, which makes it slightly difficult. But given that we have a generation that are happy to rent that’s great for everyone around.
And do you own your property; do you have multiple you let?
I was quite fortunate to have an opportunity to buy a house just after I had my daughter, and so probably it sounds crazy, but I have actually lived in the same house for the last 16 years. The reason for that is because I'm in Crystal Palace and 16 years ago, you know, it was affordable then. With my house I've been able to do the extension, do the attic, I’ve grown into this house and actually have so much space that when I look at moving I think I like the way I’ve done my house and I don’t want the headache of doing any more building work because I know how stressful. So, I’ve actually just kind of grown into my house and space I was fortunate to buy 16 years ago. In terms of buying other investment properties, I would like to potentially as I’ve seen how the property value goes up even with my house. So, I think it would be a sensible thing to do if you can invest in maybe one or two. I also see how much hard work it is being a landlord having seen what my clients go through. So, I never say never but I think it can sometimes be quite full on as the landlord, it’s almost like a part time job in itself and I don’t think I can deal with that stress.
So, do you think that you would if your daughter was to ask, ‘should I buy, or should I rent.’ What kind of advice would you give her?
I would probably say look further out and buy a rental investment, so at least you've invested in your money and then go and get three of your friends and rent somewhere in the town and have lots of fun because then you’ve got the best of both worlds. I think people look at renting as it's a waste of money, but I suppose we're now in a world where if you want to be close to town where all the fun is, you can't afford to buy there.