INTRODUCING CIARA BANKS IN PROPERTY MANAGEMENT…

Tell us a bit about yourself.
I was born at my family home in Lydiate in 1991 . After school at St Gregory’s Primary School and Maricourt Catholic High School and Sixth Form, I went on to study Architecture at Leeds Metropolitan University. From the age of 14 I had worked in the hospitality industry in a number of locations from Aintree racecourse to ‘The Malt house’, a rural Yorkshire pub restaurant. After three years studying architecture I decided to focus on my career in hospitality and in June 2012 I became trainee assistant manager at Costa Coffee in Formby. During my time at Costa, I worked my way through the management ranks from, trainee assistant manager, to my final position of area support manager in 2015. In May 2015 my boyfriend and I bought our first property, a renovation project in Bootle. After 4 months of working full time jobs and renovating a 3 bed semi in our spare time I decided I wanted to return to the property industry and joined NSW Properties as Residential Inventory Clerk. In April 2016 I was promoted to my current role of Property Management Co-ordinator.

What is your role at NSW Properties and what do you do?
As Property Management Co-ordinator I oversee the day to day running of the department, from tenancy renewals to maintenance issues. I spend a large portion of my working week out of the office visiting our properties to complete inventories, mid- term inspections and check out reports. I am currently completing my exams to be accredited by APIP (Association of Professional Inventory Providers) and ARLA (Association of Residential Letting Agents).

What is the secret to the company’s success?
Brilliant customer service backed up by organisation and structure in a great team who are up to date with the industry and customer focused. We like to keep up to date with the latest technology and are currently in the process of introducing a new innovative way of reporting maintenance so that all issues are logged straight on to our system and tenants and landlords alike can be kept up to date with all on-going maintenance from any device.

If you could give a property owner one piece of advice, what would it be?
I would advise all landlords to keep up to date with industry regulations. If you need support with this, look at employing the services of a property management firm who can help you. From dealing with maintenance works throughout tenancies to completing check out reports, I always find that landlords who look after their tenants throughout the tenancy have their properties returned in the best condition. Obviously there are a small number of exceptions to the rule.
If you are thinking of renting your property out and are not sure how to get your property ready seek advice from local agents to see what standard is expected in the current market. All landlords are required by law to protect a tenants deposit with a government backed scheme. I would strongly advise having an inventory and schedule of completed at the beginning of the tenancy and a check out report at the end of the tenancy. This will strengthen your case greatly if you run into deposit disputes when a tenant moves out of your property.

Where do you live?
I am currently living back in my family home after completing the sale of my first property renovation.

What do you do in your spare time?
I try to go to the gym on a regular basis. I train at Maghull Health Studios. They have over 90 classes per week!! I aim to go to 12 but I normally get to around 7! My colleagues are used to me moaning about muscle aches on a Wednesday!

What is your idea of a perfect day in West Lancashire?
I enjoy taking my 9 month old schnauzer Nia for a run around the quarry in Aughton and then stopping off for lunch at the at the village’s Town Green Brasserie.