Mehdi Jahani talks about how & why he started Prominence Property

Standing Out

When conducting interviews with estate agents the usual opening gambit is about experience and longevity in the business, valid factors granted. But with Mehdi Jahani he is quick to explain that, in letting agency terms, he is still, after five years, pretty new to the industry. It was a refreshing start to what turned out to be an excellent story of how one man, with a sharp mind and a keen desire to be open and honest, could set up a business that has grown in both scale and reputation.

“I didn’t set out to open a letting agency at all. Only two months before I was still undecided and looking at perhaps opening a bar,” says Mehdi. “I abandoned the bar idea and thought about imports and exports or catering, just weighing up different options, and a letting agency was one of them. At that point I thought that cash flow would be easier. Basically, I was looking at being a service provider of some kind and I was looking at all areas. I finally settled on lettings and that was five years ago.
“What I didn’t realise back at the start was how long it would take for people to trust me. “I had no agency experience and had no landlord contacts, it took me six months to get two properties. It was a struggle but there was no way back, we simply had to learn as we went. We were confident that our service was good and our prices too, and after a year we had ten properties.

“I did worry and I talked openly with my accountant but he said carry on, it will work. I worked seven days a week and we had no holidays for three years. It was after those three years that I realised we had a business and that we were rating on the same scale as many other agents.

“The common factors we apply are honesty with your customers and clear principles”

“People who fail often give up just at the moment when people who do make it decide to carry on. I had cut all my costs, gym, mobile phone, I let my spare room. I was motivated by this business, and knew that I wanted to provide a five star service. All the time that we were struggling we never let our clients down, and pretty soon they started not only to really trust us but also to recommend us to their colleagues. We even started to get business from people who had just one letting property and in the past had managed it themselves. We offer the same level of service to clients who might only have one small studio flat to let as we do to our clients who have a large portfolio of properties they want us to manage.”

So what is it that makes Mehdi and his business work? “We have no ambitions to become huge, for me small works well and I can make a decent living without having the huge stress of managing a huge operation. I have kept the team small too and work only with Victoria White & Lina Balickaite, full time property managers, in that way it is very easy for us to know exactly where we are at any given time. I have also invested in state of the art technology, the software that we use is second to none, and right now we are also investing time and effort into social media, an ever expanding area in the lettings market.

“Staying small also means that we know our clients by name, both landlords and tenants, no one is simply a file number or an address. We can also turn on a sixpence without any of the red tape that can often slow down the bigger corporate agencies. Staying small means fewer headaches for both me and my clients.

“We also work with a regular team of contractors who we know and trust. Staying flexible is also important to us, being willing to work with our landlords in a way that suits them. That said, I do like to work with landlords who care and we do not take just any property onto our books. Why would we care if the landlord doesn’t care?

I say to landlords: ‘What do you expect of tenants if you do not take care of your own investment?’. I have principles and will always stand by the party that I believe is right – landlord or tenant. That level of trust that we have worked so hard to achieve and the transparency that we apply to the way we do business has led to us being a successful company. I like to be known as someone who is straightforward, transparent and trustworthy and I will do anything to keep that reputation.

“The common factors we apply are honesty with your customers and clear principles. If you are clear and honest you should be able to achieve anything – but at the end of the day it is all about people. We always show tenants around ourselves and show them good points – but also any downsides to a property. And we always keep everyone in the picture and apply my principles. We judge all tenants on a case by case basis, all the official checks that we have to do are essential and good but they will not define the quality of a potential tenant.”

Five years after starting Prominence Property Mehdi has built a company that he is rightly proud of, one that reflects his own beliefs in staying true and honest to what he believes is best.
Prominence Property,
124 Western Road, Hove, BN3 1DB, 01273 724374.
www.prominenceproperty.co.uk