Austin Rees help you make the right decisions

Ask the professionals

How much do you really know about buying, selling and letting property? Austin Rees is an experienced professional company ready to help you make the right decisions
Most of us leave school with a firm grip on the English language, a reasonable grasp of numbers and some even with a smattering of a second language. Some of us go on to further education and achieve specialist academic qualifications. That is the way our education system works and in many ways it is second to none – with some major exceptions. How many of us leave school with more than a scant knowledge of how British Government works, bank accounts, tax and National Insurance?

Very few I suspect, and even fewer will know anything about property, how to manage it or rent it. And yet as soon as we are deemed to be adults this is one of the first things we will have to deal with. The complexities of property legislation and the workings of the property market are ever changing, especially in the field of lettings. Which is why your best route will almost always be to use the services of qualified and experienced property professionals.

Austin Rees are just that, a firm of property specialists who have a vast range of skills and years of applied experience in their various fields, from block and estate management to lettings and every stop inbetween.

A quality managment company is always there to act in the best interests of their clients. In block and estate management, looking after the single most important investment most people will ever make is of the utmost importance. The business is a two-way transaction and Austin Rees like to ensure that all parties, freeholders and leaseholders, are happy.

With lettings the same ethics apply. Landlords need to be sure that the agent is achieving the best possible rental incomes and the maximum occupancy rate. For Austin Rees this means that a property to let needs to meet the right standards to achieve the best rental price. Often in their work with landlords they will advise on how best to achieve that.

This will also mean ensuring that a rental property is properly maintained. This works on so many levels, tenants in well looked after accommodation tend to stay longer and clearly treat a property with more respect if it is well appointed and kept in good order. Landlords similarly benefit from investing in quality maintenance with consistent rental income and the knowledge that their property is retaining its value in the open market. Property that is not well maintained will almost certainly depreciate in value over time.

All of these factors and many more go to make up the total professional service that Austin Rees are proud to offer. And working as a team is also a part of that deal, a group of professionals who are proud of and happy doing their specialised jobs.

Meet the Austin Rees team

Kate Elliott
Kate is now the longest serving Property Manager at Austin Rees having enjoyed nearly seven years with the company. Kate manages a portfolio of over 350 blocks, ranging from four to thirty units. Over those years Kate has seen the Austin Rees Property Management Department develop into a strong and vibrant team, heading block management on the south coast.

Samantha-Jay Burnett
Samantha has enjoyed working at Austin Rees for the last five years as a Property Manager and currently manages a number of our most prestigious blocks. This varied portfolio includes the Brighton landmark buildings Sussex Heights and Chartwell Court; art deco blocks Wick Hall, Furze Croft, Courtenay Gate and Gwydyr Mansions and modern blocks such as Victoria Court and Varndean Park Estates. Samantha says, “I feel a great sense of job satisfaction within my role at Austin Rees and take great pride in being part of our thriving property management team”.

Nuala Davitt
Nuala is a Chartered Building Surveyor in Austin Rees’s Surveying Department. Nuala has ten years’ experience in both the residential and the commercial property sectors. Due to the variety of surveying work Austin Rees encompasses, although Nuala’s role primarily involves undertaking the Planned Maintenance projects she also undertakes defects diagnosis, Party Wall and Dilapidations surveys.

Laura Jane Barling
Laura has worked in both lettings and sales throughout Sussex for over five years, gaining valuable knowledge and experience within the property industry. Laura’s welcoming, professional and efficient manner is echoed within the team. She prides herself on her dedication to the firm and always looks forward to the new challenges that the job presents.

Katie Piper
Katie says “I enjoy working in a busy office and my objective is to ensure that all aspects of the tenancy preparation is followed, ensuring that both tenant and landlord are aware of the progress of the letting. It is vital that everyone is aware of the Landlords needs. The process of Letting can be worrying for an owner and I am here to make this experience easier. I am delighted to have joined this well established, well known, family business”. Katie’s bubbly personality is resonated throughout the office and her hard work is indicative of what is expected.

Andrew Austin
Andrew has been associated with the company since his early twenties, starting in residential sales, and has enjoyed witnessing the expansion of this family business. He is now a proud director of the firm alongside his father which has been a natural progression and one built on hard work and dedication. He prides himself on his self-motivation, understanding his staff and he is always keen to teach and to assist in the daily challenges that arise. He has built a long standing relationship with many clients who entrust him with large property portfolios. He can often be found walking around sites with property managers, discussing future projects and works. He enjoys the relationship that he has built with leaseholders and committees.

“I have been very much involved in the brand awareness of Austin Rees and have helped move our company into the public eye. On our website, you will see that we support the Rockinghorse Charity and I am delighted with the relationship myself and the company have built with them. I enjoy sponsoring children in activities that they enjoy and you will often find me, at the weekend, supporting some of our sponsored teams.”

John Austin
John Austin entered the profession with Philip H Inman in 1960 and became a partner in that firm in 1966. He qualified as a chartered surveyor in 1972. He then formed a partnership with Peter Harris-Rees, forming a new company trading as Austin Rees in 1997.

John is well respected by his staff and clients. He is still found at our offices on a daily basis where he enjoys dealing with long standing clients and resolving complicated property issues. John has served as a Justice of the Peace in Brighton and will become President of the Rotary Club this year. When not in the office, John can be found on the golf course or enjoying time with his grandchildren.

Nick Mills
Nick Mills joined Austin Rees as a Director in 2010 and has over twenty years’ experience in block management, property auctioneering, land agency and development in the Sussex area. Nick handles all new business, oversees the work of all departments and has developed strong working relationships with clients and leaseholders. An increasing part of Nick’s role is advising groups of leaseholders on the setup and use of Right to Manage (RTM) Companies.
Nick is a keen cyclist, snowboarder and sailor and also plays a key role in charity fundraising, leading another Austin Rees team of keen cyclists for the London to Brighton bike ride in June.

Austin Rees, 135-137 Dyke Road, Hove,
East Sussex, BN3 1TJ
01273 207501
www.austinrees.com