5 minute read
Flying high on the Gold Coast
Peter Turner
Flying high on the Gold Coast
By Grantlee Kieza,
Industry Reporter
Peter Turner is a senior management rights broker at the Gold Coast offi ce of RAAS Property Group, and owning management rights has been part of his interesting journey through life.
“I’m originally from the south west of England near Exeter,” Peter told Resort News.
“I joined the military aft er graduating high school and spent eight years in the Royal Air Force. I specialised as an air traffi c controller and was based at various places around the UK as well as in Cyprus, and what was then called West Germany. “Aft er leaving the air force, I went to university on the beautiful south coast of England and graduated with a law degree. Then I qualifi ed as a solicitor in London and worked mainly in real estate and construction law.”
Aft er a few years in London the law fi rm he worked for posted Peter to their Hong Kong offi ce. He intended to stay in Hong Kong for only two years, but ended up staying for 18, during which he witnessed the British handover of Hong Kong back to China in 1997. While his time in Hong Kong was fascinating, the siren call to the Gold Coast ultimately proved irresistible. “I had travelled back and forth to Australia on holiday many times, to visit Australian friends. I really liked the place, especially the Gold Coast, and decided to give living here a try.” Peter came to know about the management rights industry through Australian friends while still in Hong Kong. He said: “The parents of one of my friends ran a holiday complex on the Gold Coast and I spent a couple of days with them to see how their business operated. It was prett y clear to me that management rights was a safe, stable and secure business. So, while still living in Hong Kong, I did a management rights course during one of my visits to Australia. “I didn’t pursue management rights when I initially moved to Australia. I wanted to keep my options open and thought that aft er qualifying for my permanent residency, I might return to Hong Kong and continue practicing law for a couple more years. But I quickly realised how much I enjoyed living on the Gold Coast and that I wanted to work at something other than law,” he said.
“I had been in Australia for a few months when I thought I'd get a job in real estate sales and marketing.” “I’d always had a fascination with real estate and also thought it would be a good way to meet new people. I joined one of Australia’s largest real estate agencies in their new projects division. My main sale focus was on developing relationships with Asian investor buyers; especially those from Singapore, Hong Kong and Mainland China. Although I’d come to live on the God Coast, I found myself travelling around Asia quite a lot, marketing diff erent Gold Coast and Brisbane projects. “I really enjoyed selling real estate and in particular working through the fi nancial details with investors to show them how and why a particular property would work well for them as an investment.”
The agency Peter worked for even recognised him as one of their ‘Top 10 Performers’. At the same time as being involved in real estate sales, Peter was also continuing to look for a suitable management rights business. He told us: “I’d been working in property investment sales for a few years when a permanent management rights complex here on the Gold Coast came up for sale. It was just what I’d been looking for with around 100 smallish units and in a strong rental demand area. So, I bought it.
“I am a very hands-on person and was fortunate during my early days of gett ing to grips with the business to have had a very supportive committ ee. With my background in property investment sales, I also wanted to engage in selling units within my complex. I was very aware of the importance of protecting my rental pool and felt that selling units myself would be the best way to do that. So, I worked on communicating to the owners in my complex about my experience and highlighting to them the benefi ts of having the manager represent them in the sale of their unit.”
As a broker at RAAS, Peter wears “two hats”. The fi rst, and most important, is working with managers who wish to sell their management rights businesses.
Peter is also frequently called upon by managers who are still operating their business and who need assistance with unit sales in their complexes. In this respect, Peter feels that his experience in selling units as a former manager himself puts him in a unique position to obtain the best results for all involved.
So, what does Peter see as the future for management rights? “I think that while there are global economic clouds due to rising interest rates and problems in Europe, the future for management rights looks very strong. It's an industry that has a solid grounding and continues to benefi t from great support from ARAMA. “If someone is looking for a safe, steady, reliable business that can produce good fi nancial returns, I’m still of the view aft er all these years that management rights ticks all the boxes. “But if someone is thinking of buying a management rights business, especially those without any previous experience, they must do all their homework and research.
“And part of that means making sure they use suitable professionals, such as accountants, lawyers, and lenders, who have the right industry experience to guide them.”
