IN THEIR OWN
WORDS
Danica Maynerd L E T T I N G S C O N S U LTA N T BlakeStanley
REBECCA NOONAN
L
ooking back perhaps my interest in property stemmed from when I was growing up as we moved home seven times and lived in many different places, including villas in Spain. I loved living in Spain as it enabled me to learn the language while at school there and has proved very useful in my role to date. It all started when I was twenty having decided to move to London and I was determined to live in Camden, but it was so expensive that the only property I could afford to rent was a tiny bedsit in Mornington Crescent. My father (who also has an avid interest in property) was keen for me to buy a property and persuaded me to checkout another area. At first I dug in my heals because I only wanted to live in Camden and wasn’t open to looking anywhere else, but my father insisted. So I went along with a face like thunder, convinced we wouldn’t see anything I liked. The first one was a studio flat in Marylebone, which I did not like so we quickly moved on to view a flat on
I was working in Central London as a chef, before making a complete career change
Holloway Road. The communal areas were not the best and I was giving my father signals all the way up the stairs to let him know I wasn’t impressed. That was until we got to the front door and went inside, I was pleasantly surprised with the bright south facing open plan living area and the bedroom overlooking gardens at the back. It was miles apart from my tiny bedsit on the crazy Camden High Street, so instantly I had a huge change of heart and I had to admit that my father had been right all along. We made an offer the next day and three months later I had bought my first flat in Archway and got myself on the property ladder. I lived in the flat for fifteen years, ten of which I was working
in Central London as a chef, before making a complete career change to become an estate agent. The change was prompted by my sister who had recently got herself a job at BlakeStanley as a lettings negotiator, she loved it and kept saying how great it was. She was always full of news about the current lettings market and her job sounded fun and exciting to me. So after some thought I decided to give it a go myself. I worked at two agencies over the space of two years to gain experience, but soon realised that BlakeStanley seemed like a bit of a one off and other agencies weren’t quite living up to the high standards my sister talked about. So when a job came up at BlakeStanley I snapped it up and have never looked back. I have now worked at BlakeStanley for five years and absolutely love every aspect, I am very proud to have been part of BlakeStanley’s growth as I believe the company is a very honest estate agents. My sister is still here and works alongside her husband, so you could say it is now a family affair!
BROADWAY MARKET / 020 7254 7554 / bl a k e st a n l e y. c o .u k
ABSOLUTELY MAGAZINES
East_Jan17_ITOW.indd 84
84 15/12/2016 12:58