Words of Wisdom – with Recruit RE and Ashlea Merlo

“Be open to learning, always be inquisitive, and question and ask the why.”

Ashlea Merlo is a force in Property Management and with an energy and drive that is unmatched, she has an infectious passion for the industry.

Over 16 years of experience has given Ashlea a lifetime of lessons and knowledge and now as the Founder and Director of specialist Property Management Agency, The Property Collab, they are bringing a fresh and innovative approach to Property Management on Sydney’s Northern Beaches and Lower North Shore.

Tell us about your career and how you started in the industry

I started my career in real estate in 2006 with zero idea about real estate and property management. I was 17and straight out of high school, always really driven and simply wanting to get a job to make some money.

I interviewed for two roles, one in a law firm and one at a real estate business. I had always loved law, but it was far too quiet for me, while the real estate position, was exciting and there was a real buzz in the atmosphere.

I started in a reception role and moved from sales support through to a junior leasing consultant position, portfolio management, leading a small team ultimately moving into a Department Head position. I’m very grateful that I had the opportunity to learn from good operators which gave me a solid foundation in property management.  

I then had an exciting opportunity to work with one of the major franchise groups, coaching and training property management all over Australia. It was an incredible role with some amazing learning opportunities and the chance to build relationships with people and understand different real estate markets and cycles while working with some incredible operators.

This role saw me working closely with businesses that needed a lot of support and plenty of opportunity for growth, understanding where things can get unstuck leaving them open to liability and ultimately, how to set up a business for success.

From there, I worked closely with one of Australia’s fastest growing real estate businesses and with some of the highest performing sales agents in the country. It was in that role that I learned a lot about truly understanding people and how to showcase to our clients the benefits of having a professional property manager take care of them through effective communication.

Five years ago, when I had my daughter, my values changed, and it was the right time for me to start my own business. That's when The Property Collab was born.

Is real estate the only industry you’ve ever worked in?

Prior to starting The Property Collab, I took a short break from real estate. I had an incredible opportunity where I spent nine months in an operations role for a global business in health and fitness in education.

It was an exciting position because it was here that I realised that a lot of my skills were transferable. I got to learn a more about people and how I was able to help them; it was in that period that I decided to start my own business to work closely with investors on maximising their return through personalised 1:1 property management.

During that nine months transitional period, my mindset shifted around traditional property management. I gained a huge amount experience in technology and looking at property management very differently to how it had been done it historically.

I really loved that time in my career as it helped me gain clarity on what I want to do and what we're doing at The Property Collab.

What qualifications did you complete to get into the industry?

I did my licence in 2010 and throughout that process I found that my biggest lessons came from being on the ground and doing the day to day and learning in the industry and from all those around me in different industries.  

How would you say that your friends and colleagues would describe you?

I’m ambitious, fast paced and very passionate. Everyone that I work with knows that I'm relentless and won't leave any stone unturned to try and get great results for my clients.

What is your proudest career moment?

My proudest career moment would be starting my business and training all over the country. To be able to get to know, learn from and meet so many different business owners, property managers, and people brand new into the industry was such an incredible opportunity and soul fulfilling.

To mentor and grow those individuals and see that growth not only within their businesses but also personally would be my proudest moment.

What is the most rewarding part of your career?

My team, they are incredible and watching their growth is so rewarding. We are a learning organisation, together we grow and develop daily. Watching the team thrive in their careers and listening to the different conversations that we're having with people makes me really proud. We're a small team in comparison to our competition, but we're mighty.

How have companies you’ve worked for helped you to reach the career goals?

In the early stages of my career, I was very lucky and grateful that the businesses that I started with had a good solid foundation in property management. I was able to learn from the best and was quite lucky for that.

I look at every situation, whether it's good, bad, or indifferent as a learning opportunity for us, even in our business. It's okay to make mistakes., as long as we learn. I look at every part of my career with the highs and some lows, and learning what we could do different next time.

What advice would you have early career professionals?

Be open to learning, always beinq positive, and question and ask the why. Asking the why will help you understand more and not just follow a process because you were told to. Sometimes in Property Management we get so stuck following the process and aren't necessarily thinking creatively.

Asking why can help you to think about the bigger picture and come up with solutions for your clients.

What advice do you have for maintaining good mental health?

It's important to take care of yourself first. Even for me it's a work in progress, because I take a lot onboard and take it home. If you can try and focus on the little things that you can control, like eating well and making sure that you get some time to be mindful, time to exercise or time for yourself.

One of the biggest things that I talk about with my team is making sure that even if it's not a full lunchbreak to take at least half an hour, get away from their desk and have a bit of down time to reset and refresh.

What do you think the biggest recruitment challenges are in the industry?

The experience of people coming into the industry and businesses aren't spending enough time bringing people up through the ranks. They're expecting someone will come in and be able to know what to do and do it well.

There’s so much churn and burn where people are just unhappy and leaving and while there are not enough good quality people, we've got to take personal responsibility as business leader sand start bringing people through coaching and mentoring them.

How do you find the best talent to join your team?

Although we are small, we've got a great following on social media because our brand is fresh and new. It’s not necessarily all real estate and there's a local community following.

Kat who joined our team came from a childcare background and she's been with us for two years now. We also have connections through our family and friends.

What's your opinion of the current real estate market?

If I look at my market in property management locally, there's lots of little micro-markets that are occurring. We're finding that we are quite lucky and we're still able to get really high prices for our clients.

Tenants have an expectation of quality products now, where historically they would be okay with something a little bit more tired or older but now the properties that aren't presenting well are really struggling to lease and people are being more cautious with their money.

Landlords are also starting to feel the pinch with interest rates rising and we need to be more particular in terms of expenditure to make sure that we're really closing that gap for clients to increase their bottom line.

Advice for people who are looking to buy or sell an investment property?

Any property that presents well, is marketed right, and priced accordingly will lease for a good price in our area. The properties that struggled the most in the rental market post-covid were the one-bedroom apartments because people are now looking for properties that have working from home capabilities. One-bedroom apartments are still leasing quickly, they just take a little longer than some of the other so ensuring they present really well with great storage can set you apart in the market.

What is your top tip for anyone to flourish in the real estate industry?

In order to flourish and thrive, you have to be inquisitive, and ask the why. If you don’t understand, ask questions, lean on people for support and always be inquisitive. Always be solutions focused and customer centric, doing so will always set you up for success.