PETER PARK, PROPERTY MANAGER AT FHP – 1 YEAR ON!

Property Management News

Reflecting on my first year at FHP and how a career as a Property Manager compares with previously held positions during my working life and also attending University as a mature student.

Having spent almost 20 years in the Royal Air Force working on predominantly fast jets and guided weapons where the emphasis was on training and teamwork, which prepared us to overcome the many of the adverse situations we faced as part of our routine work in the Royal Air Force.  I would say that the main similarities between working in the Royal Air Force and working at FHP is the sense of operating as part of an integrated team.  This in my opinion is without a shadow of a doubt the single biggest reason for FHP’s continued success in this extremely difficult property market.

Having completed a four year Real Estate Property Management course at Nottingham Trent University and graduating with a BSc (Hons) in Real Estate Management in 2009.  I then went on to secure a position within FHP, this is the day I started to learn about Commercial Property Management.

A good life analogy in my opinion is with that of passing your driving test and I am sure many will agree that this is the day you start to learn to drive.

A four year sandwich course in Real Estate Management at Nottingham Trent University does not prepare you for the wide range of tasks and situations you encounter on a day to day basis as a Property Manager at FHP.

The Property Management Team covers a wide range of tasks in their day to day management.  From dealing with problems raised by tenants, to looking at the investment overall and how to maximise the returns.  No one day is the same!

I certainly never envisaged after such a short time after leaving University I would be managing a property portfolio consisting of a wide range of property types and sizes with a diverse range of tenants.

Although I work for a range of clients, some have one or two properties which form part of their pension fund, others have much larger and diverse property portfolios and have a more entrepreneurial flare to their approach.  Every client and property is as important as the next.

One of the more enjoyable parts of the job is getting out and meeting the tenants, seeing what they do and how they operate.  This also allows us to build up a relationship with them and spot potential problems early, thus mitigating the effect on our client.

One recent unit which I inspected in Long Eaton has recently had Laser Shape move in, and for those who think manufacturing is dead in the UK, think again!  I can assure you it is very much alive and kicking and Laser Shape are living proof.

So one year on!

Steep learning curve!

• Manage large diverse property portfolio!
• Work for a wide range of clients.
• Work with an even wider range of tenants.
• Without a doubt this has been the fastest year of my life!