HELPING clients find their dream home was always a dream job for Praneel Dass.
The Lautoka man started in the real estate business in 2007 when, according to him, the market was in the gutter. Despite it being difficult at first, he took all the training he could get.
“I love houses and enjoyed working with people,” Praneel said.
“My mum was my mentor and she showed me the ropes and set me up for success as she was a senior bank officer for Bank of Baroda for 32 years.”
Despite also dreaming of one day becoming a pilot, Praneel believes being a real estate agent is just right for him as real estate requires lots of patience, determination and trust.
It is not an easy journey though, being a realtor, as there are a lot of hiccups along the way and one needs to be able to convince people he or she is be able to assist customers buy a home.
Praneel said a major challenge he faced in his line of work was the public’s misconceptions of real estate agents.
“I believe that the most challenging part of my job is to deal with the public with negative perception of real estate agents in general, negotiating commissions,” the director of Inglewood Realtors said.
“The only way I deal with such challenges is to constantly prove to my clients, both seller and buyers , that I keep my word and promises by acting professional and maintaining a consistently high standard of services.
“Sometimes, when everything is just going well, a client suddenly says she/he is going to work with another agent.”
Other major challenges Praneel faces in the local real estate industry include a lack of homes available in their buyers’ price ranges, buyers unrealistic expectations of what home price they qualify to purchase, insufficient down payment funds, poor credit history and a lack of understanding about the home buying process.
But no individual will just put in effort into work he loves without believing there will be some success in it.
Praneel puts hours into his job and makes every minute count for his sucess.
More than anything, he shares, there are three principles he lives and does business by.
“One, is to always do what you say you’re going to do. If I tell a client I’m going to do something or be somewhere, whatever it may be, I keep my word.
“The second is the golden rule, which we should all live by; treat others as you would want to be treated.
“The third is to practise what you preach. If I’m a leader and want to do something a certain way and get people on board with something, I realise it starts with me, so I make sure I’m doing what I’m preaching to others.”
If there’s a word of advice Praneel would like to offer to many people, particularly youths out there who may be struggling with life especially those thinking of doing business in the real estate industry, it would be to always remember that nothing can replace taking action today to build and multiply a database of people who choose to buy a home, sell a home or invest in real estate with no one else but you.
He also commended the support he has received so far from being a part of a high-functioning team.
“With my business partner associate from New Zealand Sandeep Kumar and 17 other team members, everyone with different experience levels and from different walks of life, these varied perspectives have been instrumental in my professional growth.
“The leads that were provided by the team were also an unbeatable advantage that most agents don’t have access to.”
