Suzanne Neale Email and Phone Number

I took the role as a Personal Assistant at Northrepps Hall whilst my duties as a Foster Carer were phased out – this was a temporary position agreed with Northrepps Hall with the understanding I will return to property management once I cease working as a Foster Career. I was responsible for a significant number of organisational tasks which included: -- Ensuring that family diaries are accurate and updated promptly when appointment changes are made.- Helping prepare the children with their return to boarding school – ensuring the itinerary is correct and present.- Organising numerous events with multiple attendees (E.g., formal dinners and pheasant shoots).- Overseeing the housekeeping duties and the general operations of running the hall.- Stay at the Hall when the family are away to ensure security- Actioning postal correspondence for the family and their businesses.

I took a 2-year break from property management in order to act as a foster carer for children with problematic backgrounds. During this time, I was still able to progress skills that are relevant to a professional career – resolving conflicts and understanding different personality types – specifically, how to apply alternative communication techniques to suit different audiences.As a foster carer I was also responsible for liaising with various authorities and keeping abreast of fostering legislation.

I was headhunted for the Property Manager role at Sowerbys, and made the move to Sowerbys in 2016. During this period my core responsibilities included: -- Compilation of tenancy agreements, calling on my experience to recommend and draft bespoke clauses to ensure smoother management for both landlords and tenants.- Auditing and compliance of legislative responsibilities - Gas safety Certification and Energy Performance certification.- Handover / completion - Tenant move in, contract finalisation and utility connection.- Tracking of existing tenancy agreement expiration and negotiation of renewals for the landlord and tenant. Including proposal of new tenancy agreements and completion of Section 13 as needed.- Compliantly arranging and carrying out regular inspections on properties - Providing written and / or photographic reports for landlords.- Drafting and submission of Section 13, Section 21 and Section 8 notices as required, filing court forms and papers where there was a request for eviction.- Management of vacant properties, business policies, legal requests, maintenance problems and conflict resolution with any tenant on behalf of the landlord.

I moved to Abbotts in 2014 having been approached by my previous manager who had made the move 6 months prior. Abbotts was to acquire my existing employer (Harrisons Estate Agents) so the move was an enabler for the organisation as I would be an expert in the systems and processes of both companies. I was heavily involved with the transition period – resolving challenges such as the removal parallel software systems and ensuring staff were well-informed and trained on all changes being made. Acquisition aside, my day-to-day role included the following core responsibilities: -- Dealing with all maintenance issues reported - sourcing new suppliers and contractors where required.- Conducting regular property inspections and ensuring that any missed maintenance issues were promptly reported.- Negotiation of tenancy renewals and updated tenancy agreement terms where required.- Deposits, deposit returns and resolution of any disputes raised during the tenancy exit process- Conflict resolution and mediation of between a landlord and the tenant.- Managing the collections process, chasing rent arrears and tracking payments,- Resolution of general complaints (E.g., anti-social behaviour).

Harrisons was a relatively new estate agency when I started in my role as Senior Property Manager and I was able to use my experience to help ensure processes were improved. My process improvements directly contributed to a reduction in workloads for team members (removal of duplication and poor tracking of tasks already completed), with a secondary benefit of increased service levels and improved company reputation. In addition to overseeing the property management team I was also able to increase the lettings portfolio and covered the Finance Officer role when needed.One of my highlights at Harrisons was be responsible for the project management of the renovation of a block of eight flats for one of our key clients – the success of which led to increased business with the client and knowing that I helped contribute to us winning the “Best East of England Letting Agency” award at the National Awards.My core responsibilities included: -- Completion of accurate and compliant pictorial inventories / check-out reports.- Management and auditing of Gas Safety certification and Energy Performance certification – initial and renewal.- Managing and ensuring due-diligence was carried during the tenant reference process. - Completion of all move-in paperwork, including creation of standard / bespoke tenancy agreements.- Registration of deposit, management of deposit returns (and resolution of any disputes raised during move-out).- Auditing and conducting regular inspections - ensuring properties had no maintenance issues that had not been reported – and that tenancy agreements were not being breached.- Negotiation of tenancy renewals and completion of new tenancy agreements or section 13 notices needed.- Completion of any Section 21 or Section 8 notices needed and ensuring that they are filed and served compliantly.- Block managing a number of properties.

I moved to Sequence Ltd. in 2009 due to my previous employer choosing to close the company and this was my first role within the property management and lettings domain. I trained extensively in all areas of property / lettings management which – The work at Sequence Ltd gave me the solid foundation on which my career has been built – and has resulted in me winning multiple awards for property management and customer service.At Sequence Ltd. I was managing a portfolio of over 200 properties which included the following responsibilities: -- Creation of tenancy agreements with landlord requested specific clauses.- Filing and serving legal documents and section notices compliantly.- Gas Safety and Energy Performance certification process and compliance.- Tenancy renewals with landlords and tenants, and issuing section 13 notices- Registration and return of deposits, resolving any disputes that arise.- Producing maintenance reports, both ad-hoc and regular.- Acting as a mediator between landlords and tenants on all queries / issues.- Management of several HMO properties whilst in this role.