Passion and commitment will take you a long way

The days when investors in real estate simply followed their gut feelings are long gone. These days any serious investor in the sector will make time to consult a real estate manager on the validity of investments they are eyeing. Later, some even go ahead to contract the services of a real estate firm to manage their property or investment. Engineer Sayinzoga Nkongoli is one such real estate valuer, manager and consultant. He talked to Education Times’ Collins Mwai to shed more light on his career Briefly give us a description of your duties and responsibilities at work I play different roles for different clients. They include, real estate valuing, real estate management, brokerage, writing construction audit reports and also consulting for clients.Would you mind elaborating more on those roles?Not at all. Real estate management is where a client contracts an agency to manage property on his or her behalf. The agent finds tenants, prices the rent accordingly, collects rent and handles tenants’ complaints. Valuing involves conducting appraisals to price property in a way it will trade competitively. Consulting involves helping clients make maximum use of their property at realistic costs.What training does one require to make it to this kind of career position?I am a civil engineer by profession. Those interested purely in real estate management can take courses in Estate Management at Kigali Institute of Science and Technology.A background in construction or management would be an added advantage for anyone interested in the profession. Can clients really count on you to do a good job? Modesty too is important, if something is beyond your scope, you need to be honest and admit it is more than you can chew. Like all other professions, passion and commitment will take you a long way.What are the best moments in the occupation? For me it is when I assist a client in making an informed decision and a sound investment. At times a client is about to put a loan in a project that is not worth it, after sitting down with them, they are very grateful as they were about to waste their money. As an engineer it makes me sad seeing people making mistakes due to lack of information and advice. I am always happy to provide it.What are the emerging trends in this line of work?There are new entrants in the industry; property agents and property developers; large scale and small scale. A lot of professionalism has also been witnessed in the industry lately. A lot of people are consulting and contracting agents to manage their property.Any low moments or challenges in this job?Dealing with undecided clients, one moment they want something the next they are not sure.How do people advance to higher levels in this line of work? Any low moments or challenges in this job?The more clients you serve, the more you learn about the industry, the better you get. Experience builds you up and increases your scope. Further training will always put you ahead. I just completed a Masters in Environmental Science.How many hours a day do you work?It’s an 8-5 job but at times you have deadlines to beat and have to put in more hours. It involves both office work and field work.What would make one fail in this job? Unreliability; if people can no longer trust you with their property your job is as well as done. Lack of modesty is also common and fails most. If something is beyond your scope, you should be modest enough to say it is more than you can chew.Advice to anyone eyeing the occupationThis is a career that will last into the future people have always and will always invest in property. For anyone interested, this would be a good time to join in, there is a lot of professionalism in it and people have more confidence now more than ever. The economy too is opening up.