Youth no deterrent to success

Changing one’s career is seldom an easy move, especially when it involves a field that one knows nothing about.

For Brandon Ann, who quit his freelancing photography job in March 2016 to become a real estate negotiator at the age of 21, the level of difficulty is upped a degree when the leap requires extensive connections, good communication skills and in-depth knowledge.

To make it even harder, Ann was a college dropout and had zero sales background. He had never had a full-time job until he became a real estate negotiator at MIP Properties Sdn Bhd.

But Ann was unperturbed and decided to go all out in making real estate his career.

Instead of starting small, he decided to aim high and chose to focus on the sales and rental of high-end residential properties in the secondary market in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI), Bangsar, Damansara Utama, Damansara Heights and the other areas in the vicinity. These areas are deemed the playing fields of veteran agents.

“I was the youngest agent when I joined MIP Properties in 2016, as most of my colleagues were in their late 20s. Coming into the industry at the young age of 21 and handling high-end real estate — people do laugh at me and question my experience,” he tells EdgeProp.my. Hence, the main test was to overcome the doubts and scoffs from those who looked down on him due to his young age. His baby-face looks didn’t help either.

Undaunted, Ann forged on and the results were better than he expected, as he managed in a remarkably short time to take the top sales spot in the Gold category at MIP Properties when he concluded deals worth RM20 million last year.

The Gold category ranks the top 10 sales performance of those who have served three years and below in the period between February and September.

The RM20 million deals consisted of sales and rentals of condominiums, semidees and bungalows priced about RM1 million and above in the TTDI and Damansara areas, he says.

One of the most memorable deals was the sale of a 1,445 sq ft condo unit at The Greens in TTDI at RM1.73 million or RM1,200 psf in August 2017, he reveals, adding that the transacted price set a new record high for similar units there, surpassing the previous record of RM1.68 million.

* DONE DEAL: The Greens condominium, TTDI, KL

Located along Jalan Wan Kadir, The Greens is a freehold luxury condominium development by Bellworth Developments Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of LGB Group. The development comprises two 27-storey towers housing 163 units with built-ups ranging from 1,445 to 3,832 sq ft.

“At that time, I was competing with a senior estate agent who had a prospective buyer with an offer of RM1.7 million or about RM1,177 psf, which was slightly lower than the owner’s asking price of RM1,200 psf.

“But my co-agent happened to have a buyer who was eager to buy a unit in The Greens. The buyer, who is an engineer, had viewed a unit at the project about two months before but he wasn’t satisfied with the view from the unit and deemed the price not right. So I quickly called the co-agent to ask the buyer to prepare his cheque book and come to view this unit. He came, saw and decided pay the booking on the spot because the unit had everything he wanted, especially the unobstructed views of TTDI,” he recounts.

The recipe behind his success, Ann shares, is to work hard, be passionate about the job, take advantage of technology and social media, differentiate yourself from others by offering responsive and professional service and, most importantly, “believe in yourself and always remember that actions speak louder than words”.

“When clients are doubtful about my capabilities and experience, I always let the numbers or results speak for themselves by bringing the right buyer to them,” he adds.

No doubt he is young, eager and ambitious, but he is cautious of not letting all that he has achieved so far go to his head. “It is crucial to be humble, patient and willing to learn from those who are better than you,” he concludes.

This story first appeared in EdgeProp.my pullout on Jan 5, 2018. Download EdgeProp.my pullout here for free.