Meet Louise Ballinger, our new Residential Block Manager

Louise Ballinger has joined the Barnsdales team as our new residential block manager.

Based at Barnsdales office in Cirencester and also in Cheltenham, Louise will be supporting clients across the South East including areas in Berkshire, Buckinghamshire, Hampshire, Sussex and Surrey.

In this blog, Louise explains her background, areas of expertise and how she’ll be working with Barnsdales clients and their tenants as a residential property manager.

“You can only do this job if you really care; these are people’s homes and they are also investments, so you’re responsible for something that’s incredibly important to people.

My job is to manage the day running of residential properties including blocks of flats and external areas of newbuild sites. I'll be managing a group of properties across a broad area, encompassing the South East as well as parts of the Midlands and the Cotswolds. 

Property isn’t just bricks and mortar; you’re dealing with people’s homes and so you need to take the time to talk to residents and give them the attention and service that they want, need and expect. Property isn’t cheap and so it’s only right for people to want to see their money’s worth and to know that you are working to support them.

As someone responsible for managing residential properties on behalf of landlords, property owners and tenants, customer service and customer care is crucial.  You have to have great communication and you have to be open, honest and fair. I send residents regular updates and take every effort to communicate with them as much as possible because I find that, if you do more, it makes everyone’s life a lot easier.

I’m joining Barnsdales after eight years working as a residential property manager. The Barnsdales Cirencester team is much smaller than the teams I’ve been a part of previously, and that means we can give that much more personalised and dedicated service which really makes the difference. Barnsdales in Cirencester is a really exciting, growing team and I’ll be adding my skill set to their expertise in surveying and commercial property. The company will also be supporting me in gaining additional qualifications which will soon be required, on top of my IRPM (Institute of Residential Property Management) qualification.

Communication and good relationships is especially important in our industry as we work through the developments around cladding and fire safety which you see on the news. It’s crucial that tenants can trust their property managers to be fair and honest, and they need to be confident that the information they’re being given is correct. 

The lease is our bible, so if the lease says we do it, we do it; it’s effectively our rulebook. Of course, leases can be hard to understand sometimes, so that’s another reason why customer care is so important.

 My job sees me taking on responsibility arranging day-to-day maintenance, insurance, managing any major works such as roof repairs and window replacements, taking care of internal and external decoration and helping with budgeting and future planning. I also work directly with tenants and residents, building good relationships and communicating with them, enforcing rules and agreements and helping them with any issues they may have with a property.

The best thing about the job is getting to know your clients, knowing what they want and making the properties nice to live in and safe; which is what the job is really all about. If everyone’s happy, that’s my job done.”

Find out more about how Barndales’ property management and residential block management services can help you and contact our team today.