JOHN PAUL DONNELLY is managing director of Turk-ish Homes 4 Less, a Liver- pool-based overseas estate agents and developers.
He set up the company in 2005 with Phil Bish and Turkish civil engineer Emsal Yilmaz. Over two years on, and Turkish Homes 4 Less has completed three building projects in the eastern Mediter- ranean areas of Alanya and Belek, and has established offices in Liverpool, Northern Ireland and Turkey. Here is his working day:
7:30am: I wake up in my house in Garston, with a packed suitcase at the end of my bed. I have just come back from a four-day view- ing trip with a group of prospect- ive buyers, and crashed out as soon as I got back from Manches- ter Airport late last night. No time to relax, though, as I’ve got a busy day ahead of me. I quickly jump in the shower and grab a bit of breakfast before heading to the office, luckily only a short drive away to Aigburth Road.
9am: I arrive at the office to be greeted by Mick, who has opened up the shop and made us a cup of tea. I update him on how the trip went and show him the latest pictures of our Panorama Apartment development. He is planning to re-locate to Turkey himself once his house sale goes through.
10:30am: I have just come off the phone with a customer who bought a holiday home from us a year ago. He would like us to start renting out his property, and wants to know how it all works. I explain to him that the rental market in Turkey is thriving at the moment, thanks to the increasing numbers of sun-seeking tourists, so it won’t be difficult to find tenants for this property.
Noon: It’s time for a spot of lunch, and I’m meeting a couple who are thinking of investing overseas. They found out about us via our website and, having spoken on the phone, have agreed to meet me for lunch at Elif, my favourite Turkish restaurant, on Lark Lane. I grab a couple of brochures and some client testimonials and get on the road.
12.15pm: We encourage all of our customers to come in for a face-to-face meeting, as buying abroad can be hugely intimidating, so it is important that all concerns and questions are addressed right from the start. The usual sorts of things that come up in these meetings are hidden costs (of which there are none), general information about the areas of Alanya and Belek, and the cost of living abroad.
2:30pm: I am back from my meeting and it went well. I’ve just enough time to make a few calls before I have to go out again. I have been asked to go to Roberts Edwards and Worrall, estate agents in Liverpool, to give a talk on developing and selling property abroad. Local agents are always keen to compare the UK and Turkish markets, and to find out as much as they can about the area before marketing our properties.
3:45pm: Presentation over, it looks like there may be a wider opportunity with one of the agents and I am now driving over to the Wirral, to meet a family who are relocating to Belek in three months’ time. They have asked to be booked in for a language course, which I have done, and they are also keen to seek out the English-speaking schools for their children. I have spoken to my business partner in Turkey and we have found two great schools which I am keen to tell them about.
5.30pm: Back to the office to check my emails, and make sure there are no last-minute jobs I need to take care of. I put a call in to our office in Belfast to speak to my brother, Joe, for an update on sales and potential leads. He runs the operation in Northern Ireland, and we try to keep up with each other on a daily basis. He tells me about a few of our clients, that have previously bought property from us, who are now looking to purchase again, from our new off-plan golf development.
6pm: This evening, I’m meeting some friends to play football with at Everton sports centre. It’s a good way to unwind at the end of the day.
9.30pm: Home time. After spending four days in Turkey, I’m going home to unpack, chill out and get ready for another unpredictable day at the office.
