Celebrated American basketball coach John Wooden once said, “It takes time to create excellence. If excellence could be done quickly, more people would do it.”

For Lodge’s Prakash Gosai, excellence has come in the field of property management, and it has taken 11 years to hone the skills needed to succeed.

Before starting with Lodge, Prakash worked at Genesis Energy. There he became familiar with the challenges of fielding difficult enquiries, a skill requiring an understanding of people, and of knowing how to navigate them around frustrations to some desirable outcome. He was good at it.

So why the move to Lodge?

“I was ready for a change. A good friend of mine was working for Lodge City Rentals and he told me about an opening. It seemed like a good fit for my abilities, so I took the opportunity.”

That was the start of a journey to property management excellence. Eleven years is a decent stretch, and while Prakash could be forgiven for growing stale, he insists that nothing could be further from the truth.

“I’m never bored in this job. I can’t be. No two days are the same. Different challenges crop up and I’m working with such a diverse range of people: owners, tenants, contractors, staff. Not many careers give you that variety, but managing property does. I love it.”

Even with 11 years under his belt, Prakash admits there are still things he’s learning. It may not be possible to know everything in the property game, but the key is knowing who to go to for advice and expertise.

“To do well, you have to know who you can trust, particularly as we work so regularly with a wide range of tradespeople. Then you have to believe in them enough to rely on them. When people sense I have faith in them, they reciprocate and put their trust in me. There’s magic in that two-way connection.”

This confidence is felt by Prakash’s clients, some of whom rely heavily on him for the continual success of their property investment. One of his clients explained it like this:

“Over several years, Prakash has quickly and professionally attended to any queries I’ve had…As a client not residing in Aotearoa, I am most grateful for that.”

Such endorsements are gold to Prakash. Knowing that a landlord feels free from micro-managing is proof that 11 years at Lodge has led to a level of service his clients can lean on.

Not that Prakash is complacent. He insists there isn’t room for it. “I have one of the bigger portfolios at Lodge, so there’s no time to rest on past success. I’m too busy keeping up with changes in technology and getting tenants into studios to feel smug!”