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Property Exchange celebrates 20th anniversary

Natalie HordovWestern Suburbs Weekly

THE Property Exchange celebrated its 20th anniversary this month, a milestone that gives director Niki Peinke a great deal of satisfaction and pride.

“Running a small business can be challenging,” she said.

“When we started the company, neither of us had any money.

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“I was a single mum with two young children and we took out a loan against my house to get started.

“It goes to prove that just about anyone can start their own business if they are really determined and can think outside the square when it comes to overcoming obstacles.

“I wish that more people would do this instead of just hoping to get a job with someone else.”

A love of character homes in Subiaco and Shenton Park and the bustling activity on Rokeby Road inspired Ms Peinke to locate her business in Subiaco and The Property Exchange opened its first office on the corner of Churchill Avenue and Rokeby Road in 1997, moving to its current location on Nicholson Road a few years later.

The company has weathered the highs and lows of the property market over the years.

Ms Peinke said small companies had struggled to survive and there had been a lot of mergers, with boutique agencies being taken over by large chains.

“A particularly difficult time for us was during the GFC when sales virtually stopped but the overheads did not,” she said.

“There was a lot of pressure, my business partner wanted out and I had to make some pretty scary decisions.

“However, I bought her out, we started selling again and we recovered; slowly at first, but have been selling successfully ever since.”

The team has grown from three people in 1997 to 22 in 2017.

Ms Peinke said the success of The Property Exchange was a reflection of the core members of the team who had maintained the company’s high standards and attention to detail and been consistently loyal throughout the years.

Along with Ms Peinke, general manager Julia Campbell has been with the company from the beginning.

Other long-standing team members include Ingrid Bradshaw, Jillian Jeffery and Chelsea Peinke (over 12 years) and Jade Lippiatt (10 years).

“Any company is only as good as the people in it and in this way I have been incredibly lucky,” Ms Peinke said.

“I love that I work beside my daughter Chelsea and get to see her nearly every day; she’s brilliant at what she does and I feel very blessed to be in this situation.

“Julia has been the mainstay of the entire company; without her at the helm, we might not have survived.”

To celebrate 20 years in business and thank her team, Ms Peinke surprised them with a day-trip to the South West, including a flight in a private jet and lunch at Aravina Estate.

It was described as a perfect |day. n