INTERNATIONAL
Zulu warriors Faron Sutaria staff can sell a flat in 14 languages, including Turkish, Malay and Polish. The agency’s Ben Rivera is fluent in Zulu, although he admits the opportunities to use it in South Kensington are limited. “I grew up on a farm in Natal and could
probably speak Zulu before I spoke English,” he says. “I only came to London for a gap year between school and university, where I was supposed to study law, but 11 years later, I am still here. One of my colleagues speaks four languages and I am planning to learn Italian.” Cici Dong, who was working for Savills
in Shanghai, was brought over by the company two months ago to help the company cater for Mandarin and Cantonese speakers in London.
“Savills is very successful in South East Asia, so when people
come to London they recognise the brand even if they cannot speak English.” cici dong savills
“I worked with the international sales
team, which was very successful in South East Asia,” she says. “We have a very recognisable brand, so when people come to London, they know the company. Yesterday a couple walked into the Knightsbridge office, speaking no English, so the staff wrote down my number for them. It makes them more comfortable to be able to speak to someone in their own language.” According to a recent Winkworth
report, investor buyers from China and the Far East make up 15 per cent of all foreign buyers in Central London. Buyers from Russia and Italy represent the highest proportion of foreign investors at 16 per cent and 25 per cent respectively. But the minorities are still catered for. Stine Hoseth in Winkworth’s Crystal Palace office speaks Norwegian, Danish and Swedish, fluently.
forTune cookies Although London is the hub of the UK’s international property market, agents outside the capital are not missing a trick. Says Philip Jackson, director of Maguire
Jackson in Birmingham, “There are around 10,000 Chinese students in the West Midlands and over 6,000 of these are in
“At Winkworth we try to cater for the minority languages as well,
I am fluent in Norwegian, Swedish and Danish and it really helps the buyers.” sTine hoseTh winkworTh
Birmingham either on under graduate or post graduate courses. Most are mainland Mandarin speakers. We employed a Chinese graduate, Yifeng Li (pictured right), a year ago. He has proven an enormous success as a lettings negotiator/international liaison consultant. “We are able to market
landlords’ properties in the local Chinese Press and community website in Chinese. Many students who arrive in Birmingham, often, whilst having good written English, have weak spoken English and the ability for them to speak in their native tongue either when negotiating or during the tenancy itself when there are issues, such as the central heating failing for instance, has proven to be a great asset. Through word of mouth our market share has improved month on month.” In Slough, Berkshire, there is a large
Asian community, so local agent Harry Bansil, branch manager at Connells, gets plenty of opportunity to try out his Urdu, Gujerat, Swahili, Hindi and English. Punjabi is his first language. “In a multicultural town like Slough
where over half of the population are non- British nationals, languages are very important,” says Bansil. “I find being able to communicate with customers in their first language makes the sales process much easier. It also increases the trust in Connells by enabling customers to open up, discuss their housing needs and pinpoint what they are looking for more effectively.”
“We are now able to market landlords’ properties in
the local Chinese press and community websites – in Chinese.” phillip Jackson maguire Jackson
Turning Japanese Stacks Property Search & Acquisition, with a network of 19 offices across the country, has a significant number of overseas clients, and while most speak good English, language expertise can be very useful. French, Spanish and German are the usuals, but they can manage a smattering of Hindi and Japanese. Says James Greenwood, “I had Japanese
clients, the husband spoke perfect English so there seemed to be no problem with communications. He was delighted with a house that we were viewing, and was talking about making an offer, but I realised that his wife was extremely quiet and not looking very happy. “My smattering of Japanese
allowed me to communicate at a very basic level with her, but it became evident that her expectations of their new property were very
different to his. It’s interesting that she felt
comfortable talking to me about this, even with my limited Japanese, but because her husband was so enthusiastic about the property, she felt she couldn’t tell him she was unhappy. We were then able to amend the brief and find them a property that met both their needs.”
QuesTions of TranslaTion Laura Giles, lettings negotiator with Jackson-Stops & Staff in Holland Park, speaks French, German and some Italian. A modern languages graduate, she worked previously in international sales. “While all the non-British clients we
have speak at least some English we do have a very high proportion of them in our area. My languages have helped as sometimes the applicant may not understand an English term for something so I can translate. It has also been useful to hear buyers’ thoughts or concerns as their families may not have the same level of English.”
PROPERTYdrum MARCH 2011 43
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