As Managing Director of Netrent Commercial, Mike has had considerable experience in property and finance over his career.
Starting out as a career banker with ANZ Group he was seconded to the Papua New Guinea Development Bank before returning to head up Dealer Development for ESANDA operations in Queensland.
An opportunity to further his career in property and finance came when he was appointed as Marketing Manager for Queensland Trustees Ltd. He repositioned this company under the Perpetual Trustees Australia Ltd banner and became their Assistant General Manager Client Services and Chairman of their Property & Investment Committees.
His interests in property increased following his family company purchase of several residential and commercial properties in Inner Brisbane. During this time he contracted to several companies positioning their start-up operations and marketing.
An interest in property management at the higher end of the market led him to a role as Commercial Property Manager for a boutique suburban commercial agency. With an excellent referral base from his fellow commercial agents he tripled the size of the properties under management in 2 years whilst maintaining leasing and sales activity within the portfolio.
Netrent Commercial acquired control of the property management business following the sale of the commercial business in 2004 and as a result of continued growth the business moved to company owned premises at Argyle Place in Albion.
Mike has an excellent knowledge of the Brisbane property market and is keen to see Netrent Commercial as one of the major players in the commercial real estate sales, leasing and property management markets.
On a personal note, Mike enjoys spending his spare time at his farm at Mt. Mee which he envisions to be his abode some time in the future
After several years of employment in the clerical fields including payroll, administration and accounts Leola made the move into Real Estate as a Sales Consultant with a company promoting the taxation benefits of property investment.
During the next two years Leola enjoyed the role of assisting home owners & business people to minimise their tax while building an investment portfolio. Having an investment property herself Leola could see the value in protecting that investment with sound Property Management and enrolled herself in the REIQ Property Management course prior to seeking employment in that field.
During seven years in Residential Property Management Leola was instrumental in implementing office policies and procedures required for compliance with several of the legislative changes within the industry and also took on the roll of Senior Property Manager overseeing a department of 5 staff within a large West End office.
The one constant in Property Management is change - some of the legislative changes over this time included the implementation of the National Privacy Principles, complaints handling procedures, changes to the fire safety regulations, electrical safety regulations, changes to The Residential Tenancies Act and the change from the Auctioneers & Agents Act to the Property Agents & Motor Dealers Act. With so many changes in the Real Estate Industry, and particularly in Property Management, Leola was involved in training & procedural changes to ensure compliance with these amendments.
Having previously worked in the same office as Mike Harrison it was an easy decision for Leola to accept the offer of joining the Netrent team and moving into Commercial Property Management.
Three years on and Leola is well versed in all aspects of Commercial Property Management and enjoys the challenge of ensuring owners properties are well maintained, compliant and well tenanted.
Leola has a new found hobby; kayaking!
Lis is active in the business as a Director, and works part time as Office Manager and in Property Management as Client Liaison.
She has been beside Mike through all their private projects which means she has a firm grasp on all aspects of property and working with contractors to a deadline.
