Durban North Woman Power - Times Two!

UNITE two Johannesburg-born dynamos, both long active in the property industry, and what do you get? You get a vibrant display of women power - a recipe for success that is the new co-management pairing at the Durban North branch of the ever-expanding Dormehl Phalane Group (DPG).

Lise Bodsworth, who first started in real estate in 1989, having been a dress designer for four years before that, has been an important part of DPG's Durban North branch - in Shop 9A Park Boulevard, 11 Browns Drift Road, Umgeni Park - for six years.

She is now holding the reins there with Tracy Dalle-Vedove, who this month moved from the DPG Umhlanga office to take up her new appointment as sales portfolio manager in Durban North. Lise will be by her side, continuing to focus on the rentals portfolio, which she has long managed.

With Tracy having previously spent a year as chief operations officer with another property franchise and, before that, nine years with a leading firm of attorneys specialising in property conveyancing, the partnership makes for a winning combination. And Durban North principal Owen Dormehl is very excited about it.

Lise may have been at the DPG Durban North office for only six years, as rental manager, but she has been at the actual premises much longer. She first managed a rival estate company's offices in Park Boulevard in 1992, then stayed on when that branch changed its franchise... and stayed on again when Owen Dormehl bought the business in 2017.

"I've essentially been in Park Boulevard for 30 years," she says, singling out DPG as a "fast-growing, progressive company that obtained BEE status many years back, ensuring ongoing staff training as well as candidate agent training -  but never losing the 'Dormehl family' togetherness".

Over the years Lise has excelled, having won an overseas trip for being named top national sales agent in 1996. She was also named top rental agent in 2001 and 2004, and achieved top DPG rentals in 2017.

After matriculating in 1971 from Parktown Art, Ballet and Music School, Lise went on to become quite the Jill of all trades. Besides working in property and having done dress design, she is also a qualified nurse and a classical pianist with a music diploma from the University of Cape Town. Plus she was an international air hostess from 1976 to 1980 and worked in public relations, in Johannesburg, for five years.

She also has a penchant, in her down time, for writing, interior decorating, reading and walking her precious pet Huskies.

Lise, interestingly, is the mother of Brad Bodsworth, owner of the largest health supplement import company in South Africa. Brad is also a Springbok ice-hockey and roller-hockey player, with provincial colours in cross-country and football. And he is a "speed nut" who spends most weekends on the racetrack, doing laps in his McLaren and/or his Augusta super bike. 

Lise's late husband, Keith Bodsworth, was a popular flautist, guitarist and singer in Durban. 

Returning to property talk, Lise says she is optimistic about the future: "The market will start to recover and already is doing so on the residential side. Real estate is, and will continue to be, a solid longterm investment. There will always be a market for people to own their own home.

"Unknown changes, as in government, are always of concern but a solid knowledge of where we are going will steer us through the eventuality."

She anticipates good results from co-managing DPG Durban North with Tracy Dalle-Vedove, adding that there will be a focus on the recruitment of new agents: "Tracy will add a new dimension to the team with in-branch training and paralegal backing."

Lise adds as an aside that, coincidentally, Tracy and her husband rented their first Durban property from her about 27 years ago.

Tracy was first embraced by the DPG family when she joined the Umhlanga branch last September, as a sales and rental broker with her husband.

She says of her new co-management role at Durban North: "My aim is to build a team of hand-picked agents who are trained with skills and knowledge. I want them to give our clients piece of mind that they have the best person beside them."

The mother of three and new granny to an 18-month-old adds: "I want to be personally available to sellers and buyers. Also, I want to offer talks on the dos and don'ts when buying and selling."

Tracy has been surrounded by property people for some time. Her mom, Oriana Honeywill, has been in property and developments for 32 years, her most recent development being San Maarten in Sheffield Beach.

She adds that her mother and her father, Linden, have also been working, for the past 10 years, on a very big development on the Tugela River, with which the DPG team will also have strong connections. They are hoping to launch that this year.

The Durban North branch, says Tracy, currently serves a wide area - from Umgeni River to Ballito, with a satellite branch in Umhlanga with which the Durban North branch works closely for properties from Umhlanga to Ballito. 

Challenges and plans for the branch?

"Our plan is to create a dynamic team of motivated, professional and well-informed agents. Buying or selling is sometimes a daunting experience and we want to make that process as easy and joyful as possible by sharing our knowledge and experience," explains Tracy.

Her message for clients: "We have agents that have been in the industry for many years, and with my experience as a conveyancing paralegal for a reputable law firm, we have got you covered. Our blue door is always open, so anyone can come in at any time. We are here to guide and help you with all your property needs!"

She adds that the branch is in the process of putting together a quarterly intern programme for anyone who wants to learn and understand the property market - "for first-time home-buyers and for young entrepreneurs who haven't found their niche in life, but may have an interest in property". 

"Buying a house is one of the biggest investments anyone can make and we want people to be prepared!"

What does Tracy believe makes a successful agent? She responds with: "Passion for people, honesty and integrity. Also self-discipline and the ability to stick through highs and lows by trusting that every home has a family. You just have to match them by really listening to what clients want and need."

Tracy loves working with DPG, labelling the group as "a leading brand, with franchises nationwide, that is passionate about people and property".

Of the group's leaders, Owen Dormehl and Tau Phalane, she also has high praise: "They lead by example and keep up with the latest market trends. They are creative, innovative and always looking for ways to improve and build their teams and brand. Owen is also one of the kindest, most caring people I know."

Property is not the only thing that keeps Tracy busy. She says she is a very active person, so if you don't find her running along the Umhlanga promenade she will probably be sewing, painting or mosaicking. "Or brainstorming new ideas."

Even before matriculating from Johannesburg's Edenglen High School in 1986, she was already so much of a go-getter that she had her first job at the age of 15 - working weekends and school holidays for a cake decorating company.

"That's where I learnt people skills," Tracy recalls, adding: "I am an entrepreneur (it's in my genes). I am always finding and making opportunities. With hard work and passion, I managed to start and sell three businesses while my kids were growing up."

Her latest sideline venture is the recently launched Fairways Family Market at the Italian Club in Durban North. There they also host occasional open-air movie screenings and are scheduled to launch a supper theatre on February 14, with a performance of Go Big, latest comedy revue by Durban's comic darlings, Aaron McIlroy and Lisa Bobbert.

Tracy's motto as a property person is "persevere and succeed", and she says she is optimistic about an increase in investors and buyers, more specifically in coastal areas, when the country shuffles out of the shackles of the Covid-19 state of disaster.

"I am sure people will start looking at a better lifestyle, which coastal living offers. So we should be moving into a seller's market in the next few months."