Partner Article

From fixing to flogging: Former engineer finds dream job during auction

A former engineer is reaping the rewards of trading in his tools for selling houses after catching the property bug during a Pattinson auction.

Terry Bowden, from Stanley, originally attended the property auction looking for an investment opportunity after being made redundant from his 42-year career as a mechanical engineer and uncovered his dream job.

The dad-of-two, who now works as a Pattinson Agent for the North East’s largest estate agency, has been involved in hundreds of completions and has developed a real passion for property.

He said: “Working as a Pattinson Agent has been a fantastic opportunity for me. When I was made redundant I decided to invest in a house and do it up, so I went along to one of Pattinson’s auctions but came away with a job instead.

“I never would have thought I’d end up working within the property industry but the excitement of the auction really captured me and I haven’t looked back since.

“Working as a Pattinson Agent gives me a work-life balance that I’ve never had before. I used to work away a lot so it’s refreshing to have the freedom to be able to spend more time with my family. For the first time in my life I can fit work around my home life instead of the other way around.

“When I first joined Pattinson I initially worked from home, but I soon missed the buzz of being part of a team so now I work from the Whickham branch and I love it. One of the best parts of the job is getting out to meet new people and finding out what their story is.”

As a Pattinson Agent Terry, 60, is responsible for a wide range of tasks from accompanying potential buyers on viewings to property evaluations and negotiating sales across Pattinson’s residential, commercial, auction and lettings departments.

Pattinson’s managing director Caroline Pattinson said: “Terry’s story is just one of our flexible working success stories. Our Pattinson Agents all come from a wide variety of backgrounds, but Terry is the first to have attended one of our auctions looking to buy a property and instead snapped up a job.

“Our Pattinson Agents are self-employed and the initiative has been a successful part of our business for 10 years. We believe that by allowing our Pattinson Agents to have a great work-life balance gives them more scope to be passionate about their jobs and many of our top sales people, like Terry, have the flexibility to work the hours they want as well as having great job satisfaction.”

Pattinson is currently recruiting for both freelance Pattinson Agents and for summer branch sales staff. If you are interested in working at one of their 29 North East branches, or from home, please contact recruitment@pattinson.co.uk.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Pattinson .