At Form Property, we’re passionate about supporting the next generation of talent and giving young people the opportunity to experience the property industry first-hand.

Regeneration Brainery helps young people explore careers across the built environment. Through our relationship with the charity, last week we welcomed Lushaan Rabani and Tania Abid to Form Property for work experience.

Both are considering careers in the built environment, but with different interests and ambitions. During their time with us, they spent time across a number of teams, getting a closer look at the people, processes and expertise involved in managing and operating property.

We asked them about their experience, what surprised them and what they took away from their time at Form.

Meet Lushaan and Tania:

Lushaan:
I’m currently studying at college and going into my final year. I’ve recently become interested in the real estate industry and wanted to gain some real-world experience to understand more about what a career in property could look like.

Tania:
I’m currently studying engineering at college and will be moving on to study architecture at university. I’ve always been drawn to the built environment - how spaces are designed, how buildings function and what goes into making them work day to day.

Why did you choose to do your work experience at Form Property?

Lushaan:
I chose to do my work experience with Form because I’m interested in building a career in real estate and wanted to get a better understanding of what day-to-day work is like in the industry.

Tania:
I chose Form Property because I already had strong ties to the Manchester property and construction scene through networking events like Regeneration Brainery. I wanted to see the commercial side of real estate up close.

What were you hoping to learn before you started?

Lushaan:
I was hoping to learn more about real estate, specifically what it takes to manage commercial properties, while also gaining some hands-on work experience.

Tania:
Before I started, I thought commercial property was mainly about buying and selling, and that was pretty much the whole picture in my head. I wanted to get a general feel for how the industry actually works.

What did you get involved in during your time with us?

Lushaan:
I got involved in asset management, property management, estate operations and business rates. I also had the chance to go on property tours, complete estate inspection reports and get involved in practical property management tasks.

Tania:
I rotated across property management, asset management, surveying, business rates and facilities. I worked on BTR market research covering Birmingham rent levels and competitor amenity analysis, carried out site inspections and sat in on a front-of-house occupier relations meeting.

What’s something new you learned?

Lushaan:
I learnt that there is much more to commercial property than meets the eye. Seeing aspects like asset management, sustainability and business rates showed me how many different teams work together.

Tania:
I learnt how rent and service charges work in practice and what goes into managing a building behind the scenes to keep tenants happy. That side of property was completely new to me.

Did anything surprise you about working in property?

I was surprised by how many different teams there are within Form. It was especially interesting seeing how the sustainability team works with external clients, as it showed me how Form is diversifying beyond traditional property management - Lushaan

Tania:
Yes. I went into property thinking it was mostly about buying and selling. I was surprised by how much sits behind that - finance, service charges, sustainability, BTR valuations and tax all play a part in how a building is actually run.

What was your favourite thing you worked on or experienced?

Lushaan:
My favourite experience was visiting Versa Studios as it was very different from the more traditional commercial property I had seen.

Tania:
My favourite part was the finance and service side. I enjoyed learning how rent and service charges actually work and how a building’s finances are managed behind the scenes to keep everything running.

Did the experience change how you think about your future career?

Lushaan: 100%. This experience has definitely broadened my horizons career-wise and has reaffirmed to me that real estate is where I want to be. I would recommend a career in property because there are many different pathways and career opportunities. From my experience at Form, I’ve seen how varied the work can be.

Tania: It’s changed my direction. I still want to study architecture, but this placement has added another layer to it. It showed me the development and real estate side of the built environment, and I’d love to bring that into my future career alongside architecture rather than keeping the two separate.

Sum up your experience at Form Property in three words

Lushaan:

New. Memorable. Motivating.

Tania:

Hands on. Broader than expected. Valuable.

Looking to the future

For both Lushaan and Tania, the experience offered a valuable opportunity to look beyond the classroom and see how the property industry works in practice.

From property management and asset management to surveying, facilities, sustainability and business rates, their time at Form demonstrated the breadth of careers available across the built environment and the importance of collaboration between different teams.

We’re proud to work with Regeneration Brainery as one of our chosen charities and to support its work in helping young people discover the opportunities available within property, construction and the wider built environment.

We hope Lushaan and Tania enjoyed their time with us as much as we enjoyed having them, and we look forward to seeing where their careers take them!