Stories from our property management superheroes

In late March 2026, as Severe Tropical Cyclone Narelle tore through Exmouth with violent force, the town braced itself against something few had experienced since Cyclone Vance.

Roofs peeled back, fences vanished, and water found its way into homes that had stood firm for decades. When the “All Clear” was finally declared, the reality was confronting.

But for the team at Ray White Exmouth, there was little time to process their own losses. “Before we’d even finished dealing with our own homes, we knew we had to get out there,” Hannah Welburn from Ray White Exmouth said. “Our landlords couldn’t see what was happening - we had to be their eyes.”

Led by Mark Lucas, the Exmouth team stepped into action, navigating blocked roads and patchy communications to begin inspecting properties across the region. At the same time, hundreds of kilometres away, their remote counterparts in Perth became a vital lifeline.

“With phones dropping in and out and people understandably stressed, the Perth team helped us stay connected,” Hannah Welburn explained. “They were relaying updates, coordinating communications, and making sure no one felt left in the dark.”

But one of the most remarkable contributions came from someone who hadn’t planned to be part of the response at all.

Alexa Natali, a property manager from a totally different office, Ray White Stocker Preston, was on annual leave in Exmouth when the cyclone hit. Like many visitors, she could have simply waited out the disruption. Instead, she reached out.

“Alexa contacted us a few days after the cyclone and asked if there was anything she could do,” Hannah said. “Honestly, she was a saving grace.”

Within hours, Alexa had become an extension of the Exmouth team.

“We were able to coordinate her to go out and inspect damaged properties while our local team focused on getting back to owners, tenants, contractors, and insurance companies,” Hannah explained. “That split in workload made a massive difference.”

The timing couldn’t have been more challenging. The office had transitioned to the Ailo property management system just a month earlier, and a new senior property manager had started only three days before the cyclone struck.

“It was a high-pressure environment,” Hannah said. “But Alexa’s knowledge of Ailo was invaluable. She talked us through processes, helped navigate the system, and just jumped into anything she could.”

Alexa didn’t stop at inspections. “She was calling people back, working through tasks in Ailo, and helping wherever she had knowledge,” Hannah added. “She didn’t hesitate, she just got on with it.”

“This cyclone was the first of its kind since Vance,” Hannah said. “We were all learning as we went. But we’ve come out of it with stronger processes and a better understanding of how to support each other.”

“It didn’t matter that Alexa was from another office, or even the opposite end of Western Australia," Hannah said. “She saw a team that needed help, and she showed up.”

For Sierra Fulcher, business development manager at Ray White Ascot, the industry’s long-standing playbook - win the listing, move on, repeat - is actively costing agencies clients.

“‘Bespoke’ to me means relationship first and transaction second,” she said. “I’m not just asking what return they want on their investment. I’m asking what drives them, why they’re investing in the first place," Sierra said.

That philosophy is landing at a moment when investor dissatisfaction is becoming harder to ignore. Across agencies, the same complaints surface: poor communication, lack of transparency, and a sense that once the paperwork is signed, the service disappears.

“Everyone says they want ‘good communication,’ but what that actually means is completely different for each client,” she said. “One person’s ‘too much’ is another’s ‘not enough.’ If you don’t ask the right questions upfront, you’re guessing, and that’s where things fall apart.”

Sierra learned that lesson the hard way. Early in her career, she secured a high-value client with multiple properties. Confident in the win, she moved quickly, only to lose the entire portfolio before management even began.

“I didn’t ask enough questions,” she said. “I was focused on securing the business. What I didn’t realise was that he expected daily updates, even if there was nothing to report. I missed that completely.”

The experience reshaped her approach. “That was a turning point. I stopped focusing on winning business and started focusing on understanding people. Now, I don’t even send a Form 6 unless I know exactly who’s on the other end of it.”

That shift is most visible in the moments where property stops being purely financial. One client relationship began not with an appraisal, but with grief.

A couple approached Sierra after losing their son. The property they inherited wasn’t just an asset, it was a deeply sentimental space they couldn’t bear to sell.

“I brought them a coffee and sat with them for two hours,” she said. “We didn’t talk about forms or fees. I just listened.”

Other agencies had taken a different approach, pushing contracts, suggesting the removal of furniture that held emotional value. “If they had taken five minutes to understand the client, they would have known that furniture was part of the story,” Sierra said.

Instead, she kept the home intact, found tenants who appreciated its significance, and leased it within days at a record result.

“That wasn’t about maximising rent. It was about respecting what the property meant to them. The result was trust, and that turned into a long-term relationship and referrals.”

In another case, the stakes were more commercial, but the approach was no less personal. A local investor, juggling multiple properties across agencies, had high expectations around presentation and rental return. When one newly purchased property fell short of those standards, even after professional cleaning, Sierra stepped in herself.

“I went back after work and cleaned it,” she said. “It wasn’t perfect yet, and I knew how important presentation was to her.” She documented the process, kept the client updated, and ultimately secured a lease at the target price, bringing the entire portfolio under one agency.

“As a BDM, you weigh risk versus reward,” she said. “A few hours of my time to secure and retain three properties, and build a long-term relationship, was absolutely worth it.”

Sierra’s approach reflects a growing sentiment among high-performing agencies: that the traditional, transactional BDM model is losing relevance in a relationship-driven market.

Particularly in communities like Ascot, where reputation spreads quickly, the margin for error is thin. “It’s a very tight-knit area,” she said. “Word travels when service is good, and even faster when it’s not.”

Her takeaway for others in the industry is simple and is one she learned from Mark McLeod. CEO of Strategy at Ray White. “We’re not in the property business,” she said. “We’re in the business of trust.” It’s a mindset shift she said changed her career overnight.

“When you focus on building genuine relationships and actually caring about the people you’re working with, everything else follows. The results, the referrals, the growth - it all comes from that foundation.”