Meet the Team: Yasmin Booker
We’re delighted to introduce our newest team member, Yasmin Booker. Yasmin joins the growing SAY team as a Build to Rent Consultant and Financial Analyst. We’re very excited to have her in the team and hope you enjoy finding out more about her.
Why did you choose to work at SAY?
It soon became apparent that a potential position with SAY should not go amiss. A big part of SAY’s ethos is its focus on its employees and the promotion of talent and personal development. This talent has undoubtedly fed through to the quality of work that SAY produces and the calibre of clients that the company attracts. SAY’s portfolio of projects is a real testament to this and their reputation within the industry.
Timing also played its part whilst joining the SAY team. SAY has positioned itself favourably alongside the flourishing Build To Rent market, particularly where there is currently a flight to promising yields for national and overseas investors. The Build To Rent market has a way to go but exciting times are definitely still to come, with the potential of many more Build to Rent clients and projects heading SAY’s way!
What did you do before SAY?
Before joining SAY, I worked as an Investment and Development Manager for a private landlord; directly overseeing their portfolio of over 400 residential and commercial units in and around London. During this time, I managed all leases and the negotiation of Heads of Terms, as well as seeking out investment opportunities and overseeing the business’ marketing strategy. I was also involved with the overall organisation of new developments, including but not limited to rental and sale valuations, service charge budgets, marketing strategies and ensuring planning obligations were fulfilled.
I also dabbled in the world of structural engineering during my university degree in Civil Engineering and joined Arup Group for my industrial placement year as a trainee structural engineer.
Tell us something your colleagues might not know about you?
I am a big foodie and an avid baker. When we slowly return to the office, I hope the team don’t mind sampling some of my bakes (be it a triumph or an absolute failure of a bake)!
If you could choose anyone to be your mentor, who would it be?
Like Caspar, I would also have to go with Bill and Melinda Gates due to their forward-thinking approach to solving social and health inequalities in low economically developed countries, as part of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Despite their successes, their focus on solving such inequalities is praiseworthy and the work achieved thus far is admirable!
If I were to choose a second ‘life coach’ sort of mentor, it would have to be Brené Brown on encouraging the practice of gratitude, courage and vulnerability in our everyday lives.
What is the biggest housing challenge today?
The biggest challenge would certainly have to be the cladding safety and remediation of blocks in and around the UK. Not only is this warding off potential purchasers, but leaseholders are now bound to their properties until such remediation works take place and may encounter issues when trying to re-mortgage or sell. Funding the cladding remediation has also placed a huge strain on both leaseholders and freeholders in determining who pays
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