Lauren Abrahmsohn of Glentree Estates was an ad girl in New York before property, and a spot in the family business, called her back to north London

What’s special about your agency?

It’s boutique and it means that we’re very specialised in the area we do, whether it’s sales or new builds. For new builds we have quite a bespoke service for developers from planning and plans to spec, launching, we’re able to help with everything they might want or need because we’re so familiar with this market.

Where do you live and with whom?

I live with my sister in Kentish Town in a converted school. Because I work in the suburb and the family home is here, it’s nice to be able to get a bit of distance sometimes.

Why did you buy your current property? What’s your favourite thing about it?

I can’t waste money on rent, even if I have to push myself monthly on the mortgage I’d rather sacrifice other things just to be on that property ladder. I like the really high ceilings and the convenience of the area. And I love living with my sister.

If you weren’t an estate agent, what would you be?

If I could have a class pass and just go from exercise class to exercise class to lunch to exercise class that would be great – is that a career? Realistically though, I used to work in advertising in New York before I joined the family business, so probably something in media.

What’s your dream house?

A detached, Georgian house, white, with pillars and steps going up to the front door, a modern kitchen, a conservatory, lots of bedrooms, all en suite, high ceilings and a beautiful garden with three dogs.

How long have you been an estate agent? What’s the most surprising thing you’ve seen on the job?

Four years, I’m quite fresh. The strangest thing was walking in to a development to show someone around and finding that all the builders were living there as squatters in the development. There was all their bedding all over the place, it stank, it was horrendous. I had to apologise and run away.

How has the local property market changed since you started out?

It was really quiet when I started, then it picked up in 2013 and it was mayhem, we sold a development of 60 flats in days, it felt like a trading floor. Since 2014 it’s been quiet, leading up to the election people were a bit nervous. We’ve been consistent at the lower end, anywhere up to a million pounds. We were hoping to see an uplift after the election but it didn’t happen right away but I’m hoping that it’s been picking up a bit over the past couple of months.

What are the most common mistakes clients make?

Our clients are developers and they just outprice themselves. They sit and stagnate when it would be better to take a small hit on margins and move on to the next thing.

What are your top tips for the local area?

Top highlight in Temple Fortune is Gail’s, we’re very hopeful for what’s going to happen where Starbucks used to be, running on Hampstead Heath with the dogs. Along the Finchley Road I’d say watch this space. Smaller things like Costa and Co-op are arriving making Childs Hill a really very convenient place to live.

Glentree