They say travel broadens the mind, and I have to say I think I probably agree. I’ve been fortunate enough to visit some far-flung places over the years, both on holiday and on business, and while a change of scenery of any type can be good for recharging the batteries, there’s something about the more exotic climes that adds an extra something.
However, this type of adventure often comes with an intrinsic problem - not being able to speak the language. Put me in any other non-English speaking country and my only option is to speak English slowly and loudly, and hope that some of the words are the same in both languages.
Having said that, experience has taught me that with a bit of effort, bilateral communications can be achieved quite readily. At the end of the day, we’ve all got more in common than not, and it’s incredible what can be achieved with miming, pointing, and a good sense of humour.
All of this reminds me of a common problem that most people have when they get into property development for the first time. They’re entering a new world where everyone ostensibly speaks the same language: the architect, the contractor, the project manager and the structural engineer. But while it’s all in English, it doesn’t always make that much sense to the new developer. This was brought home to me quite recently when I had the pleasure of being invited to visit one of my student’s sites, a commercial conversion project that had been converted using permitted development rights. This was their first project, and they’d not long finished our training, so I was intrigued to see how they were getting on. I’d had a speaking engagement in the area and had promised to drop by to see how things were progressing on my way home the next day.
The traffic was good, so I arrived a little earlier than expected and she kindly showed me around the building. And truth be told, it looked like things were going well. The second fix was nearly complete, and the units looked terrific. Some were complete and ready to sell, bar some minor snagging, while others needed more cosmetic work to get them across the line. There was also some hard landscaping due to go in within the week, which would help transform the street view.
