Dubai’s best real estate agent: An out of this world journey

On this week’s episode of Taking Care of Business, Operations Director; Paul Kelly is joined by our Sales Property Consultant; Jessica Roberts - who’s an area specialist in Old Town and District One.

They talk all-things real estate, the life of an area specialist and why Jessica dressed as a bauble before working at Allsopp & Allsopp! Let’s get into it…

This week, on TCOB - we are starting a new agent series where we chat to our agents about their lives as real estate agents, their journey into Allsopp & Allsopp and what drove them toward working in Dubai.

Paul introduced Jess with some funny stories of her past, shared by her mother and the first question he had for Jess was - Are you sure you are from this planet?

While that’s extremely hilarious, Jess explains that growing up she believed she was delivered to earth by aliens and communicated with them through a satellite dish on the roof of the home they lived in when she was a child. She shared that growing up when she was a little mischievous, her mother would tell her that she would “send her back to her planet” if she didn’t cooperate.

How funny is that?

It gets even funnier, as Jess was growing up she was quite gullible - she believed she would be going to Hogwarts for secondary schooling as she’d believed she was special since her background was: aliens. And while she did apply in ‘pretending’ - her mother sent her a fake rejection letter.

Paul then asked Jess about her career before moving to Dubai.

Jess shared that before joining Allsopp & Allsopp, she had applied for numerous jobs and for some time she had worked in promotions back in The U.K. One of the gigs that she got at the time was for a Christmas Parade, which included having to dress up as a Christmas bauble.

Her experience working as a christmas bauble was quite funny as she explains she had to struggle to put on her outfit, and while going down the escalator was pushed by a bunch of mischievous boys which led her to rolling around the mall uncontrollably.

Hilarious, right?

Now onto stories of business, Paul asks Jess what made her move to Dubai?

Jess shared that after completing university, she applied to numerous jobs in search of the ‘one’ when Allsopp & Allsopp reached out to her. She knew she wanted to explore Dubai and knew it was worth giving a chance to. After taking a leap of faith, she moved to Dubai to start her career in real estate.

Jess is currently an expert at Old Town and District One.

Jess shares that she loves working in Old Town, as it's a peaceful and unexpected hidden corner in the middle of bustling Downtown Dubai. She shares that while it's in the centre of everything, it's got its own charm and sits as a slice of heaven in the city.

When compared to District One, Jess shares that District One is its own luxury haven within the city consisting of stunning lagoons and newly developed properties with incredible amenities.

What are the different types of clients that Jess has worked with?

Jess shares that working in Old Town has exposed her to working with many first-time home buyers, young professionals and those who have recently moved to Dubai, whereas in District One she comes across families looking for big homes, to settle down and also many investors looking to generate strong ROI.

What sets Jess apart from others in the market?

Jess explains that her approach is straightforward, where she asks her client exactly what they are searching for and then aims toward working with them to find them that ideal home. Jess shares that she goes off honesty and what her clients have to say about the property, rather than being pushy she listens to find her client the right home.

What’s one thing Jess would like to get better over the next year?

Jess tells us that professionally, she aims to be less emotionally attached and build a sense of resilience to her work so that she can see clearly and not let her emotions affect her entire day.

Where would Jess be working if it wasn’t real estate?

She wouldn’t be a bauble for sure - but she would work in HR!

Keen to listen further?

Tune into Taking Care of Business, every Friday!