Nina Smitmajerova is on our very few young female surveyors in the Czech Republic. She works as Senior Business Analyst for Crestyl Real Estate in Prague, Czech Republic.

Below you will find a short Q&A session with her.

1. What got you interested in surveying?

The very beginning of my real estate career was more a coincidence. During my last year at the University of Economics where I studied international relations and diplomacy I was searching for a part time job. I came across a summer job in the industrial department at Colliers International that in the end turned into a three-year experience of a valuer at the same company and subsequent career at Crestyl real estate. Since the beginning of my career, I have enjoyed the variety and dynamics offered by the real estate profession. That is also why I decided to gain formal education in real estate andstarted to study at the College of Estate Management, University of Reading.

2. What does your job involve?

Over the past three years I have been working at a real estate developing company. I oversee internal company valuations and group reporting as well as selected internal processes. For example I have been responsible for a coordination of implementation of a company real estate system. I am also involved in disposals of our projects as well as acquisitions of the new ones. I like the diversity of tasks that my position offers.

3. What do you enjoy most about your career in surveying?

I enjoy interaction with different people, from our suppliers to company internal cross-department communication. Working for a developer taught me the necessity to make decisions in a wider context as every single step taken in one department can have far reaching consequences for activities of other departments and on future evolvement of our projects. I like the complexity and diversity of the development process that provides insight into many disciplines, such as finance, accounting, construction, facility, sales and leasing.

4. What has been a career highlight/most interesting project you have worked on?

During six years in real estate I was involved in many interesting projects. While working as a valuer I enjoyed working on international portfolios valuations that included cross-country communication and coordination. Probably the most challenging project since I joined Crestyl has been coordination of implementation of a real estate IT system that interconnects all company agendas on both revenue and cost side – from accountancy, budgeting and cash management to sales and leasing monitoring and planning.

5. How do you see the real estate profession evolving in the Czech Republic?

I believe that the real estate crisis contributed to professionalism of those players who survived and to the maturity of the market.  On the development side, client service as well as projects standards and efficiency have improved significantly and a high level of excellence has to be achieved to be able to face the competition. Value to price ratio has gone up.  As far as the real estate consultancy is concerned, I think that banks and other market players nowadays put more importance on the RICS qualification, which will further increase the number of professionals interested in the membership.  

6. What does the RICS qualification mean to you?

Via RICS I have formalized my qualification and experience gained in the real estate business so far.  Moreover, RICSis a recognized mark of a certain standard of professionalism that I wanted to be identified with. That is why I decided to study the MSc in real estate program at the College of Estate Management, University of Reading and commenced the APC process in 2008. I also believe that the membership will enhance my career opportunities in the future.  In addition, the local and international networking on the RICS platform and the CPD program provide a valuable source of ideas, experience and continuous education.