29th November 2019 / Prue Fletcher: Meet the Team: Kaye Hoverd

Approaching 20 years experience in selling property in the Diamond Valley area, Kaye's energy, passion and keen perception of the market holds her in great esteem across colleagues and clients alike.

Gentle in nature, yet known for her direct and honest approach, she is the vision of how hard work and nurturing client relationships are why female leaders are on the rise within our industry.

A resident of the Diamond Valley for over 30 years, what do you love most about your local area?

We selected the Diamond Valley because of the topography of the area. We liked the undulation and the treed aspect the area provides. I suppose coming from New Zealand the area resonated with me. We have also enjoyed the location, being reasonably close to the City.

An active member within your local community, you are both a social member and major Sponsor of the Eltham Rugby club. How do you think your local neighbourhoods rate in respect of community offerings for residents?

The area has a lot to offer the community with many sporting clubs, Health and wellness centres, good restaurants cafes and food stores that cater for all Vegetarian, Vegan and Gluten Free. We have great water sport facilities with the recent upgrades to Eltham Community centre and Greensborough Watermarc. We are situated on the Hurstbridge train line which makes travel very easy especially for work and school. There are good quality schools in the area with a combination of public and private.

What is your best piece of travel advice?

Research, Plan and Just do it!

This year the Fletchers group celebrated 100 years of serving families within our local communities. Tell us, what does 'family' mean to you?

Family - Whanau (Far-now) Maori - Aiga (eye-inga) Samoan. Growing up was always about strong family ties. Christmas time was always a gathering of immediate and extended family, travelling from all over New Zealand. We would spend about a week together celebrating Christmas and family. Strong values such as love, respect, patience, sharing, work ethic, were some of the principles learned. The Maori & Samoan custom is your elders are always respected no matter what age you are. Parents uncles, aunties and the older kids worked to prepare meals and tidy up whilst the elders relaxed. Now I find the gathering are still the same but roles have changed as the years have moved on. My pleasure is to see all the age groups enjoying each other's company and to know and appreciate family like we experienced when we were young. Our gatherings were always around music & food. The cuisine that we enjoy comes from New Zealand, Samoan Italian & Australia just to name a few. This year will be no different I will be travelling to New Zealand to spend time with family and meet three new family members that were born this year.

As a Director of Fletchers Diamond Valley, how do you balance the demands of Real Estate whilst ensuring you maintain peak mental and physical health?

Schedule time in for yourself. We are always helping people achieve their goals whether it be buying a house, selling a house or assisting team members. If we want to be effective and maintain good energy, we need to make sure we are looking after ourselves mentally and physically. If it's not in my diary it probably won't happen.

My coach Adam Parrot taught me the importance of this and helped me achieve it.

Being a proud New Zealander, you come from a country which honours it's heritage and culture with endearment and respect. How do you think we, as Australians, could learn from our New Zealand neighbours when it comes to celebrating our Aboriginal ancestry?

I think we need to have a better understanding of the aboriginal culture and maybe as a country use some of the language. As an example, what is Hello or Goodbye? When you arrive in New Zealand you will see Maori carvings and greetings "Kia Ora" or "Haere mai" with the translation to English. When you leave you will see "Haere ra". Australia like New Zealand have tribes or iwi that have names relating to the area they are from. My tribe or iwi is known as "Nga Puhi" most people in New Zealand know their iwi. I believe one of the major aboriginal tribes in Victoria is "Koori". If there is a way to include teaching in the schools of the aboriginal people and culture, I am sure respect and understanding would start to grow.

My ancestry is of Samoan, Maori and English and I feel fortunate that I have had the opportunity to enjoy learn and enjoy the benefits of the different cultures.

And lastly, you are a wonderful mentor of mine, what advice do you have for Women starting a career in Property?

Find someone that you connect with, someone that has the runs on the board and ask if you can shadow them for a while so you can listen and learn, take in as much as you can.

""It's a bit like spaghetti throw it all at the wall use what sticks". Be your authentic self, believe in yourself, don't listen to the chatter.

Fast 5

Favourite Quote:

"Women are the largest untapped reservoir of talent in the world." - Hilary Clinton.

Favourite spot for coffee in Eltham:

The Mains Cafe.

Favourite sporting team:

New Zealand All Blacks.

Favourite holiday destination:

Moorea Tahiti.

3 people you'd love to have dinner with:

Michelle Obama, An Aboriginal Tribal elder, Hilary Clinton.