Hegarty Properties in Midleton, Co Cork were joined by clients, friends, family and many more on Friday as they celebrated 10 years in business.
Founder Adrianna Hegarty was born to sell. In her formative years in Monaghan she cut her teeth in selling at the cauldron of the Mart in her native Monaghan town.
There she worked under the tutelage of the legendary Fintan Gunne, a relationship that was to continue for another five years.
When she moved to Dublin in 1981 she stayed with Gunne Auctioneers but by now had moved into the residential property business. Following many years of global travelling she continued to work property in far flung places such as Cyprus, Los Angeles, Chicago and London.
Adrianna moved to East Cork in 2000 and was chomping at the bit to set up her own property business. That came to pass with the opening of Hegarty Properties in October 2005.
Anne O'Connell, Adrianna Hegarty & Kyle Kennedy of Hegarty Properties
Hegarty Properties opened on the Coolbawn in Midleton and was an immediate success. This despite the fact that it was now the seventh auctioneers in the town! Adrianna though knew what she was doing. Her business was built on rock solid principles:
- She was a full qualified MIAVI, which coupled with her extensive experience immediately helped her stand out
- She instilled in her team three core values on which the business would run:
- Professional, reliable, accurate service
- Open and honest always with advice
- Treat every property and every client like you would expect to be treated yourself
Adrianna also sought to recruit the best possible Office Manager, recognising that her time would be dominated by viewings and consultations.
Anne O’Connell joined shortly afterwards, and has been an ever present in the office since presenting a friendly and professional service to all who visit
The business expanded rapidly, mainly in the residential market. Buoyed by strong demand, Hegarty Properties gained major share across East Cork. The core tenets of the business were shining through.
After two years of trading it was estimated that the business was now in the top three in East Cork. Adrianna was nominated and won the ‘Small Business Enterprise Award’ in 2006.
Hegarty Properties also expanded into the lucrative commercial arena, focusing on their knowledge of retail in particular. Adrianna negotiated significant new businesses into the Main Street of Midleton, such as Xtra-vision, Boyle Sports, Carphone Warehouse, etc.
The third area of focus, not surprisingly given Adrianna's background, was in land sales where again some significant sales were negotiated.
Anne, meanwhile, grew a strong value-add business through the letting market. This was important as it expanded the relevance of the business to their clients and also, when the recession did strike, became a good revenue generator for Hegarty Properties.
Every business must, at some point, weather the recessionary storm. What made 2007- 2012 period especially difficult for businesses such as Hegarty Properties though was this wasn’t just a recession, it was a perfect storm! Negative equity, inflated mortgages, job losses and the bank crisis were elements difficult to foresee. Adrianna made the prudent decision to downsize, and eventually moved to her current location on 83 Main Street.
Nobody needs reminding of the widespread effect of this period, but Adrianna points out she survived.
"It was a very difficult time, for everybody involved especially those families who found themselves unable to pay the mortgage and then to get the sucker punch of having to sell their family home at prices in some cases as low as 50% of what they had initially paid. I continued to support my clients in whatever way I could, but always stayed true to the values on which Hegarty Properties were built.”
A new addition to the valued team in Hegarty Properties is Kyle Kennedy from Midleton. Kyle will be a valued asset to the continued growth and success of Hegarty Properties. One of the most important reasons for its success was the team’s focus on representing their client’s properties in the best possible light.
Adrianna has a unique ability to prepare a property for sale with fastidious attention to detail. Each room is carefully groomed and professionally photographed. The website, www.hegartyproperties.ie became known as best in class as a showcase for her clients properties always beautifully presented.
The use of digital and social media by Hegarty Properties continues to bring this art into the hands of more and more clients be they buyers or sellers.
Annie Fitzgibbon MyHome.ie, Adrianna Hegarty of Hegarty Properties, Niamh Hegarty, Kyle Kennedy of Hegarty Properties and Denis Lynes of Lynes & Lynes Auction House at the 10th anniversary celebrations of Hegarty Properties on Friday
