by THO
They’ve had to literally walk through mud in life to get to the higher ground. They sit today as the country’s top land deal closers, and have worked their way up from identifying agricultural/mill land and delivering buildings with over a million square feet. They’ve worked with land aggregators, taken decisions for big companies to buy and sell land parcels, brokered redevelopment deals for real estate developers, all along working towards maximizing the value of the land transaction, patiently driving a hard bargain. And to achieve their objective, they’ve indeed soiled their feet (read sandals) in mud, never forgetting to carry a pair of spare shoes in their bags before setting off to work.
Atisha Juneja, Associate Director, Capital Markets, India, JLL is based in Delhi. Before she began brokering major land deals, she worked in a NBFC where she was involved in providing funds to real estate developers. Besides scouting and brokering large land deals, her work profile also involves raising funds for developers both in structured equity and debt.
She has brokered land deals for large listed real estate entities based out of Mumbai wanting to set foot in Delhi and has also helped large corporates monetize their land banks.
“Historically, real estate has been largely a male dominated industry but things are gradually changing. Earlier, women were comfortable taking on housing sales and marketing roles but today they are willing to work in fields that were traditionally male dominated. Real estate clients too are willing to accept advice from women when it comes to land deals,” she said.
Women are patient listeners
What sets women apart is that they are patient listeners. “Most of these land deals take three months to a year to close. It starts with sourcing a land opportunity, getting mandates, marketing a deal, waiting till the time one receives offers and then finalizing the documents. All deals go through a long cycle and it is important to keep oneself motivated until the transaction is concluded. And patience plays an important role here and women have plenty of it,” she says.
Not a nine-to-five job
Her advice to women wanting to enter the area of land brokering is that it is not a nine-to-five job. “You will have to manage your schedule depending on when your client has the time. Often meetings take place in the evenings,” she says.
Aditi Watve, president, Anarock is of the opinion that women closing land deals is no ‘big deal’ when it comes to corporate transactions. Aggregating land at the grassroot level that involves dealing directly with farmers is involved, may prove to be slightly challenging for women as farmers may find it difficult to converse with women.
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“They may look at you as someone who simply does not have the authority to take land-related decisions.”
At the corporate level, gender does not play a big role. “You don’t get treated any differently. It’s your capabilities that decide whether you will get the mandate or not,” she said.
Asked if a client had ever approached her (male) boss if she refused a land deal, she said that the ‘refusal’ was primarily on account of the timing of the deal not being right or something to do with the legal title. “It’s been purely for business reasons,” she said.
Women know how to drive a hard bargain
“Women tend to perceive a lot of things without anyone having to say it aloud,” she said.
She recounts an incident wherein she cautioned the seller (of the land) that he may not receive his payment on time despite the buyer having given an assurance that he would pay up within 24 hours. “The payment was finally made after a week. As a woman, the ability to read peoples’ minds helps,” she adds.
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“I have learnt to trust my gut feel. I know which land deal will close faster,” she says.
Her advice to young women wanting to get into closing land deals is that “you should not carry your gender like a talisman – concentrate on your capabilities and deliver the job at hand.”
Reshmi Panicker, executive director, Land Services and Residential, Knight Frank India, an architect from IIT Kharagpur, transitioned from designing to land management and handling projects in Mumbai Port Trust and Lloyd’s Realty in the early stages of her career, where she learnt all about the complexities involving land parcels, the approval and legal processes. “This knowledge came in handy when I was asked to set up the land advisory department at Knight Frank India almost 15 years back,” she recollects.
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She helped broker some of the bigger corporate and mill land deals in Mumbai way back in 1998. “While there weren’t too many women in the field of land brokering those days, I have never felt that I received special privileges in this field for being a woman. I’ve never felt that I am a woman in a man’s world. What’s made things easier is that our clients are mostly corporates with huge land holdings and real estate promoters are professional ,” she says.
Her job often involved striking a deal on behalf of land / mill owners or developers wanting to take up redevelopment projects in Mumbai. “We have had to convince housing society owners to follow a transparent process to identify the best developer for their project to take on the redevelopment . What I have found interesting is that when a woman talks, people actually listen,” she said, adding that it’s a woman’s ability to empathize that “helps me deal with business situations better.”
Having said that, it’s eventually all about the offer you bring to the table for the landowner or society.
Her advice to women wanting to take up the job of a land deal closer is to “focus on the best attributes and potential of the property, there’s always the right buyer for the right property. Play the game but play it right. If you do things right, you can’t go wrong.”
