Bespoke property administration enterprise eases stress | NZBusiness Journal

A new company in Canterbury makes it easier to manage household chores for family members by providing hands-on support, systems and solutions, and the company got a kickstart during the lockdown.

Sought’s Pegasus-based director Lisa Dooling (pictured) says Lockdown provided the time and space to explore their bespoke estate management service on a much deeper level.

“I took a lot of long walks and woke up at 2am full of ideas. The ability to dig deeper into my business plan and really nail it down was invaluable. “

The personalized service assists family members with organizing household items from deceased estates and helps elderly relatives shrink their contents to move into a smaller house or foster care.

Lisa has moved 14 times in 15 years, six of which were international. She is an expert in creating systems that enable a seamless process in organizing household contents.

“I got the idea for my business when I was living in Hong Kong. A friend’s mother died and she returned to the UK twice – once for the funeral and then for an extended stay to wrap up the house. She told me how stressful it was, and then the seeds for Sought were planted. “

According to Lisa, Sought creates calmness for busy family members whose elder parents live in another area of ​​New Zealand or overseas, and helps minimize stress during an emotional time.

“I’m an impartial professional who is emotionally not tied to household contents so I can go through a house and catalog every single item for the family and then they decide what to do with the contents. I treat every object I come across with respect and discretion.

“As we live increasingly busy lives it is more difficult to find the time to search a household of possessions, and sometimes people are emotionally unwilling to face the task when they have just suffered a loss.”

Lisa says moving at the customer-set pace is important, and sometimes the first step is as simple as cleaning the refrigerator and removing medicines from the house.

“Everything is up to the customer. Some people prefer that we do it all at once, while other customers prefer a slower pace and may even want us to keep the possessions in a storage unit so they can display them when they are ready. “

Sought also offers a cataloging service for customers who want to organize their possessions in advance.

Taking a photographic record of each item and then grouping the items into logical categories saves time and energy for family members.

“Listing each item in advance saves so much stress and time later, and helps people feel comfortable knowing where each item is going. This detailed list can then be submitted to the family lawyer for future reference. “

Lisa is also committed to giving back to the local community. She has started a charity branch of her company called “Big Table” to help young people and the elderly.

You can find more information about Sought here