Simon Shinerock
Byemould is very excited to bring you this interview with Simon Shinerock founder of Choices, the UK estate agent.
You can learn a lot more about Simon and Choices by reading Simon’s Chairman’s message on the Choices website.
Simon sets himself apart from other individuals by being a fan, and participating in extreme sports, plus Simon has penned his own novel The Dark Lagoon which you can read here.
Hi Simon. Thanks for joining us. Could you tell us a little about yourself and Choices?
I’m married with three grown up children, before Choices I was in the financial services industry where I learned to recruit and train salespeople. I founded Choices in 1989 as a one stop property shop and have been developing the concept ever since.
Estate Agencies generally serve a commodity product. How does Choices differentiate itself?
Choices is different from other agents in a number of ways, we are the only agency with a dedicated investments division sourcing and managing buy to let property Uk wide for over 15 years. We have a unique Lettings business model called the Primary Tenancy in which we take in the role of agent and tenant for our landlords. Our Branch Sales operation offers a variety of fee arrangements and a flexible contract. All our departments share a commitment to providing excellent service and we have been recognised by winning the AllAgents best Uk agent award three years running.
Do you think that buy to lets will make a good investment today for someone with a 20 year plan?
I do think buy to let is an excellent investment for anyone with a 20 year plan, however I think most people need help to achieve the best return. We specialise in helping people buy in hotspots around the country with high rental yields and good growth prospects, we offer our clients a centralised asset management service and a rent guarantee
You are a bit of a novelist. Please tell us about your book The Dark Lagoon and where we can buy it?
I wrote my first and thus far only novel in the mid 90s, it was published in 1997 and you can buy it in digital form on Amazon
You’re a bit of an extreme sports fanatic. Which extreme sports are your favourites? and have you won any competitions/medals in them?
I love Kite Surfing, paddle boarding, mountain biking, dirt bike riding, motorcycling, road cycling, electric skate boarding, snow boarding and motor racing. I have competed in motor cross and Enduro, never st a high level though. I have ridden across the Baja Dessert a couple of times with my cousins, never taken part in the race. I have kited in many places around the world and have had a couple of close calls, kiting has been my number one passion for some years. Right now my latest sport is boxing which I love learning but am currently no good at!
Who else, apart from richard Branson, are your mentors?
Apart from Richard Branson and Stephen King I have always admired Steve Jobs, Bill Gates and Barrack Obama. I guess I am more attracted to those with vision than those who just make money or teach others how to make it. More recently I have admired Mark Zuckerberg for his singleminded determination to let Facebook reach its potential
Many thanks for your time Simon, we appreciate it!
