House That! Pru's Hot Property

We Talk To Pru Morrall (64), Head Good Girl Of ChristchurchsGood Girls Property Management, And StarOf Tvnz 2s Renters.

- Ciara Pratt

I’ve always had a great love of houses – always. The shapes, the colours, the designs, the footprints! I love a lot of homes, even if I wouldn’t want to own them.

I got into the property management business nigh on 20 years ago now, when a couple hired me to be their company’s general manager.

I fell in love with the business – it was really hard work, but the satisfaction was good. Then that couple b*****ed off, leaving me in charge.

I’m now known as the director of the company, but I use ‘Good Girl’ because I can't bear all those serious titles. We have ‘Very Good Girl’; ‘Super Good Girl’ and ‘Abacus Girl’, rather than using terms such as ‘accounts manager’. The work is so tough; it’s better when we put a positive spin on things.

When a little family brings a property to me, you know they’ve worked hard for it. For them that’s precious – it’s either a retirement fund or a child's university education. So to me, it’s one of their greatest assets and I take that very personally. I probably look after their property better than I look after my own!

Since the Christchurch earthquakes, there’s been a lot more work. I did the claims for the majority of my owners and have seen them through to the end – in fact, I'm still working on some with lawyers now.