Samantha Mordi
THEY are a brother and sister expat pair both working in real estate.
Both based abroad, their working lives revolve around finding dream homes for mostly British buyers looking to relocate to sunnier climes.
With blonde hair, blue eyes and a distinct London twang, it doesn’t take long to work out they are related.
But Tony and Jacqui Reddin, from Hertfordshire, are not just polar opposites in terms of personality, they live in different countries and have completely different types of work practice and lifestyle.
For while Tony, 56, runs the Spanish Estate Agent, in Estepona, Jacqui, 61, runs the Beaux Village office in Jonzac, in the south of France.
Some 1,376kms apart, they speak every week, communicate daily online, and keep a close eye on trends in European real estate.
“We are competitive in our own right,” explains Tony. “But we are in different countries”
Jacqui – who acted for many years, appearing in various TV shows and treading the boards in the West End – describes Tony, a former nightclub owner, as her ‘baby brother’.
He is such a big character, with a larger than life personality,” she explains. But the big question is; how do their lives compare over the border?
Here is a potted guide into how their everyday lives compare:
Jacqui Reddin-Williams
Age: 61
Born: Dublin
First job: Stage play at the Leicester Repertory Theatre
First job in real estate: Independent sales consultant with Beaux Villages Immobilier, France
Job history: Stage and TV actress, including playing role of Sandy in Grease in the West End
Occupation: Senior sales manager for Beaux Villages, in Jonzac
Work hours: 8am – 9pm
Quote: “We are helping people move into their dream home. I love it”
Marital status: Married 26 years to husband Maynard Williams, who renovates old buildings
Lives: Historic stone farmhouse with 18 dogs and 6 cats, near Jonzac
Typical Customer: Couples taking early retirement to live the dream
Typical sale: Old farmhouses with pool, gorgeous views, close to a village for around €350,000
Hobbies: Photography
Average sale time: Three months
Amount of properties seen before buying: Around 10
Celebrity sale: A Deputy Prime Minister and a President
Tony Reddin
Age: 56
Born: Hertford
First job: Trainee farm manager?
First job in real estate: The Spanish Estate Agent, in Estepona
Occupation: Senior agent
Job history: Former nightclub owner, and transfer company owner
Work hours: 10am – 6pm
Quote: “This job is anything but a chore. In fact, it is a pure pleasure”.
Marital status: Divorced for 27 years, has one son
Home: In an apartment on Cristo Beach, Estepona?
Typical customer: Retired couples looking for sunshine escape
Typical sale: Townhouses between €200,000 to 400?,000
Hobbies: Cooking, winner of Come Dine with Me in 2011
Average sale time: In Spain it is possible to complete on a house in less than a week but normally it is within two months
Amount of properties seen before buying: On average people see between six and 30 properties but sometimes they fall in love with the first on. One client saw one property, put the deposit down and completed in about four weeks.
Celeb sale: I sold a luxury top floor apartment to the MD of Barratt Homes (we went to the lawyer on a Sunday) but ALL My clients are celebs to me!!!
