The imbalance comes with the lack of care in the customer service side of luxury. Condominiums that price themselves in the luxury sector do not deliver when it comes to quality or style, he adds.

The husband-and-wife team have put an impetus on building their clients’ property portfolio with assets that are as diverse—residential and commercial—as
they are high-quality. This has sometimes meant dissuading them from impulse buys. Gill says that most of their clients already have a good idea of the location they want to be in when they come to them, but their job as property managers extends beyond hinging on a property that ticks just that one box. Their new buyers are entrepreneurs and technology giants who are from a different generation: they are millennials in their mid-20s and 30s. Yet their young ages are no reflection on the depth of their knowledge or their idea of sophistication, say the duo.

Karkaria, who handles the investment side of the business, purposefully steers the conversation towards other considerations: “I ask what they like to do on weekends. Do you like the beach? Do you spend a lot of time cycling?” His intuitive questions often take their clients by surprise. Having their portfolios handled by people who “listen” has gone a long way in building trust and developing long- term business relationships, which have subsequently morphed into close friendships. 

In turn, Gill and Karkaria approach each client and project as they would their own dealings. They only promise what they can deliver, and have often walked away from million-dollar deals in favour of preserving the relationship they share with certain clients. That sense of integrity has helped them build goodwill partnerships globally, to the benefit of their clients; Karkaria and Gill are often called in for crisis control to either save a deal or restructure portfolios that have gone wrong.

The couple draw a clear line when it comes to property buys for resale and those for personal occupancy. “In Singapore, it’s either an investment, or a home that you can live in happily without worrying about the numbers. It’s very difficult to have a blend of both. Most of the time, the numbers cannot justify it,” says Gill. “In that respect, our business is really broken down into two segments. In the case of a home buy, we always try to beat inflation and interest rates at a minimum.”

A similar demarcation rules in the way they work as business partners as well. Besides the investment part, Karkaria also handles most of the property showings, while Gill manages the marketing, operations and business development duties. She also recently completed her certification for Family Office Advisors. “This is not a career, this is part of our lives. We are grateful to be able to grow professionally and personally,” says Karkaria. 

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