I’m very pleased to let you know that Sharon Cullwick has been elected as president of the NZ Property Investors’ Federation, taking over from Terry le Grove.

It’s wonderful to have our first female president. It reflects the growing number of women involved in our associations. Women were 41% of respondents in our last membership survey, up from 38% in the 2014 survey.

Sharon has been a property investor since 1998 and has property throughout the North Island. She joined the NZPIF Executive Committee in 2016 and brings a wide level of experience from a number of Property Investors’ Associations.

From 2002 to 2005, Sharon was a member of the Auckland Association where she helped set up the New Investors’ Group and was coordinator of the Eastern Group. After moving to Taupo with her young family in 2005, she travelled to Rotorua PIA meetings whenever time permitted.

After returning from overseas, Sharon joined the Waikato Property Investors’ Association in 2010. She joined the committee in 2013 and was elected Vice President until her departure to the Hawke’s Bay where she became their Vice President that year.

Growing membership of associations is Sharon’s main goal. She has said that “there are a lot of people retiring or selling off their portfolios and this leaves a large gap in the rental market. Although the regulations which have been placed on the industry are causing some uncertainty in the market, it also gives way to great opportunities for those willing to take advantage of them.”

The NZPIF is very grateful to Terry for agreeing to stay on as president for an extra year when many other commitments and responsibilities were calling on his time.

Terry has been on the NZPIF Executive since 2006 and president since 2013. Terry has many personal and professional qualities that have made him a wonderful president and representative for our industry. He has continued and enhanced the NZPIF policy of advocating for rental property providers, while not forgetting the needs of our tenants and remembering that they are critical to our industry.

The last few years have seen many challenges for our industry and Terry has stood up and spoken well on our behalf. This was demonstrated in an inspiring speech he gave when opening the 2016 NZPIF Conference, he said “We are told that 40% of the population will never own their own home and yet landlords are continually lambasted for buying properties and providing the very homes that these people need to live in. We need to look for solutions and not continually look for someone else to blame.”

His attitude, his property experience and his professional career as a chattel’s valuer have been invaluable in developing policies and in communicating these policies to politicians, policy advisors and many others.

We owe a great deal of thanks to Terry and wish him and Beryl all the very best.