“I’ve just always loved Orange,” says Allison Brennan, principal of the newly opened agency Orange Property Management Plus.

“As a kid growing up in Wellington, we used to come here on weekends and come for camps out at Lake Canobolas, so I’ve always had a fondness for Orange.”

In fact, 16 years ago when Allison and husband John were looking to make a move from their home in Dubbo, Orange was actually on the top of Allison’s list. In the end it was Port Macquarie that became the Brennan’s new home, but still the country called.

“We loved bringing up our children on the coast. We had the whole coastal lifestyle, we lived a couple of blocks from the beach, but I was born and bred in Wellington and I missed the country… and now here we are!”

Allison, John and their seven-year-old son relocated to Orange two years ago, with John returning to work in the social welfare field and Allison, after 22 years in real estate, planning on a quieter life at home.

“Moving here we didn't really have any aspirations of starting up another business. In Port Macquarie we’d established our own property management business, but moving back here was going to be an entirely different season altogether for us… it didn’t eventuate,” said Allison.

It was a business for sale that caught the eye of John and Allison. That opportunity was not to be, but it did get the couple thinking.

“Once we had looked into the other business here, it reignited our interest and we had the taste for it,” said Allison. “We looked around and we could see a real opportunity for a residential property management service.

“Just look at the growth in Orange,” said John. “The growth here at the moment is phenomenal with the new estates, look at North Orange. We could see the potential here.”

The Brennan’s signed the lease on their Anson Street offices in January and were just ready to open the doors when everything went into lockdown.

“It has been a long haul,” said Allison “And obviously the property market has been impacted quite drastically, especially property management, so we just took that time to work on our website, on our procedures, our systems, basically our infrastructure and stay up to date with the ever-changing laws. It’s a minefield out there and now, more than ever, landlords and tenants alike need to be guided by a specialist in property management.”

Joining Allison and John on the Orange property Management Plus team is their daughter Jessica, who has herself made a career in property management in Melbourne and agencies on the coast.

“We're the principals of this agency, I'm a licenced real estate agent with 22 years under my belt, John has 16 and Jessica, she basically grew up on property management,” said Allison.

“And I think that's what tenants and landlords like when they come in,” said John. “We’re a family run business and you are dealing with the principals. You are not just a number or an email, it is that personalised service.”