Getting to know Reiss Braniff, Partner for Nested Blackheath

Reiss has been an estate agent in and around Blackheath for the best part of 13 years. After climbing the corporate ladder, he dipped his toes into self-employment at Purplebricks in 2017 — but it wasn’t until he joined Nested two years later that he truly found his ‘raison ‘d’être.’ 

Having recently transitioned into life as an area partner, Reiss lifts the lid on the realities of running your own business — from setting your own schedule, to making full use of the platform. 

How did you get into estate agency?

I kind of fell into it, really! I was a scaffolder for 10 years, and then the credit crunch hit — so I started selling kitchens. I had a young daughter, so I needed something more stable. My friend at the time was an estate agent, and suggested I give it a go, as it tied in a lot of my skills. 13 years later, I haven’t looked back!

I worked my way up really quickly at a few different corporate companies, before going to Purple Bricks. I then joined Nested as a full-time estate agent, before the area partner model was introduced.

What attracted you to Nested?

I was really drawn in by the support network, and the overall culture. I also loved the rawness of it; I felt able to make suggestions on how we could improve the Nested platform. I worked closely with the tech team, and became really invested in the mission. Even back then, it was still a really flexible company too — which was a huge plus. 

What were your expectations about self-employment, and how are you finding it now?

I switched over to being a partner in the last two months — but even if the Area Partner model hadn’t been introduced, I would’ve stayed at Nested because the company is so brilliant! 

I was initially nervous about going self-employed because of how burned-out I was as a self-employed agent at Purple Bricks, but it ended up being a really smooth transition. Now, I have even more flexibility for family life. It’s also going really well — I recently got my first two instructions!

How has your work-life balance changed since starting your own business?

At Nested, I only really need to have 2-3 customers a month that I can do a really good job for, and get the deal through. At Purplebricks, I needed to sell 15-20 houses every single month to do the job — and I’d still be earning less than I am now. The volume of work I had to do at Purplebricks is so much more than what I have to do at Nested, so I have a much better work-life balance now. 

Of course, I have to do more brand awareness as an area partner — and spend more time justifying my fee. But in terms of work-life balance, I have so much more time to be with my kids. I set my own structure that works for me: I have set days of working from home, and set days of being in the local area.

How does Nested’s tech improve your clients’ experience?

The tech at Nested is the best I’ve ever had — it makes everything super streamlined. But it’s the ‘tech plus personal touch’ 2-in-1 approach that sets Nested apart from, say, Purplebricks. The tech allows me to be super-efficient. When offers do come in, both me and the client know what we’ve gone through, how many enquiries we’ve had, and what the offers are — so we can both make informed decisions on next steps. 

What advice would you give to an estate agent looking to start their own business with Nested?

Outside of London, a lot of agents aren’t working in areas where Nested already has a strong presence and reputation — so it’s trickier to get your name out there. What Nested does have is an amazing platform and a really strong support network to get you through those harder months. 

At the end of the day though, it’s all down to your own hard work!