Joel Price joined the Hindwoods team in July as Commercial Property Assistant, bringing experience from his time with housing association and property developer L&Q

Posted on 9 September 2025

Q: How much did you know about Hindwoods before you joined the team? 

A: I had been working with L&Q [the housing association and developer] and came across Hindwoods at an event. I took one of their pens and a notebook. After I got the job with Hindwoods, I realised that the company logo was very familiar, and that I had the Hindwoods notebook next to my bed and had been using it to put down ideas. It was meant to be!

Q: Did you always want to work in property?

A: My degree was in economics and finance, but I found it hard to get a job in finance. What I really wanted to do was build things and communicate with people. I realised I wanted to go into property. I had moved into an L&Q property and then got an admin job working with them. I later joined the L&Q property development team, so I worked across the early life cycle of a building.

Q: What was your day-to-day work at L&Q? 

A: I was working on developments in London, where there were plots of land with planning permissions or areas needing regeneration. In cases of regeneration, they would move people out to other properties whilst the work was done. It meant lots of interactions with people, dealing with everyone from local authorities to contractors and joint venture partners.

Q: What’s your role now? 

A: At Hindwoods I work in the block management and commercial management teams. At L&Q it was about new buildings – and now it is about managing the assets, so buildings that are already built. I have been in two companies where I have now seen the beginning and end of the process – from the inception of a building at L&Q to a property that has been built and needs to be managed at Hindwoods. 

Q: What are the differences between your roles with block and commercial management. 

A: Block management is complex because we have property managers, and they have a portfolio of properties. In turn they have a lot of things that need to be done constantly. They sort out repairs, they help the leaseholders, they maintain the external parts of the properties, for example if there is a leak. 

With commercial management, it is about managing units and collecting fees for rents, service charges, insurance and more. Everyone has a different demand, because it depends when their lease was signed – that impacts when charges are due. 

Q: What’s the best part of your role?

A: So far I am gaining so much more experience, and it is a learning curve. 

Q: What are the main qualities needed to do your role? 

A: It is a mix – it is being resilient, determined, very organised, able to communicate, use my initiative, and think inside and outside the box!

Q: How do you start your working day?

A: Tea! I make herbal tea in a jug and add date and agave syrup, put it in a flask and that gets me through the day!