Claudia Brooks, the 334th person I’ve met on my quest to have lunch with 500 strangers, loved property from an early age.

For most children, attending a property inspection would be the height of boredom. But when Claudia’s family was in the market for a property, she loved joining them at the open homes.

So when Claudia was studying for her business degree, she held a series of property-related jobs, working for a real estate agent, a property developer and a construction company.

Even more impressively, when she was just 22 years old, she bought an apartment in the Northern Beaches region of Sydney.

Claudia’s friends, who were amazed she’d bought a property at such a young age, started asking if she could show them how to do the same. Claudia enjoyed helping her friends so much that she did a Google search to find out if there was some sort of job where she could help people buy property for a living.

It turned out there was.

For the past two years, Claudia has been working as a buyer’s agent for Porters House, specialising in the Northern Beaches market. Claudia loves the job, because she gets paid to help people and immerse herself in real estate. And she’s very good at it – earlier this year, she won the Achievement Award at the Real Estate Institute of Australia’s National Awards for Excellence.

Claudia is also excelling in her personal real estate journey. Since acquiring her apartment, she’s purchased an investment property and is planning to buy a rundown home on the Northern Beaches with renovation potential.

If you’re getting the impression that Claudia is smart and driven, it’s because she is. Claudia likes to surround herself with people who know more than her, so she can soak up their wisdom. She also believes in taking action – not because she doesn’t feel self-doubt, but because she has the courage to ignore the negative self-talk.