Meet the Search & Secure team

Buyers agents, analysts and advisors

Our team brings together property sourcing, negotiation, due diligence and portfolio strategy under one roof.

Team members

Meet the Search & Secure team — names, roles and backgrounds.

Nikita Taiapa

Director | Marketing Manager Nikita bought her first home at 21 while studying law full-time, and that’s where her journey into property started. With no background in the industry, she learned by doing, figuring out the process, managing renovations, and understanding what actually makes a deal work in the real world. Since then, she’s been involved in a number of residential projects, working across both the acquisition and renovation side of things. With a Bachelor of Laws and experience in regulatory environments, she naturally takes a detailed and structured approach. Having been through it herself at a young age, Nikita is especially passionate about helping first-home buyers and early-stage investors get started, and showing them what’s actually possible through property.

• Email: nikita@searchandsecure.nz
• Phone: 021 196 6942‬

Cairo Devey

Director | Property Specialist Cairo has a background in banking and mortgage advisory, having worked alongside one of New Zealand’s top brokers. That experience gave him a strong foundation in lending, deal structuring, and what it actually takes to grow a property portfolio the right way. He has been involved in over 100 property purchases and has built a personal residential portfolio of 25+ properties. He also runs a property trading and development business, focused on renovations and value-add opportunities. Previously Cairo has coached property clients, helping them grow their portfolios and setting them up for long term growth. Cairo’s strength is in seeing the bigger picture and identifying opportunities that stack up both from a cash flow and equity perspective.

• Email: cairo@searchandsecure.nz
• Phone: 0210 812 9704‬

Jack Dray

Sales Manager | Buyers Agent Powered by Ownly Ltd. Licensed REAA 2008 Jack started his career in New Zealand as a mortgage advisor, spending five years at one of the country’s leading brokerages. During that time, he consistently ranked in the top 50 and worked with a wide range of clients, from first-home buyers through to experienced investors. He later moved to London, where he worked in business development for one of the UK’s largest private lenders. There, he was involved in larger, more complex residential and commercial deals, giving him exposure to a different level of funding and structuring. Jack has a strong understanding of how property transactions unfold. As an investor himself, he brings a practical, process-driven approach that helps ensure deals move forward efficiently.

• Email: jack@searchandsecure.nz
• Phone: 022 611 8704‬

Blake Estrello

Associate & Marketing Coordinator Blake leads the marketing and content side of Search & Secure. Through his agency, Momentum Growth, he's spent the last few years building campaigns and brands for businesses across New Zealand, working on everything from strategy and positioning to the day to day content that keeps a brand visible and consistent. He now brings that same experience to the property space, where his focus is ensuring the team's deals, insights, and client results actually reach the investors who need to see them. Good work only goes so far if the right people never hear about it, and that's the gap Blake is there to close. Having grown up around property and now working toward his own first investment, it's a space he knows from the inside. For Blake, the satisfaction is simple: seeing a buyer get their deal done and dusted, and connecting the right people with the team to make that happen.

• Email: blake@searchandsecure.nz

Contact Search & Secure

Search & Secure is New Zealand's specialist investment property buyers agency, powered by Ownly Limited and licensed under the Real Estate Agents Act 2008.

Book a free strategy call to talk to our team about your investment goals.