Hidden Grove and Vista on Brays: Ian and Maree Smith are managing splendidly

Ian and Maree Smith

are managing splendidly

Maree and Ian Smith

By Grantlee Kieza,

Industry Reporter

Mike Phipps has been involved in the business for more than 30 years and says Ian and Maree Smith would have to be the best managers “pound for pound” in permanent management rights that he’s ever met.

Ian and Maree took out this year’s ARAMA TOP Award at a gala function at Brisbane City Hall in July as Resident Managers of The Year (Long Stay). The pair oversee 150 units at the neighbouring Hidden Grove and Vista on Brays complexes at Griffi n, north of Brisbane. Mr Phipps and his business partner in Transaction Management Consultants (TMC), Tony Rossiter assisted a syndicate for Ian and Maree to purchase the management rights. “Ian and Maree are bloody good managers,” Mr Phipps says bluntly, adding that there were two things that stood out immediately when he fi rst began negotiating with them. “Ian was a tradie and Maree had been a property manager of 100 properties for a boutique agency in Darwin. If you can crack that gig in Darwin, then you can run an apartment complex anywhere. “Maree had come out of a challenging property management role with impeccable references.

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“The combination of this husband-and-wife team was perfect for management rights because you’ve got a handson guy who can look aft er maintenance and make some money doing up the units for owners, and you’ve got a woman who can run the front counter. And Maree is a lady with the very rare ability to have what might be a very confrontational conversation about things like rent rises or tenants’ conduct and do it in a way where at the end they almost thank her for it.” Ian and Maree are the parents of two boys, Zack, 17, and Riley, 15. They were travelling around Australia following oil and gas work, an industry in which Ian worked as a construction supervisor. Ian had a bad accident in 2014 and suff ered a serious leg injury. “We knew the longevity in oil and gas wasn’t going to be there,” Maree told Resort News.

“My sister and brother-in-law were in management rights, and we used to visit them at Mango Hill. We were very interested in the business and asked a lot of questions.

“At the time we were in Darwin where Ian was working on the Ichthys gas project. I was working in merchandising a couple of days a week because the kids were quite young and still at school. “Darwin had a huge rental shortage at the time, and I decided to get my real estate licence with the thought of eventually going into management rights. “I obtained a Queensland licence because I knew we would end up back here, and I studied for the full licence through REIQ to cover all bases. It took me 10 months but within a couple of weeks I had a job with Habitat Real Estate in Darwin.”

Maree gave two-weeks’ notice from her merchandising job before she started in real estate and during that fortnight the devastating Cyclone Marcus of 2018 ravaged Darwin. “I started work four days aft er the cyclone hit,” she said. “I was supposed to manage 50 properties and be coached, but the property manager I was to work with had quit and I was given 90 properties. Talk about being thrown in at the deep end!

Chartered Accountants & Specialist Advisors to the Accommodation Sector Since 1993.

Well deserved and congratulations to Ian and Maree for their recent award.

Peter Brewer

B. Bus. Acc.,FCA, CTA

t: 07 5449 9992 e: peter@pbbconsult.com.au w: www.pbbconsult.com.au

Specialising in management rights and other accommodation business syndicates

Trent and the Pevy Lawyers team are proud of their appointment as legal advisors to Ian and Maree and their partners, and congratulate them on their recognition at the ARAMA Awards Work with the firm that delivers nationwide, industry leading transactional services and advice across all accommodation based business types. Helping hundreds of resident managers and operators each year to acquire, sell, protect and grow their business.

Phone: 07 5562 6111 After Hours: 0412 092 969 www.pevylawyers.com.au

Ian and Maree with their boys, Zack and Riley

“I didn’t know anything about the software, so I basically started calling tenants and just writing down all the damage their properties had suffered. The cyclone was so destructive – one of the most destructive since Cyclone Tracey.” After Ian’s job on the gas project in Darwin finished, the family moved to Lakes Entrance in Victoria with Ian taking another gas project job in nearby Orbost. Three months before they were due to leave there, the real estate agency the Smiths were renting through, Elders in Lakes Entrance, asked Maree to work for them because their property manager had resigned at the last minute. “They had 150 properties to manage,” Maree said. “By this stage we had found Hidden Grove and Vista on Brays through my brother-in-law. “We were in the middle of purchasing when I took on the job at Lakes Entrance. We stayed for another three months and then we came to Brisbane and got the kids settled into school. “We started as the new managers on March 5, 2020.” Ian and Maree worked with TMC to secure management rights at the two properties. “We thought the size of the complex and the net profit was what we were looking for, so that Ian and I could both be employed in the business,” Maree said.

“My brother-in-law had recommended that we contact Mike Phipps to help find a management rights business. We spoke to Mike and Paul Grant (the senior broker at Mike Phipps Finance) to see if it was suitable for us.

“Because it was such a large business, we had to set up a partnership and Mike and Tony Rossiter from Holmans Accountants helped to form a partnership along with the vendors of the property. Mike decided he liked the look of the business as well, so he and Paul Grant also became partners.” TMC brought together all the professional services needed for the transaction to proceed. “We have great bank finance with Suncorp,” Mr Phipps said. “We use Pevy Lawyers, and Peter Brewer, a very trusted accountant from pbbConsult, did the verification.

“We had our stuff together and ready from day one which made the whole process run very smoothly. “Australian Valuers are a highly regarded source of market data and provided a great sounding board in the initial stages of the transaction. Valuations are informed by a diverse and sometimes elusive range of information and Australian Valuers always manage to get to the core of the process. In doing so they are always open to discussion and debate regarding valuation outcomes.” There are 60 units at Vista on Brays, and Ian and Maree manage 58 of those. There are 90 units at nearby Hidden Grove, and they manage 85 of them. “We have about 150 units in total because we also look after a duplex at Kallangur and a house at Bellmere, and we are in the middle of taking 10 off the plan at Kallangur as well,” Maree said. Ian and Maree literally have all their ducks in a row when it comes to organising their business. COVID hit only a couple of weeks after they arrived as new managers and it was difficult to meet their tenants.

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Call 07 5430 7600 or visit holmans.com.au

Aft er the lockdowns ended though, they decided to promote a real sense of togetherness. Ian and Maree set up a lot of community engagement for their tenants including an internal business referral unit so that anyone with a trade or skill is available to help their neighbours in the complex. One of their most satisfying innovations was a “hidden duck” competition designed to get tenants out and about aft er lockdowns and talking to each other. The couple hide 250 yellow plastic ducks throughout the gardens and common areas for the kids and adults to fi nd. The tenants bring them back to the offi ce for a raffl e ticket and that allows Ian and Maree to meet many of the tenants in a relaxed atmosphere and listen to any concerns they have. The prizes for the raffl e include Westfi eld vouchers, photography packages, toys, remote control cars and watches.

Maree says their work has been helped by a good working relationship with both of their committ ees and by Mathew Anderson from the RAAS group, who has helped to sell a number of units to investors to maintain their lett ing pool.

“Ian and I love the job,” Maree said, “I especially love it when you can put someone into a home and they’re a good tenant. We had some who weren’t so good when we moved in, but we’ve sorted all that out.

“Aft er years of diff erent jobs, I’ve really found something that I love, so I don’t mind spending extra time in the offi ce or extra time doing other things.”

Mike Phipps said the couple are so diligent when it comes to promoting harmony and fun at the units they manage that at Easter time and Christmas. Riley helps at night as the Easter Bunny and “puts great big rabbit footprints around the place using a template and baby powder.” Zack has dressed as Santa Claus the last two years dancing through the complexes as Santa Claus handing out lollies to the children. Maree said the couple felt fortunate in having good business partners who let them run their unit complexes with minimal interference.

Mike Phipps said his business TMC had helped organise the management of about 50 syndicates to run properties. “People come to us and say, ‘I’ve got some money and I’d really like to put it into management rights’, or we might have clients buying management rights and they’re a litt le short of cash and need investors,” Mr Phipps said.

Talk to someone who understands your business.

Tanveer Khan Management Rights Specialist Gold Coast 0438 628 840 Amanda Norling Management Rights Specialist Brisbane 0459 800 461 Michael Mjaskalo Management Rights Specialist Sunshine Coast 0448 421 975 Michael Mjaskalo Management Rights Specialist North Queensland 0448 421 975