Healthy Profits

Healthy Homes standards deliver a big boost for new Oncore franchisees

Healthy Homes legislation passed three years ago aims to deliver warmer, drier and healthier homes throughout New Zealand – and sets fines for landlords who fail to comply. The first deadline was 1st July 2021, and means that as soon as a tenancy agreement is signed or renewed, landlords have just 90 days to bring their property up to the new standards. There’s a final deadline of July 2024 – less than 3 years away.

‘That means huge pressure on landlords and, with 600,000 rental properties around the country, huge demand for trade services,’ says Dan Vincent, Managing Director of Oncore. ‘Our franchisees make it easy by providing a “one call does it all” service for property owners. They will conduct a thorough inspection, using Oncore’s custom-built app, and provide a comprehensive report on what needs to be done to ensure a home is Healthy Homes compliant – along with a quote for the work.

‘If accepted, the franchisee will co-ordinate tradespeople to get the work done, including repairs, insulation, heat pump and extractor fan installation, before issuing a certificate of compliance. An annual re-inspection keeps things up to scratch, generating repeat business. ‘Oncore also does a wide range of repair, maintenance, installation and re-instatement work, with clients including insurance companies, property managers and body corporate managers. It takes a huge weight off their minds, and has proved a real winner for our franchisees.’

Sarah and Jeremy Lowe: ‘It’s exceeded our wildest expectations’

$400,000 in first year

Jeremy and Sarah Lowe can confirm that. The couple started their franchise in August 2020, and from a standing start have built a million dollar-plus business with a net profit of almost $400,000 – they even provide their P&L summary to prove it (see below).

Their success is proof that the Oncore franchise is for managers, not tradies. Jeremy was a regional manager with Flight Centre for 10 years, before Covid wiped out the travel industry. Sarah was an early childhood teacher, and continued in that career until their Oncore business took off and she joined the business full-time. ‘I think you could say it’s exceeded our wildest expectations,’ they say.

‘We found Oncore when we picked up a copy of Franchise New Zealand magazine. Property was something we were both interested in, and seemed a safe bet in Covid times. We didn’t have any experience, but we’ve dealt with tradies and knew what we didn’t like: poor communication, people not coming back to you, not turning up on time, using confusing jargon, treading dirt through the house, swearing … Oncore had the systems, the connections and the reputation to overcome all that.’

Systems that deliver

Oncore is one of three franchises created by strategic marketing specialist Traffic to service the national home renovation, enhancement and maintenance market. The other two brands are Refresh Renovations and Zones Landscaping, giving Oncore franchisees access to considerable buying and marketing power, as well as a lot of expertise.

Dan says, ‘We’ve been able to negotiate some pretty sharp rates with suppliers and installers because of the amount of business we can bring them, which enables our franchisees to make a healthy profit margin on every job.’

So how did Jeremy and Sarah get started? ‘We had comprehensive training in all Oncore’s systems,’ explains Jeremy. ‘Dan suggested we focus on Healthy Homes, so I got clued up on the standards and the inspection procedures, then I went out with Dan in our Auckland territory. At $129 a pop, inspections brought in revenue straight away – some property managers were sending through lists of 20 or 30 properties. Then those started turning into jobs and it all snowballed from there.

‘Having the Oncore systems for lead generation, quoting, invoicing and managing people made a massive difference. They helped us find a few preferred contractors to start with, but now we have our own staff: two builders, a handyman, a dedicated Healthy Homes inspector and a parttime administrator, as well as Sarah and me.

‘Sarah is a list person and I’m quite driven, so we work well together. At Flight Centre, the only way to compete with online was to provide a high level of service, so we set out to do the same in our own business. We said we’d get back to people within 24 hours of an enquiry, and then have a report and quote for them 24 hours after the inspection. It was long hours and hard work at first, but we stuck to it.’

And Sarah’s organisational skills are vital. ‘An established Oncore franchisee can be managing 100-plus jobs a month,’ says Dan. ‘Fortunately, our systems are built to cope with that level of demand – and more.’

Opportunities nationwide

The essential qualities for an Oncore franchisee are customer service, communication, project management, and professionalism. ‘Our 24 franchisees to date include former sales and marketing managers, accountants and IT people,’ says Dan. Investment levels start from $50,000 + gst.

‘We’re looking for more franchisees for areas throughout the country, and are keen to hear from anyone with the right skills – no matter what your previous career. Give me a call to find out more.’

Advertiser Info

Contact Dan Vincent

P 0800 001 048 or M 021 443 143

danv@traffic.net.nz

www.oncoreservice.com