About Business October 2015

RELATIONSHIP TALK

WELL CONNECTED

FAMILY LAW

BLOKES ABOUT TOWN

FAMILY LAWYER MICHAEL GRAY LOOKS AT HOW TO MAKE RELATIONSHIPS LAST

JAMES FOUNTAIN SHARES HOW SUCCESS IS A NUMBERS GAME IN TELECOMMUNICATIONS

HOW TO APPROACH SEPARATION AND AVOID THE EXPENSE OF COURT COSTS

INGRID NELSON CATCHES UP WITH SOME MOVERS AND SHAKERS AT THE INNOVATION CENTRE

Scott & Fiona Roberts THINKING DIFFERENTLY

The husband-and-wife partnership with an invested interest in corporate success

BROUGHT TO YOU BY THE COASTʼS LEADING LIFESTYLE MAGAZINE www.profilemag.com.au

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BUSINESS

JACK AND CHRIS CHILDS

CALLING IN THE BIG GUNS IT SEEMS LIKE YESTERDAY WHEN WE LAUNCHED THE FIRST ISSUE OF ABOUT BUSINESS, BUT SINCE THE FIRST ISSUE IN MARCH IT HAS BECOME SUCH A POPULAR READ WITH LOCAL PROFESSIONALS WE ARE CONSTANTLY ON THE HUNT FOR EVEN BIGGER AND BETTER STORIES.

W

e are delighted to bring you another edition of About Business and as always it’s a great read.

This month, we speak with Scott and Fiona Roberts from IBN Direct. Upon meeting at one of the big four banks, where they each held reputable positions, they became embroiled in fierce competition with one another, but it wasn’t long before they joined forces to become the powerhouse they are today. Together they took a risk, albeit a calculated one, to set up a commercial funding business servicing customers other brokers considered to be too hot to handle.

But it paid off and they have accumulated an impressive client portfolio and are making massive waves interstate. Nicole Fuge tells their story.

We also catch up with former NRL star Willie Carne. A legendary footballer, Willie has played for the Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australia and is remembered for his speed and agility. An injury was responsible for him having to walk away from the game at his peak, however he has found his other niche and is enjoying playing a whole new game in the real estate industry. Willie chats with us about relishing life these days with his two young sons and shares what his plans are for the future.

Profile Editor Ingrid Nelson catches up with some of the movers and shakers at

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the Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre over lunch at the Creek Tavern to discover more about their exciting businesses. The Blokes About Town also talk about some exciting developments in store for the Sunshine Coast economy including the proposed introduction of the new high-speed undersea internet cable which is expected to inject millions into the Sunshine Coast’s economy every year.

We have a plethora of entrepreneurs who call the Sunshine Coast home and they are creating a real buzz in the local economy. It’s certainly an exciting time to be in business.

Watch this space!

We hope you enjoy this issue of About Business as much as we loved bringing it to you. The team is already hard at work to bring you the next exciting issue and we can’t wait to show you what we have coming up next.

WWW.CHRISCHILDS.COM.AU

LISA WILKINSON’S EVENINGS to Inspire event was a huge night and one we won’t forget for a long time and what better way to back that up than with another incredible woman.

Sarina Russo will be here on 4 November, for a special dinner at the Maroochy RSL from 7pm.

Sarina opened ‘The Office’ business academy, now Sarina Russo Schools Australia, in 1979 with $2600, nine students and two part-time staff. She now leads the Sarina Russo Group, a private company with interests in education, employment services and property. They employ over 1100 people and have a yearly turnover exceeding $106 million.

We also have a special luncheon planned with Aussie cricket legend Matthew Hayden who is an inspiration on and off the cricket pitch. Since retiring from the sport, Matthew has become a philanthropic businessman and motivational speaker. Don’t miss him on 20 November, at The Creek Tavern, Mountain Creek.

Then we have Allan Pease offering a unique insight into human behaviour. Catch Allan at the Maroochy RSL on 11 December from 6.45am and keep an eye on the Facebook page for an exclusive VIP luncheon with Allan.

Come join us for a social gathering About Business Connection on Thursday, 15 October at the Duporth Hotel Maroochydore from 5.30-7.30pm!

For a full list of events go to www.thinkspeakersandevents.com.au Like us on Facebook to stay up-to-date with all these great events.

profilemag.com.au

Success – according to the Collins English dictionary, success is “the favourable outcome of something attempted”.

I

f you were to ask 20 random people what success means to them I have no doubt you would get 20 very different answers.

It may be settling that large sales contract, your netball team winning the grand final, having one of your children win a school prize or something as simple as getting a really good night’s sleep.

If you were to ask those same 20 people if they would celebrate success, you would again get a variety of answers covering the spectrum saying, “absolutely, I went out and enjoyed a great dinner and drinks”, to, “no, not at all”.

Why is it that something so seemingly simple can cause different responses from people?

In fact a lot of this variation comes down to the individual’s attitude to: 1. The event that brought success 2. The individuals background 3. Themselves.

There are scores of platitudes about learning from failure, and while it is possible to learn great lessons from life’s clunkers, neuroscience now shows us that nothing succeeds like success.

Have you ever had that new recipe, presentation or some other challenge where everything you do with that challenge is golden?

Then, the next day, you go at it again and you mess up one time and – bam! You can’t seem to get in the groove.

There is a brain-based reason for that, and the more aware of it you are, the more you can create success momentum in your life.

Here’s what goes on that makes success so … well, successful.

When you’re learning something new and you have a success, even a small one, your brain gets a little reward bump of the pleasure neurotransmitter dopamine. Dopamine is used to thicken the neural pathways needed to learn a new skill. Your brain is drawn to activities that give you those little pleasure bumps. You can actually become addicted to success.

But the big news is that the more you succeed, the longer your brain retains the proper information to help you succeed again.

Look for low-hanging fruit (simple wins) in your day to day activities – because it’s a good way to get the snowball of success and high

october 2015

PROMOTION

CELEBRATINGSUCCESS morale rolling when things are going badly.

Get used to the fact that there is absolutely nothing wrong with being proud of yourself and those things you are successful at, and sharing that with others close to you, as that sense of achievement can be infectious to those around you.

When you discuss mistakes, make sure you don’t just focus on the what-not-to-do part of it, that is taking on board negative connotations, and won’t help you succeed.

If you want to head down the path of success, you have to understand what you did correctly and keep demonstrating that successful behaviour until you have a positive outcome.

By being the change you seek, you are actively celebrating your success each and every moment, so that you stop doing and start being what you want to be. SUCCESSFUL!

Atlassian is a name that you may or may not be familiar with and if you haven’t heard it before then do yourself a favour and run the name through an Internet search.

This is a great example of a business owned by two mates, Mike Cannon-Brookes and Scott Farquar. These are two friends who wanted to establish a business together, however they had a very clear idea about what it was they wanted to achieve and how they wanted the business to run.

They sat down and worked through what they wanted to do on a daily basis.

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BUSINESS SCOTT AND FIONA ROBERTS

THINKING differently When Scott and Fiona Roberts met 18 years ago, they became embroiled in competitive rivalry, and it’s this incessant striving to achieve which has since served them well, not only as husband and wife, but as business partners.

“H

WORDS NICOLE FUGE PHOTOS REBECCA SMITH

ere’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels.

The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes. The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They push the human race forward. And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

This quote by Steve Jobs, made famous in Apple’s ‘Think Differently’ campaign, is impossible to miss as I walk into the boardroom at IBN Direct, where I am meeting founders Scott and Fiona Roberts – and it suitably sets the scene.

Scott and Fiona are round pegs in square holes, they are definitely not fond of rules, they are pushing the human race forward and if you ask me, they’re genius.

After almost 30 years combined working in banking and finance, and recognising there was a niche in the market, they tackled the risk head-on, although as Scott reassures me, it’s a calculated risk.

The pair met 18 years ago, at one of the major banks, Scott

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was working on the Sunshine Coast and Fiona was promoted to a position in Brisbane.

“I had a string of close succession promotions to get to that role and I was very cocky and I got to the first meeting and said, ‘that’s the targets?’ Which really irritated Scott because he’d beaten all the national records and was thinking – who is this little upstart?” Fiona says with a laugh.

“We fought like cats and dogs over the first meeting but when our boss made Scott ring and apologise to me, we spent three hours on the phone.”

“That was after Fiona told the boss I was the biggest a***hole she’d ever met,” Scott pipes in.

But among the rivalry was undeniable intellectual and physical attraction.

“I distinctly remember the first day I met Scott. He was wearing a maroon shirt and a tie that had a pool game on it and I remember looking at him and thinking, ‘crap I’m not ready for this’ – I just knew there was going to be something there. And here we are 18 years later,” she says.

Initially the pair entered into a long distance relationship, Fiona living in Salisbury, Brisbane and Scott living in the Sunshine Coast Hinterland.

profilemag.com.au

“When I was a young man, I wanted to change the world. I found it was difficult to change the world, so I tried to change my nation. When I found I couldn’t change the nation, I began to focus on my town. I couldn’t change the town and as an older man, I tried to change my family.

Now, as an old man, I realise the only thing I can change is myself, and suddenly I realise that if long ago I had changed myself, I could have made an impact on my family. My family and I could have made an impact on our town. Their impact could have changed the nation and I could indeed have changed the world.”

“Rural funding was totally different to anything we’d ever done before,” she says. “There were four major aggregators in Australia at that time, and we had a lot of people contacting us about private funding and solicitor funds and everyone kept saying, ‘no it’s dodgy’, but it’s not – you just have to have the right people and the right processes. You just need to be ethical and transparent.

“So Scott retained the contacts no one wanted anything to do with.

He could see the niche in the market, and after spending six months in rural funding, decided it wasn’t for him, and went out and started his own business, Independent Broker Network.”

But in 2012, they had to “do a KFC” and go through an expensive rebranding because of the new ASIC laws preventing the word ‘independent’ in any marketing, and they became IBN. “My first deal was highly complex and I knew which funder was going to do it,” says Scott. “It was a highly specialised sand mining deal, which no mainstream lender would touch, and I managed to set that loan and give myself a $50,000 pay day a couple of weeks later. Then for six months, I played a lot of golf and worked on how to structure our business.”

At the time, Scott and Fiona were working from home, finally earning the money they wanted, with the lifestyle they wanted and enjoying raising their now seven-year-old son Sam. But incredibly, and mainly due to Scott’s business acumen through the GFC crisis, their business was growing at a rapid rate and three years ago, they were pushed to set up an office with their first employee in tow, a business development manager who had previously been Fiona’s boss.

“I went kicking and screaming to my first employee, but I found the more people I employed, the more it freed up my time to increase our income,” says Scott.

“We’d had fairly rapid growth in one year, we doubled what we did the year before and then we tripled that again the next year, so for us there was a lot we had to fine tune, in a very short space of time.”

With their clientele growing at such a great rate, Scott also had to get used to not knowing every file as intimately as he once did.

“Our biggest challenge has been getting the business out of Scott’s head, and on to paper – into structure and processes,” says Fiona.

“You can’t grow at the rate we were growing without having some clear guidelines on how it was going to happen. It was hard on us, it was hard on our relationship.”

BUSINESS

“It was really good for us though because we had to talk a lot more.

At that point we’d both just come out of divorces and were both so raw that there was no point in pretending to be somebody we weren’t. That honestly set us up to always speak our truth,” she says.

Scott and Fiona stayed at the bank until Fiona called it quits on 31 December, 1999, having been there for 10 years and Scott followed later in February, having clocked up 15 years.

They went into finance broking with a major national aggregator, where they became joint regional managers for the Sunshine Coast.

Scott then went on to become the state manager.

“We had one of the strongest states but they didn’t accept that Queensland was going so well because of the way we were running it,” says Fiona, “even though we were performing really well, they wanted us to operate by Sydney rules.”

Eventually, Fiona left and went to work for another bank, and again Scott was hot on her heels and resigned not long after. But instead, he walked into a recruiting agency, where they had a ready-made position as state manager for a rural finance company.

FIONA, SAM AND SCOTT

UNKNOWN MONK 1100AD

october 2015

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Scott and Fiona run their head office on the Sunshine Coast with eight staff members, while operating offices in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne.

“I always knew we’d be successful, because we’re both driven, I don’t think we settle for second best, and I don’t think we’re happy to be mediocre – we really strive to be the best at what we do,” says Fiona.

At the time of our interview, Scott says he’s about to sign off on a deal that will quadruple their business and give them a strong presence interstate. But with that success needs to be a balanced lifestyle and that is something Scott and Fiona pride themselves on.

“We work hard to make ours a workplace of choice, we pay our staff well and we give them lots of benefits,” she says. “In return we have staff members who turn up early for work and go the extra mile all the time, so they’re totally invested in our business.”

Scott and Fiona complement each other perfectly – he is the ideas man, while she can implement those ideas into the marketplace.

“There hasn’t been a time when we haven’t worked together, so there’s always been a level of professional respect,” says Fiona.

“And we do believe we can change the world. By changing ourselves, we’ve changed the way the finance industry looks at private funding.”

IBN specialises in “commercial, development and short term business loans” and boasts one of the largest portfolios of private commercial funders in Australia.

“Most of our clients are very good clients, they just don’t fit into a particular bank policy,” says Scott.

“To give you an idea, most mainstream funders will ask for pre sales for developments. But for somebody who has a development, rather than selling their units or houses off the plan, which will reduce the price they can get for it, they’ll come to us and we’ll do the funding without those pre sales so they can have something that people can walk through. This means they can not only start their project sooner, with fewer hurdles, but also turn a bigger profit at the end.”

It’s no accident Scott and Fiona’s business has flourished, in the last 18 months they’ve introduced some of their personal philosophies to the workplace – like that message on the boardroom wall, burning essential oils in the office to help focus staff, and playing music to lift the mood.

“We believe how we live our life outside of work is the way we should be living our life at work too,” says Scott.

“We now do weekends better than we’ve ever done them before – you have to, you need down time,” Fiona adds.

“Most of the time Scott will be in the office by 7am and quite often I’ll get out of bed at 5am and start doing my work emails before Sam gets out of bed. Once I’ve had dinner I’m sitting down and doing more emails in the evening, so you have to be able to do weekends.”

Scott and Fiona have also integrated Sam into the business, he has his own little desk in Dad’s office, he has his own IBN shirts and occasionally comes along to conferences with them. Sam is a very bright kid, when he was six-years-old he was designing his own developments on Minecraft and is in the process of designing a website.

“But we balance that too, he plays a lot of golf with me,” Scott says, “every day we go and hit balls in the backyard – we’re lucky we’ve got a pretty big backyard, although he’s coming close to clearing the back fence now!”

Scott and Fiona also try to instill their morals and values until Sam reaches an age when he makes his own choices.

Always the entrepreneur, when Scott was 10 years old, he would pick and sell bucketloads of grapefruit, or push the lawn mower around, looking for a lawn that needed to be mowed – filling a niche in the market.

“We’re trying to instill that into Sam, you don’t have to be given pocket money, you can think outside the square and work it out,” says Fiona.

“If I wanted something I had to go and earn the money to get it,” Scott says. “I grew up in a household, with my mother, my grandmother, and my great grandmother – it’s a different upbringing when your house is full of women.

“My whole family came from a working class background, so if you wanted to eat, you raised your own cattle, you grew your own vegetables, you didn’t waste anything. My grandmother had a big part in my upbringing, there was never a bit of food that was wasted, to the point she’d keep mouldy cheese because there was edible cheese in the middle.”

While Sam has had a “pretty cushy life” due in large part to Scott and Fiona’s desire to make sure he didn’t do it as hard as Scott did growing up, they’re balancing that by making sure he has a good work ethic.

And as they watch their little prodigy grow into what I can only imagine will be a successful businessman, Scott and Fiona are embarking on some exciting personal, business and charity ventures. It’s all hands on deck at the Roberts residence.

“I always knew we’d be successful, because we’re both driven, I don’t think we settle for second best, and I don’t think we’re happy to be mediocre – we really strive to be the best at what we do,”

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PROMOTION

words corin kelly photos cheryl nonmus, onQ PhoToGrAPhy

Michelle Mills of SOI, Serviced Offices International, shares her insights from 16 years experience in the business of virtual reception. SOI has been highly successful in NSW and has recently expanded to provide services to QLD.

“I

would like small business owners to understand the value of virtual receptionists, and how it can add to their business when a receptionist is professionally answering their calls for them,” says Michelle.

“A virtual receptionist allows you to focus on your business while giving you time and space to deal with the unexpected and to maintain a healthy work/life balance. If you are a parent running a business and you need to pick your kids up from school, imagine the benefits of being able to divert your calls and have them answered professionally.”

“One of our clients, Judy Wong-See, runs a recruitment business, Credence International. Judy was in a position where she needed to find a balance between nurturing her business and being actively involved in the lives of her two small sons.

When Judy was working she needed to be completely focused as she was often competing with large corporations for tenders. That’s where we stepped in,” shares Michelle.

“SOI helped Judy develop Credence into a million dollar business over the past 10 years and no matter what has been happening for her during this time, every one of her calls have been answered professionally. From a perception point of view, her clients have found her to be consistently reliable and for her personally, we have helped to manage and build her business successfully.”

give it a rest

Some of Michelle’s clients engage her services during the holiday period.

“Even over Christmas, business owners will often feel that they must answer calls

because they are worried about what it will do to their business if they don’t”.

Michelle reveals that many owners of micro businesses are not prepared to disrupt their business by taking holidays.

“The burnout rate is very high and you need energy to keep driving a business.

If you don’t take a break and become exhausted as a result, you risk losing the passion for your business,” she says.

“With a fully trained professional answering your calls and scheduling appointments, you can take a break, switch off completely and step straight back in without skipping a beat.”

will a virtual receptionist really understand my business?

Michelle believes that training is key at SOI. “Our customer service training program ensures that our reception team understand each and every business they are representing. This ensures that your virtual receptionist is able to engage confidently with your clients, triage calls and identify what the requirements are for your business”, she says.

“And this can change from day-to-day. If, for example, a company is running a training course and taking bookings on a particular day, our team can handle all the calls, take bookings and send email enquiries to the right people.”

“We only employ receptionists with the highest level of customer service experience in the corporate and hospitality industries,” Michelle shares.

“At SOI we are about recruiting the right people, provided thorough training and equipping them with our own personallytailored software to capture and forward on the relevant information to you swiftly and efficiently.”

Michelle M

ills

finding the best fit

When you are considering taking on a virtual receptionist, Michelle recommends that the best test of a service is how they answer your enquiry. “How a company answers your initial call is an indication of how they are going to represent you,” she says.

“I would caution anyone against engaging a virtual receptionist on-line without first having a conversation with them over the phone. A website can look really professional but you can’t tell how long they have been operating and at the back of this can often be an impersonal call-centre. This is often the case for budget services that offer no attention to detail or customer care.”

“

a virtual receptionist allows you to focus on your business while giving you time and space to deal with the unexpected and to maintain a healthy work/life balance.

Michelle shares her experience of starting up her own small business. “Just as you would apply for an ABN and set up a website, a virtual receptionist should be on your list of must-haves at the outset of a new business venture,” she says.

“Having this cost effective support from day one establishes your professional image and gives you the freedom to put your heart and soul into your business”. www.soireception.com.au phone 07 3447 2400

PROMOTION

words CORIN KELLY

OppOsites AttrAct -

but dO they lAst? In the August and September editions of Profile, Michael Gray of Gray’s Family Law spoke about ways in which people can resolve their differences at the end of a relationship. This month, he focuses on the commencement of a relationship and sees what can be done to help ensure that relationships don’t break down.

N

ot a lot can be done within a legal framework, although there is a positive obligation cast upon the Court, and consequently legal practitioners, to have regard to the institution of marriage (Section 43(1)(a) of the Family Law Act).

Since the children and property of de facto partners is now dealt with under the Family Law Act, Michael considers that that obligation extends to de facto partners.

The preservation of a relationship can be assisted by the couple understanding each other better. By understanding each other better, the relationship is being given more opportunity to flourish and that is where the Myers Briggs Type Indicator can help.

The Myers Briggs personality test has been around for a long time. In fact, it is often used by clergy who would counsel couples before marriage. Discussions around compatibility were commonplace

Gray’s Gray’s Family Family Law Law Mediation Mediation & & Conflict Conflict Resolution Resolution

years ago and with a shift towards a more secular society, this valuable step in the relationship process has been largely ignored.

Of course, when one is young and in love, one only sees such things as a waste of time and possibly an impediment to that relationship. But, of course, new relationships are not solely the province of the young and second and even third marriages/de facto relationships,

“

i would prefer to focus on what can be done to prevent relationships from breaking down. through identifying you and your partner’s personality types, Myers briggs can help you better understand the nature of the person you are entering a relationship with.”

giving rise to blended families, and the complexities that can create, are not uncommon.

What happens when that person you adore starts to grate on your nerves? All is not lost according to Michael Gray from Gray’s Family Law and a little prevention can go a long way.

Differences between people in a relationship can be a strength, “opposites attract, yes, but do they always stay together?” asks Michael Gray of Gray’s Family Law. For example, for introverts, hell at a party is being there. For extroverts, hell at a party is not being invited.

“If you spend enough time with anyone, the cracks will start to show. Little traits that you once found endearing can become irritating. The extrovert in him may become frustrated with the introvert who refuses once again to go to the party. And the introvert may feel like pulling away and withdrawing from the big personality she finds herself with,” he says.

But rather than let these differences become ingrained and chip away at your relationship, Michael believes that early intervention is the key.

“When we identify where the differences are between the two people, then we can work with those differences to have mutual strengths”, explains Michael.

“I would prefer to focus on what can be done to prevent relationships from breaking down. Through identifying you and your partner’s personality types, Myers Briggs can help you better understand the nature of the person you are entering (or already in) a relationship with.”

Michael smiles warmly as he discusses a topic he is obviously passionate about.

“To quote Isabel Briggs Myers, ‘Whatever the circumstances of your life, the understanding of type can make your perceptions clearer, your judgments sounder, and your life closer to your heart’s desire’, and that is a statement with which I wholeheartedly agree”.

Often as your relationship develops so do your financial involvements – sharing goals and projects. Your finances grow together and become entwined. And this is where Michael encourages couples to consider putting a financial agreement in place.

Financial Agreements can be made before the commencement of, during, or after the breakdown of a marriage/de facto relationship and, if properly drawn and reviewed regularly, they can provide a valuable “road map” for couples.

As a lawyer and fully certified Myers Briggs practitioner, Michael is able to offer a unique service to clients.

Michael Gray

Want to knoW more?

Give us a call on 07 5445 4214 or send us an email to info@graysfamilylaw.com.au it won’t cost you a cent!

phone 07 5445 4214

www.graysfamilylaw.com.au

CRAIG JOSIC

LUKE HUMBLE

BUSINESS

DAVID CHAMBERLAIN

DAN MCKINNON

FRANCOIS JOUBERT

TED O’BRIEN

BLO K E S A B O U T TO W N WORDS INGRID NELSON PHOTOS CHERYL NONMUS, ONQ PHOTOGRAPHY VENUE THE CREEK TAVERN MOUNTAIN CREEK

The Sunshine Coast is fast becoming known as a leading hub for startup businesses. I recently caught up with a few key players who are spearheading this cultural shift and discovered what an important role the Innovation Centre has had in helping these businesses to flourish.

Y

ou only have to look at the number of young entrepreneurs who are making their mark in business on the Sunshine Coast to realise why we are fast becoming known as the startup region. There is a real buzz in our local economy of late, with the recent redevelopment of the Ocean Street precinct including the Big Top and a number of new startup businesses in Nambour, thanks to the likes of Cameron Scott, who is just one of a bevy of young, forward thinking trailblazers who are creating their own destiny and leading the way in driving the new small business economy on the Coast.

Thanks to huge advances in technology and the explosion of the internet, gone are the days when work or business prospects are limited by your location. In fact, the undersea internet cable proposed for our region will connect us directly with global communication systems.

Its impact is expected to inject an additional $700 million into the Coast’s economy every year and a staggering $1.1 billion annually to the Queensland economy.

The Sunshine Coast Innovation Centre has played an integral role as an innovation hotspot for our region. Since it began in 2002, it has become one of the best places to start or build a smart business. I had the pleasure of catching up with a number of business owners who are based at the centre over a delicious lunch at the Creek Tavern recently.

Hosting the lunch was my partner in crime and head of Think Speakers and Events Gerry Morris. Gerry is well known for bringing top notch speakers to the Sunny Coast and is passionate about helping businesses connect and learn through the inspiring networking events he delivers.

Joining us was creator of Generation Innovation, Ted O’Brien; Craig Josic, CEO of Schoolzine; Dan Mckinnon, managing director of the APPfactory; Luke Humble, creator of Italic Creative Design, recent South African expat Francois Joubert, CEO of TruTeq and David Chamberlain, business manager with Think Publications.

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FRANCOIS JOUBERT The business culture in South Africa is very different to Australia.

There is something very unique about the Sunshine Coast and the Innovation Centre, it allows you to mix in circles that are conducive to being very creative. We have the best of both worlds here on the Sunshine Coast. Yes, there is that laidback lifestyle but it also has a touch of the ‘Silicon Valley’ approach to life, encouraging virtual businesses and people who focus on startup businesses. I think everyone around this table are dragon slayers. While big companies have a role to play, new economy must be driven by companies with less than 50 employees. The country will fall behind if they don’t support them because that is where your accelerated growth will come from and that is what the Innovation Centre is about. The approach to business at the Innovation Centre, especially around collaboration, is unique to me and very instrumental to growth. We have more than 30 companies under one roof, we drink coffee together, we talk, we exchange ideas, it’s a fabulous environment.

CRAIG JOSIC I left home when I was 16 and bought my first house at 20 and I have always had the entrepreneurial streak. I believe you are who you associate with, I have always surrounded myself with successful people. I work with a number of people at the table here. We leverage off each other. People are learning to have a different mentality and to give back, that is what the Innovation Centre promotes – collaboration. We are proud to be Sunshine Coast-made. We want to articulate to our neighbours just how innovative we are. Business owners are going to start to think ‘hang on, rather than being stuck in traffic for two hours in the big smoke, we can base our head office here in paradise (the Sunshine Coast) and build from that’. The high speed cable is going to be phenomenal. profilemag.com.au

LEFT: THAI SALAD WITH PRAWNS BLOKES

BUSINESS

PAUL SAWCZUK, OWNER OF CREEK TAVERN (CENTRE) WITH THE LUNCHING

TED O’BRIEN I like to say I am part of the innovation sector. Innovation has been somewhat of a subculture of the Sunshine Coast and our job collectively is to make it mainstream. A lot of that comes down to timing and almost a cultural shift but I think it’s already part of our DNA as a region. We are such a small-business-oriented community. It’s not just the IT section either that is having massive growth, if you look at the Hinterland, some of the most exciting innovation that is happening is in the oldest sector – agriculture. We have the hard infrastructure here, a great university, close proximity to Brisbane, wonderful high schools, etc. What we need to work on is our soft infrastructure, collaborative groups like this one becoming more mainstream, clusters, hubs, it requires a shift in mentality.

Those who get it are taking leaps ahead. The only thing that changes culture is leadership and we need individual leaders to drive that – you can’t wait for government. Look at Currie Street in Nambour and Ocean Street in Maroochydore. It’s people saying we are going to control our own destiny, we are going to put our head on the chopping board.

DAN MCKINNON I grew up in New Zealand and went to uni in Brisbane before moving to London and then Sydney. My wife and I were living in Bondi in a tiny apartment with a two-year-old child and another on the way and we just couldn’t continue to live that way. My wife is from Redcliffe and we wanted to give the Sunshine Coast a crack.

I discovered the Innovation Centre was all about incubating and helping businesses, especially with a focus on technology. I got in touch with the CEO Mark Paddenburg three years ago and talked to him about getting involved and it’s been really great for us as a business. We have gained lots of clients and contacts and made some great relationships. It’s nice to have access to others because as a small business you need people to bounce ideas off. You end up talking to people in the kitchen and making connections and collaborating. I find people who open businesses on the Sunshine Coast are people who are driven to make their own way, they are those who want to live here for the lifestyle. It’s just a matter of switching your mindset and thinking outside the square.

LUKE HUMBLE I have been in the design industry since 1999. I love building things.

I call myself a Lego man. I have always been involved with startups.

I have also worked with Ted and I’m a mentor at the Innovation Centre. I am originally from the UK but I absolutely love Australia.

I wish I had come here sooner. I love the mentality. In the UK it’s a rat race and everyone is running on the ‘SAD syndrome’. In Australia, people are doing things to enjoy their lives and better their experiences. The connections I have made at the Innovation Centre have been massive. Ordinarily in business you might have a business across the road you could collaborate with but it’s not generally the mentality. Business is about sharing and leveraging off each other. It’s about getting rid of that stigma and helping each other. I love the fact that you can be anywhere at anytime doing anything. We are at the forefront of that explosion. You can have a business on the Sunshine Coast and still be global. Our previous generation didn’t have that choice. I think the fact we are choosing our destiny both personally and in business is fantastic.

BLOKES ABOUT TOWN SPONSORED BY

Think Investment Realty call 07 5451 1080 www.thinkinvestmentrealty.com.au

The Venue...

THE CREEK TAVERN

PORK BELLY

The Creek Tavern has taken pub dining to a whole new level. Centrally-located on Karawatha Drive, Mountain Creek, the spacious, modern venue boasts a comprehensive four-page menu, with something to suit all tastes and appetites. With a new cosmopolitan setting, the comfortable dining area seats up to 140 people and is perfect for a business lunch, a catch up with friends or a great family-friendly night out, with face painting on Saturday nights and a large-screen TV to keep the kids entertained while you enjoy your meal. It really appeals to all ages.

The blokes about town and I were lucky to sample the vast menu at the Creek Tavern during our recent lunchtime visit and it didn’t disappoint.

Needless to say with such a wide choice on offer, it took some time to make our selections, with many of the delicious meals vying for our attention.

Opting for a lighter option, I decided on the Thai salad with salt and pepper prawns. Cooked to perfection, the crisp salad really hit the spot and was the perfect complement to the deliciously seasoned prawns.

Other popular choices included the Char Sui pork belly, beef curry and of course juicy steaks from the grill.

Serving sizes are more than generous, and judging from the clean plates around the table, everyone enjoyed their meal as much as I did.

The Creek Tavern really does offer so much more than your average pub. The top quality meals, coupled with personalised attentive service makes it stand out from the crowd. I know where we are heading for our next outing with the kids.

172 Karawatha Drive, Mountain Creek Phone: 5478 1333

PROFILE 54

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october 2015

BUSINESS

BUSINESS

POWER COUPLES

and how they avoid court This month, Mary McIver, a senior solicitor at Pippa Colman & Associates Solicitors writes about how we can approach separation like a “power couple” and avoid the expense of going to court.

P

ower couples often work together sharing ideas to improve their business and lifestyle, compromise and support each other’s interests and ambitions so that each person can shine doing what they do best.

Hollywood is full of “power couples” as is our local community.

Look at any successful family or small business and you will see a power couple working together towards common goals. Sometimes the stress and strain of being a power couple – high expectations, long working hours and financial stress of funding a certain lifestyle – can unravel the best and strongest of relationships.

A couple of months ago, we wrote about Binding Financial Agreements and how they can be put in place at the beginning or during a relationship which will enable a couple to separate with dignity and financial security.

Power couples often separate when the relationship stops working but before the relationship becomes toxic and destructive.

On separation, wealth acquired during the relationship has to be shared. If there are children, suitable living arrangements must be agreed upon that are in the best interest of the children.

Sometimes with power couples, one partner may feel they have created the wealth and should receive the majority share. This is not the case. Legal advice is key to understanding that financial and nonfinancial contributions by both parties are considered when negotiating a property settlement. This can be a difficult concept to grasp for some.

An imbalance of power within a relationship is the most common

factor which sees couples in court.

Once agreement has been reached, settlement can be finalised in a civilised, efficient and very cost effective manner by Consent Orders and/or a Binding Financial Agreement, with both parties avoiding having to go to court (and the expense) to settle their separation.

Consent Orders or Binding Financial Agreements are Family Law documents which record the agreement between you for property and can include agreement regarding arrangements for children.

Power couples often treat separation with the same forward planning and consideration of each other’s needs as any other business decision. They are often protective of their public image and can reach agreement without the expense and trauma of resorting to court proceedings.

To avoid court, both parties need to adopt a mature and reasonable attitude. They need to let go of trying to blame and the negativity it attracts. They need to focus on negotiating and mediating to reach the best outcome for everyone concerned, especially the children.

The money that can be saved by avoiding court can be better spent on you and starting your new life.

Sometimes the stress & strain of being a power couple – high expectations, long working hours and financial stress of funding a certain lifestyle – can unravel the best and strongest of relationships.

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For further details contact Pippa Colman & Associates Solicitors on 07 5458 9000 12/64 Sugar Road, Maroochydore Qld 4558 www.pippacolman.com

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real estate. inside

58 62

WILLIE CARNE

The legendary football player kicks real estate goals

REAL FACTS

Find out why now is the right time to buy property

IMAGE BY YORK & CO, NUNDAH FOR MORE INFORMATION CONTACT THINK INVESTMENT REALTY 07 5451 1080

PROPERTY / ADVICE / INVESTMENT / REAL FACTS

REAL ESTATE

WHOLE NEW BALL GAME WORDS NICOLE FUGE PHOTOS CHESTERTON SMITH PHOTOGRAPHY

Willie Carne is a legendary footballer, having played for the Brisbane Broncos, Queensland and Australia during what many describe as ‘the golden age of rugby league’. Regarded as a formidable player who possessed intimidating speed and agility, Willie now plays a whole new game – in the real estate arena.

W

ith the swift kick of the football, a six-year-old and barefoot Willie Carne fell in love with the game.

It was 1975 when Willie started playing football with his four brothers, because living one-and-ahalf hours from Roma, “there wasn’t much else to do!”

“I picked it up from my brothers, playing in the backyard at home, we were on a cattle property so there was plenty of room,” he says fondly. “I made some goal posts out of a couple of pine trees with a little rope in between so I could practice in the paddock, because the old man didn’t like me kicking around the house because I used to break a few windows.

“When I played up until Grade Seven/Under 12s we used to play barefoot and then we started wearing footy boots. But it was quite hard kicking with boots on compared to no boots and I ended up taking my shoe off to kick the goal, that was when I was 12.”

Willie loved the game and even as a child, knew he wanted to make a career of it. At the age of 13, he went to Ipswich Grammar School on a football scholarship until Grade 12, when he returned to Roma.

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“I was playing up to three games a weekend, playing Under 19, Reserve Grade and First Grade,” he says.

“When I was 18 they said, ‘The Broncos have their eye on you’.

That was my first year out of school. The next year they looked at me and liked what they saw … I was lucky enough to be picked up by the Broncos in 1989.”

The following year, Willie played in the Queensland Rugby League First Grade competition for the Broncos Colts Under 21 team on the Sunshine Coast, “we’d play against the Caloundra Sharks and Nambour Crushers as kids and that was our first year”.

“The Brisbane Colts hadn’t been around, this was the first time they’d done it, then we went from there to be graded – the next year I played for the Broncos.”

Willie, whose childhood hero was Wally Lewis, remembers his first training session with the Broncos vividly.

“At that first training session at Fulcher Road, Wally yelled out to me, ‘Mate can you throw me the ball?’ I still remember throwing him the footy, it was probably a 40m torpedo pass and I threw it as hard as I could

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REAL ESTATE

“When I was 18 they said, ‘The Broncos have their eye on you’. That was my first year out of school. The next year they looked at me and liked what they saw … I was lucky enough to be picked up by the Broncos in 1989.”

and he dropped it,” he says with a wide smile. “Those little things that happen with people who you look up to in life are so important.”

Willie made an impression early on in his career and played State of Origin in his first year.

“In my first State of Origin game, I played number five, Mal Meninga was number four and Wally was number six, so when you get in the dressing room they have your jerseys in order of lockers, number one through to 17 – Mal was there, little Willie was here and the King was there,” he says, gesturing.

The game was at the old Lang Park, in front of 33,000 people, which in those days included XXXX Hill.

“It is definitely the most defining thing I’ve done in my life,” he says of running out onto the field.

By the time he was 21 and in his second year, he was already representing Australia.

“Their first game was New Zealand vs. Australia down in Sydney,” he says. “They got an absolute hiding and I played the second game, we beat them 40 points to six. As a highlight from any person’s career, representing your country is definitely by far the most amazing thing you can ever do – wearing the green and gold.”

Willie played 10 tests for Australia and was instrumental in winning several NRL premierships, State of Origin clashes and the 1992 World Cup for the Kangaroos.

“I scored 10 tries when I played the World Cup final in Wembley in England, which was one of the biggest highlights of all the games I played, that was in front of about 90,000 people,” he says.

“It was ridiculous that three years earlier I was playing bush footy to almost score the winning try of a World Cup final series. I was just a quiet-spoken skinny little bush kid from Roma … it just goes to show anyone can do whatever they like.”

But when Willie was 25, he injured his ankle at training, chasing Steve Renouf.

“I still played through another three years but it’s amazing how much an injury can affect one’s performance, but I was lucky to even

october 2015

get that far, there are a lot of guys who don’t even get to finish school without chronic knee, shoulder and ankle injuries.”

In 1997, Willie retired from the game he loved so much, when he was just 28-years-old.

“I wish I wasn’t injured because when you’ve tried so hard and put so much into it and walk away from the game quite young,” he says, trailing off.

“I’m a bit of a perfectionist so when you can’t compete at the level you want, I found it quite hard to be able to do that. I had a meeting with Wayne (Bennett) and said I’m not playing the level of footy I should be because of my injury and I don’t want to let the team down.

“Looking back on it now I’m still shaking my head, it’s so hard getting to that level of football, even getting to play Reserve Grade now is hard work, so to get where I did I think I was pretty lucky.”

Even as a football player, Willie says he enjoyed real estate, buying a few investment properties and dabbling in various opportunities. So after retiring from the game, it made sense to forge a new career path.

He obtained his license in 2002 and spent five years working on developments in Brisbane before relocating to Noosa. Having seen the industry peak and trough, Willie predicts big things for Sunshine Coast real estate.

“When people start wanting to be somewhere greener and less populated, with the beaches close, anywhere on the Sunshine Coast has to get dearer,” he says.

“There are so many tightly held properties in the Noosa area that will never get sold, so it’s probably only 75 per cent of the market that will ever come to sale, there are third and fourth generation owners and they’ll never sell.

“The Sydney boom, the Melbourne boom and inner city Brisbane, there’s so much wealth there, once that translates up here, there’s only one way prices have to go, it has to go up.”

While it was hard to walk away from the game of football, Willie says he doesn’t miss playing. In fact until a few months ago he remained plagued with aches and pains, niggling reminders of his time on the field.

For years he had relied on anti inflammatories and fish oil tablets, but in May, Willie switched the meds for a lean food diet with no dairy, “all my aches and pains have gone away for the first time of my life”.

Willie has also dropped a few kilos and upped his exercise regime to the point he’s doing a mini triathlon every day, as well as gym training.

“Now I’ve got two young boys, they’re five and seven and they’re starting to enjoy sports,” he says. “My dad was a good role model for me … so it’s going to be a good time in the next 10 years, with the kids developing.”

Now aged 46, he loves spending his spare time with his sons, Wil and Jed, reaping the rewards of living on the Sunshine Coast.

“This is God’s country,” he beams, “Noosa Main Beach, to me, is one of the greatest things I’ve ever seen in my life, I’ve only been to Hawaii once and Waikiki is pretty famous but it’s nothing on Noosa”.

With his sons by his side, Willie slips off his shoes and steps onto the pristine white sand, he’s still kicking goals barefoot – but this time they’re goals of a different kind.

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Invest or live 23-27 Agnes street, Albion

WelCoMe to lAtitUDe. Nine storeys of contemporary architecture and slender lines, with a striking colour palette utilising deep charcoal, cool greys and a vivid white contrast. Each of the 52 boutique apartments continue the mood, softened by key accents of natural blonde timber tones. Luxurious appointments and forward-thinking design reinforce the ultimate in indoor/outdoor connectivity and lifestyle.

AreA Profile.

Residents of Latitude can indulge in nearby retail and entertainment precincts, featuring an array of popular eateries, cafĂŠs, pubs, parks, golf courses and sporting clubs.

And, thanks to multiple public transport and inter-connected road networks, residents will have easy access to Brisbane’s thriving inner-city precinct, nearby commercial and employment hubs, the airport and every corner of greater Brisbane and beyond.

Latitude.

the PerfeCt Position to invest.

for your free information pack CAll 07 5451 1080

eDUCAtion

1.5kms to St Margaret Anglican Girl’s School 1.5kms to TAFE SkillsTech College 2kms to Clayfield College 2kms to St Ritas College 2kms to C & K Ascot Kindergarten 2.5kms to Ascot Preschool 2.5kms to Hamilton State Primary School 4kms to Hendra State School 5kms to Queensland University of Technology - Gardens Point 5.5kms to Brisbane Grammar School 6kms to Brisbane University of Technology - Kelvin Grove

shoPPing & Dining

50m to Albion Park Entertainment Precinct

100m to the Breakfast Creek Hotel 150m to Breakfast Creek Wharf Dining 1km to Portside Wharf Retail & Dining 1km to Coles Ascot, Woolworths Hamilton and IGA 1km to Racecourse Retail & Dining Precinct 1.5kms to Eat Street Markets 1.7kms to Woolworths Newstead 1.8kms to Emporium Hotel & Retail 3kms to Centro Lutwyche 5kms to Brisbane Airport DFO 5kms to Queens Plaza & Queens Street Mall

MAjor heAlth Centres

2.5kms to the Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital 4kms to St Andrews Hospital 4kms to Brisbane Private Hospital 6km to Lady Cilento Children’s Hospital 6km to Mater Hospital

PArks & AMenities

50m to Albion Park Harness Racing 200m to Newstead Park 500m to Allan Border Cricket Oval 1km to Brothers Rugby Union Club 1km to Perry Park Soccer Field 2km to Oriel Park, Ascot 3km to Northshore Riverside Park 6km to Southbank Parklands

entertAinMent

50m to Albion Park Entertainment Precinct 300m to Newstead House 1km to Dendy Cinemas 2km to Eagle Farm Racecourse 2.5kms to Doomben Racecourse 3kms to Fortitude Valley Bars & Nightclubs 3kms to Chinatown 5kms to Brisbane CBD & Riverfront Dining 6kms to the Queensland Museum 6kms to the Queensland Performing Arts Centre 6kms to the Convention Centre

PUbliC trAnsPort

50m to Bus Stops to the CBD and Airport Walking distance to two CityCat terminals 1.3kms to Albion Rail Station

MAin ArteriAls

Located within 100m of an entrance point to Brisbane’s road and unnel network, including the Clem7, AirportLink and Legacy Way 150m from the riverwalk and cycleway providing direct connection to Brisbane’s CBD 5kms from the Gateway Bridge arterials proving access to the North and South Coasts

www.thinkinvestmentrealty.com.au

Well-loCAteD Albion is popular with high-income renters

By Terry ryder, director, hotspotting.com.au

A

Hotspotting report: ALBION

lbion is all about location: it’s just 7km north of the Brisbane CBD and less than 10km from Brisbane Airport and the Gateway Motorway, a major arterial road linking the Sunshine Coast, Brisbane and the Gold Coast.

It’s also handy to the Port of Brisbane and the Australia TradeCoast industrial precinct.

Brisbane Airport Corporation is spending $3.8 billion on infrastructure in the next 10 years while the Port of Brisbane, the nation’s third busiest port, is spending $150 million on improvements.

Businesses within the Australia TradeCoast region currently employ 60,000 and the region is forecast to employ 110,000 people by 2026.

Although Albion is an older suburb with plenty of character homes, it is undergoing a significant transformation, with higher-density dwellings making up almost 60% of total residences. The suburb is popular with renters who comprise 47% of households (compared to the Brisbane City average of 30% renters).

Those living in Albion are likely to be aged from 20–44, with 53% of residents in this age bracket. The median age of the Albion population is 33, four years below the Australian average.

A significant number of tertiary-educated people live in Albion – 30% of residents, which is 11 percentage points higher than the state average – and residents of Albion have a higher median income than Queensland and Australian averages.

Numerous private schools are congregated along Sandgate Road, the major arterial road running through Albion and north Brisbane.

St Rita’s College and Clayfield College are located at Clayfield, St Columban’s College is at Albion, St Margaret’s Anglican Girls Schools is at Ascot and St Joseph’s Nudgee College is at Nudgee.

Hospitals, the engineering sector and the hospitality industry are major employers, accounting for 5% each of the workforce. These are followed by the education (4%) and accounting (3%) sectors.

One of Albion’s icons is the Breakfast Creek Hotel, built in 1889 in French Renaissance style and now heritage-listed, though it still operates as a pub. There are numerous other entertainment precincts within a 5km radius of Albion, including the Albion Park Paceway, which hosts 150 race meetings each year. Portside Wharf, a cruise ship terminal, shopping and dining precinct with a cinema, is nearby at Hamilton.

The Brisbane Powerhouse – a 1920s power station converted into an arts and entertainment centre on the Brisbane River - attracts 700,000 visitors each year.

The median house price for Albion is $700,000. The long-term growth rate (the average annual rise in the median house price in the past 10 years) is 6.2% per year, higher than the Brisbane City average.

But apartments are a lot more affordable, with a median price of $427,000. The long-term growth rate is higher than that of houses – 6.8% per year, which is considerably higher than the Brisbane City average.

REAL ESTATE

“60 per cent of respondents agree NOW is a GOOD time to buy real estate.”

REAL FACTS Whether you’re looking to enter the real estate market or are already a seasoned home-buyer, it pays to know the trends and predictions within this often-fickle industry. Profile keeps you in the know for all things real estate.

ITʼS A GOOD TIME TO BUY

Most Australians believe now is a good time to buy property, according to a CoreLogic RP Data survey. The survey shows 60 per cent of respondents agree now is a good time to buy real estate. When asked if they thought foreign buyers were making it difficult for Australians to own their home, 73 per cent say “yes”.

The survey found 48 per cent expect home prices to rise over the next six months, while 45 per cent are tipping prices to rise during the next year.

HELPING FIRST HOME BUYERS BY INCREASING SUPPLY AND ENDING STAMP DUTY

Real Estate Institute of Queensland CEO Antonia Mercorella says housing affordability issues would be eased by releasing land to create a greater supply of housing stock, ending stamp duty and helping first home buyers improve financial literacy and use their own superannuation for a house deposit. Mrs Mercorella says while Queensland has not hit the critical levels of housing affordability, as seen in Sydney and Melbourne, pent-up demand will inevitably push up Queensland’s prices.

ABS data found the average home loan for a first-home buyer in Queensland was $302,000 and REIQ data revealed there are 25 suburbs in greater Brisbane with a median house price below $300,000.

RENTAL SECTOR FARING BETTER IN MOST OF THE STATE

Regional Queensland’s rental market is starting to improve while the south-east corner such as Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and Gold Coast are powering with healthy-to-tight market ratings.

The data sources have revealed good news for investors and for the broad property sector across these areas. REIQ has revealed data showing positive results for traditional mining towns, while heading up north has also seen an improvement with vacancy levels, as local real estate agents say the market is still stabilising.

BRISBANE FAST BECOMING A HOTSPOT FOR PROPERTY INVESTORS

Southern property investors have been looking to Queensland, as markets such as Sydney and Melbourne are growing too expensive. With the latest BIS Shrapnel report warning both Melbourne and Sydney house prices will start to decrease in 2016-2017 as the interest rates are starting to rise, Brisbane, the Sunshine Coast and the Gold Coast are becoming more desirable for investors. The city’s median house prices are expected to grow by 13 per cent over the next four years, with apartments rising by six per cent. The Brisbane apartment market has been hot for some time and it will be the only city where apartment prices will be stronger in 2018 than present.

Information source from www.thinkinvestmentrealty.com.au and www.reiq.com 62

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REAL ESTATE

tanya mungomery Integrity. Knowledge. Results.

Tanya Mungomery brings 20 years of client service experience to her role with McGrath and prides herself on exceeding clients’ expectations through her friendly and professional manner.

Dedicated to delivering exceptional results in a stress free manner with proven results, Tanya makes an excellent choice for the sale of your property offering six star service and advice delivered with integrity.

Tanya Mungomery Sales Agent M 0414 260 711 T 5450 8000 E tanyamungomery@mcgrath.com.au W mcgrath.com.au

REAL ESTATE MYTHS BUSTED Tanya Mungomery shares some common real estate myths and home truths.

YOU SHOULD MAKE AN OFFER BEFORE AUCTION – TRUE

A vendor can instruct their agent to alert them to offers. But don’t play games. A cooling-off period does not apply when the property is bought within three clear business days before a public auction, according to Consumer Affairs Queensland.

YOU CANNOT INTERRUPT THE AUCTION TO ASK QUESTIONS – FALSE

Anyone at an auction is entitled to ask a reasonable question at any time before the hammer falls, so long as they are not doing so to be a disruption to their rivals.

GET A FRIEND TO BID FOR YOU – TRUE

Eliminate emotion for a greater chance of success. Anyone can bid on a buyer’s behalf – a friend or a relative, or for a fee an agent from a different firm to the listing agency, or a buyers’ advocate and they can be trusted to stick to a prescribed limit.

IF YOU ARE THE SUCCESSFUL BIDDER YOU LEGALLY HAVE TO SIGN THE CONTRACT – FALSE

If you scratch your nose and accidently buy a house, you can do a runner. The auction system relies on trust and goodwill.

The sale is only binding once the contracts are signed. But if a buyer signs the contract and changes their mind before handing over the deposit, they can be sued. october 2015

BID LATE TO GAUGE YOUR COMPETITION – FALSE

If a buyer is doing this to give rival bidders a fright, it likely won’t work, experts say. It’s far scarier and better for momentum to bid with confidence. Strong bidding and decisiveness will leave rivals wondering just how deep their competitions’ pockets are, and is far more unsettling than waiting until the third and final call. Set the pace – don’t enter the fray at the last second.

THE HIGHEST OFFER WILL ALWAYS WIN THE KEYS – FALSE

In cases of private or off-market sales, a buyer who can settle quickly and has their affairs in order can be enough to tempt a vendor. Private sales in particular will have conditions set out in the contract, and it can come down to the right sort of buyer whose own conditions fit the bill, not just the right price. A cooling-off period, within three business days, exists for residential private sales, but not public auctions.

THE RESERVE HAS TO BE SET 24-48 HOURS BEFORE THE AUCTION – FALSE

A vendor will often set the reserve on the day of auction.

This is generally because if they tell their agent their reserve price during the campaign, then the agent cannot advertise the property below that price. Not wanting to be locked in, a vendor will keep the price possibility fluid until the 11th hour, if they wish.

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BRISBANE CBD 6KM

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• Open plan living and dining • Roof top alfresco area with BBQs and large screen TV • Secure car parking for all units

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Hotspotting Report: NUNDAH

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