From the Boardroom Spring edition

SPRING EDITION 2012

EAC’S New Headquarters Page 05

Compliance Matters National Licensing for Property Occupations Page 07

Technology Review The new red Square Unleashed Page 17

Follow us for daily industry news & updates

FTB SPRING Edition 2012 Index

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The Chairman’s View - Dale Whittaker

04

In the Pipeline - David Crombie

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Eye On The Industry - John Carson

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Compliance Matters - Geoff Hunter

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Around The Traps - Damien McDonald

09

Red Square - Damien McDonald

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realestateworld.com.au - Damien McDonald

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Advantages to EAC Membership - Ross Graham

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Technology Review - Don Harb

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EAC Classifieds - Damien McDonald

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The Form Guide - Maureen Faapito

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What’s New? - Maureen Faapito

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Staff Profile - Damien McDonald

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Member Profile - Damien McDonald

29

Welcome New Members

30

EAC Contact List

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EAC & realestateworld.com.au Account Managers

FTB SPRING Edition 2012

The Chairman’s View

The Market – What’s Happening Out There?

By Dale Whittaker, EAC Chairman

An area bucking this trend appears to be the lower end of the market with first home buyers and investors reasonably active in most areas.

In writing this article I have looked back on my predictions for 2012 which were published in this magazine at the start of the year.

So far it seems that, unfortunately, those predictions seem to be fairly accurate.

On a positive note, the RBA has dropped rates several times and we have just seen there will be another one at the October meeting. This continued downward trend can only help the market and the affordability of property everywhere, however other influencing factors have not been so kind.

Market confidence generally seems to have maintained a largely negative trend, primarily due to the continued instability of the Eurozone and its effects on the global economy and share markets. Let’s face it, having doom and gloom on the news every night with stories of further bailouts for Spain as well as Greece and share prices rising and falling daily, tends not to install a lot of confidence that many consumers need to “take the plunge” and take on a new large debt.

The other side of this is that there is generally a shortage of new properties being placed on the market as many people elect to stay where they are at the moment and play it safe.

On this basis I doubt that many areas of the state will see price growth over the latter half of the year, but hopefully this stock shortage we’ll keep a floor under house prices and we will not see falls either.

An area bucking this trend appears to be the lower end of the market with first home buyers and investors reasonably active in most areas.

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FTB SPRING Edition 2012

Rentals still appear to be the most positive area of our business going forward with continued, but slowing, growth in rents and definitely more buying activity from investors in most areas.

The surety of that extra cash flow for the office in these tight times is what many wise agents seem to be focussing on at the moment.

There is no doubt a pent up demand building in the market, people want to buy their first home or move into a better one and in many cases can already afford to, but that confidence is lacking. If we can see out this quiet period I am sure that some very good times lie ahead as that pent up demand is released in a flood of activity as soon as Europe can cure its woes.

Hang in there and EAC will hang in there with you, giving you the tools to make the most of whatever market we have to deal with.

In the Pipeline

What’s Happening at EAC

By David Crombie, EAC Chief Executive Officer

Welcome to another edition of From the Boardroom, our first edition coming to you fully online and from our new Head Office at Rosehill.

Things are pretty busy here at EAC, let me say that I am happy to get back to my normal role after the move and for anyone that has ever moved an organisation of 40 plus people after twenty five years you will know what I am talking about.

the Strata and Community Title laws and is seeking industry comment. While we have some members that operate in this area we won’t be putting a submission in this regard at this stage.

The move to new premises has been on the agenda for some time now and the main reason for the move was that the offices at Villawood just simply did not meet our needs anymore. We had over 2,500 sqm at Villawood and as a result of us outsourcing the printing of our publications and selling off all our presses more than half the space we had was unutilised.

The premises also did not present the organisation in its true light and we no longer wanted to be located in an industrial area.

NSW Fair Trading has also announced a new partnership with EAC to supply the fact sheets pertaining to Agency Agreements, Bidders Guides as well as New Tenant Checklists.

This partnership sees NSW Fair Trading ceasing to supply their real estate fact sheets in print form, and bulk copies can now be purchased through EAC.

The move provided us with the opportunity to change many things and things are very different at the “New EAC” as I describe it. As part of the move we have reviewed the way we were doing things and have implemented many new policies and procedures to streamline our operations, minimise costs and to provide a better level of service.

There is also change in the pipeline for the industry and I suggest some of the biggest changes we have seen for some time.

One of these changes is the proposed introduction of National Licencing and EAC has been involved in the consultative process since the beginning. The Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) for Property Occupations has been released for discussion and some of the suggested changes will have serious consequences for all real estate practitioners. We have held meetings with several other industry groups, NSW Fair Trading and NOLA representatives to express our concerns and will be holding seminars on National Licencing in the coming weeks to obtain further feedback from the industry prior to making our submission on the proposed changes.

The Minister for Fair Trading, Anthony Roberts, has announced consultation on proposed compulsory professional indemnity insurance for licensed property occupations. It is proposed from 1 January 2013, all licensees under the Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 be required to hold a minimum of $1 million professional indemnity insurance with a number of set policy inclusions.

EAC has provided feedback on this proposal in our meetings with NSW Fair Trading in the past twelve months and will be making a formal submission providing our feedback in early October.

If you have any feedback on either the National Licensing or introduction of compulsory professional indemnity insurance please call us or submit it to practicesupport@eac.com.au.

For those involved in Strata, NSW Fair Trading is also reviewing

There have also been some big changes to Red Square in the past few months, with more on the way. On June 30 we turned off the Red Square application, who would have thought that it was in the marketplace for some 13 years. In the end the underlying technology just became outdated and with the introduction of Red Square Web we now have a solid platform that we can build on for years to come. In September we released a major upgrade to Red Square Web and Mapping and we are about to release an upgrade to Red Square Mobile. The next month will see the addition of mobile websites for your office as a new product from our Web Services team.

For those that have been waiting for our new Listing Management feature, development of this module is now complete and is undergoing internal testing. The new Listing Management feature has been redeveloped from the ground up and when introduced will require us to make changes to the underlying systems and websites. The team is working through these changes as we speak and we are looking at a 4th quarter release date.

On the realestateworld.com.au front we have recently updated the logo to a cleaner and more modern look and feel and have updated the website and masthead on our publications. We have also recently produced some new TV and radio advertisements featuring Wendell Sailor which will be used in some regional areas. Traffic and the number of listings on the website continue to grow and October will see the release of a new realestateworld.com.au mobile website.

Work is also now well underway on the development of a new realestateworld.com.au website which will be released at this stage around the same time as the new Listing Management feature.

As you can hopefully gather from the above we are investing a lot of time and effort into our products and services and ensuring the interests of the industry, practitioners and members are protected. We can only do this with your support and feedback and as always, we welcome any feedback you might have to help us make our products and services and the industry we are part of better.

FTB SPRING Edition 2012

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Eye On The Industry New Head Office Premises

By John Carson, EAC Chief Operations Officer & Company Secretary

As previously reported to members, the Co-operative’s Head Office premises at 274 Miller Road, Villawood were sold on the 8th November, 2011.

The decision to sell followed a review of the Co-operative’s operations wherein the Board of Directors agreed that the Villawood premises no longer met the needs of the Cooperative. Also top of mind in making the decision was, due to the age and condition of the property, significant money would have had to be spent to upgrade the premises if the Cooperative was to continue to operate from Villawood.

The contract of sale included a 12 month “lease back” of the Villawood premises with a special condition that allowed EAC to “break” the lease on one month’s written notice should suitable alternative premises be found.

The Board’s stated preference was to find suitable premises to purchase within a defined central metropolitan location but also ensured the retention of personnel.

After an exhaustive search regrettably no suitable premises were found for purchase and the decision was made to lease premises until such time as suitable premises for purchase were found.

Following the review of a number of premises available for lease, it was resolved to lease premises at 2A/ 175 James Ruse Drive, Rosehill. These premises not only suited the Cooperative’s needs with some 770 sqm of office space but needed very little modification to layout thereby avoiding any significant cost in fit out.

The preparation for the relocation took just over four weeks with the CEO, David Crombie, and the Administration & Resources Manager, Maureen Faapito, taking up residence at Rosehill to carry out the preparatory work in readiness for the move – organising communications (telecommunications, internet cabling etc), utilities and other infrastructure needs. Their work in particular ensured a smooth transition to the new location with little, if any, disruption to EAC’s service to its valued members and customers. All other staff remained at Villawood packing in preparation for the move.

As you will see from the photographs, the Rosehill premises, apart from being in a better location than previous, also provides the Co-operative with a more professional image – one that members of the Co-operative can truly be proud of.

The Board of Directors, Management and staff look forward to continuing to meet the needs of its members and customers from its new Head Office location and thank you for your continued support.

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FTB SPRING Edition 2012

NOTICE TO MEMBERS

NOTICE OF ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING Notice is hereby given that the Annual General Meeting of Shareholders will be held at: Estate Agents Co-operative Ltd 2A/175 James Ruse Drive, ROSEHILL NSW 2142 On Wednesday 28 November, 2012 at 10.00AM. BUSINESS

• To confirm Minutes of the 2011 Annual General Meeting.

• To receive the report of the Board of Directors.

• To receive the financial statements for the year ended 30th June 2012 and the report of the Auditors thereon.

• To announce the appointment of Directors for the ensuing period and to fix their remuneration.

• To appoint the Co-operative’s Auditors for the ensuing year.

• Any other business – notice of which has been given in accordance with the rules.

Note: The financial statements and reports will be available for inspection at the registered office of the Co-operative seven days before the meeting and will appear on www.eac.com.au

BY ORDER OF THE BOARD

JOHN G CARSON COMPANY SECRETARY

Compliance Matters

National Licensing For Property Occupations

By Geoff Hunter, Industry Liaison and Compliance Advisor

EAC are currently preparing a submission which will strongly object to the proposals and seek alternative solutions.

Practitioners would be well aware that the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) has for some time been developing regulatory reform for a single national licence for real estate agents. Consultation with a wide range of stakeholders and representative industry bodies has taken place at both state and national levels coordinated by the COAG National Licensing Steering Committee.

All this activity culminated in the release of the Consultation Regulation Impact Statement (RIS). The content of this long awaited and highly anticipated document was both surprising and disappointing to say the least.

The RIS has, as a fundamental platform, the proposal to deregulate a huge proportion of real estate transactions on the basis that some State and Territories have inconsistent regulatory requirements for various component activities in real estate practice and that some appear to have no strong rationale for inclusion.

Practice areas proposed to be TOTALLY deregulated include:

• All Commercial activity including Industrial and Retail (sales, auctions, leasing and management) • All Livestock sales, purchase and auction • All Primary Production land (sales, auction, leasing and management). The recommendation is to abolish the existing Stock and Station Agents licence • All holiday and short term leasing up to 90 days

Other significant changes proposed include:

• Buyers Agents and On Site Residential Property Manager licenses to be merged with the Real Estate Agent licence • Abolish the Certificate of Registration requirement for Strata Managers representative • Abolish mandatory CPD

Licence categories to be retained are:

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• Real Estate Agent. This will be for residential transactions only and will include Buyers Agent and On Site Residential Property Manager • Business Agent • Strata Managing Agent • Auctioneer and • Certificate of Registration for employees, not Strata

FTB SPRING Edition 2012

So What Does All This Mean?

All transactions in the deregulated categories can be conducted by unqualified, unsupervised and unlicensed persons operating outside a regulatory environment. In essence NO Rules of Conduct, NO Trust Accounts, NO Audits and NO Consumer Protection. A major concern for Agents, Consumers and Regulators is the fact that property transactions worth billions of dollars nationally will be removed from the existing regulatory structure with commensurate massive impacts on agency practice and consumer protection.

The rationale behind this proposal is difficult if not impossible to understand and if implemented will change the face of agency practice, erode consumer confidence and fail to achieve the stated goals of the national licencing initiative.

EAC are currently preparing a submission which will strongly object to the proposals and seek alternative solutions. It is expected that all submissions will be considered by November and a final outcome known by December 2012. Members will be kept informed as developments occur.

Around The Traps

Finding the Best Way to Grow Your Property Management?

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

What is it that makes one business grow organically with seemingly no effort, but another similar business appears to struggle to attract any new managements?

Marketing Marketing is not always about glossy brochures, full pages in the local newspaper or even TV advertising. Marketing is the constant exposure of your business. Everything you send out from your office, as well as the presentation of your office and your staff, is actually ‘marketing’ your business and the service you provide.

From the vacancy list at the front of your office through to the cleaning guide provided to tenants when they vacate – every document; report; email; letter, must look professional and without spelling mistakes or grammatical errors.

Perception becomes the reality, so if the perception the public has of your business is not good, because of poor office/staff presentation or unprofessional documents, they won’t want to give you their investment property to manage. They will not believe you care enough about yourself to care enough about their property.

Social Media The world of real estate has changed incredibly over the past five years and there is no doubt whatsoever that it will continue to change even more. If your property management department hasn’t accepted that social media is now part of how we manage property, you need to consider what you need to do to meet the needs of today’s landlords and tenants – you need to, and fast!

Customer Service and Follow Up Everyone talks about the need to provide good customer service but sadly, not everyone does anything about it. The same applies to ‘follow up’, this is just as important as providing quality customer service. If there’s no follow up system in place, things can very quickly get out of hand and it doesn’t matter how good your service has been the landlord will be unhappy if the task hasn’t been completed.

make sure all emails, calls, and messages have been dealt with before the property manager leaves at the end of the day?

Perhaps an office with a client communication problem should have a strict office policy on how ‘communication’ is handled within that office. For example, phone calls to be returned the day received, messages to be dealt with the day received, email responses within 24 hours. Happy owners are those who receive quality communication and are kept informed – and happy owners won’t leave your agency!

Systems The ideal time to put systems in place is right at the beginning, this makes sure the growth of the rent roll will be handled efficiently and profitably. But it’s never too late to introduce or implement systems into your property management department – it will certainly be harder, but the benefits of having good, workable systems in place will far outweigh the time taken to develop them.

Landlords will be happier because tasks are being attended to more efficiently. Tenants will be happier because their requests or needs are being handled more quickly and again, more efficiently. Property Managers are always happier when there is a system to follow, as it makes the job much easier and business owners are generally much happier, as increased efficiency normally creates more profitability and better staff/ job ratios.

I absolutely believe that if we follow the above suggestions that I borrowed from a recent article I read, customer service will happen as a matter of course – all these things, if done properly, will help provide quality customer service, without even thinking about it, with the end result being a retention of customers and the best possible chance of growing your property management portfolio.

Communication The number one reason why landlord clients will leave any agency is a property manager’s poor communication, or a complete lack of communication. This is an absolute fact, as those who have been in the industry a while will agree.

However, sadly, it continues to happen and it simply should not. How hard is it to respond to emails, phone calls, messages, or any other form of communication used? How hard is to

FTB SPRING Edition 2012

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Red Square Property Information and Listing Management Training Options

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

• Stay in touch with the latest Red Square features and upgrades.

• Get the most

out of your Red Square by generating better reports and listing presentations with Red Square Neighbourhood Reports Current Market Analysis.

Simply contact EAC Membership Services on 1300 137 161 or email membership@eac.com.au with your preferred option and dates and we will do the rest.

• Avoid delays and ensure new office staff can quickly

3. FREE Starter Online Webinar Training Dates: New to Red Square and just want to make sure you have all the basics covered. Attend one of our Free 30 minute monthly online group training sessions that cover all the basic Red Square features. Explore searching, Property Information Data, Listing Management, Current Market Information, Neighbourhood Reports and Current Market Analysis reporting tools. All this and of course the industry leading Red Square Mapping features are all covered in our group webinar sessions. This option is perfect for an introduction for new staff as well as a broad overview for the rest of your office sale, property management and administration team.

and effectively utilise Red Square.

• Save time and learn to search directly and effectively from our maps. Perform multiple street, suburb, postcode or council searches as well as adding a new search to existing search results. Explore how to manage and professionally market your listings with Red Square Addlist.

The Estate Agents Co-operative offers a range of three Red Square training solutions to suit Principals, Sales, Property Management and Administration staff needs. Whether it is to explore the regular updates and features of the program, get one-on-one personal training in your office or online, ensure that your new office staff is brought up to speed as quickly as possible, or just to make sure you are getting the absolute most out of Red Square. One or more of our customised range of Red Square training solutions are definitely the way to go.

Training Options 1. In Office Training: Have our Red Square Trainer visit your office to ensure your team is completely up to speed on all of the features of Red Square. A recommended 4 hour interactive session in your office will answer all of your data and listing management questions through personal demonstrations at a speed you are comfortable with.

In Office Training Cost: $125 per hour GST Inclusive. Price on application for regional offices.

2. Interactive Online Training: For those offices that do not require an office visit and are comfortable using our interactive one-on-one ‘go to meeting’ training, a totally online interactive learning experience is waiting for you. Have our Red Square trainers ensure you and your team are familiar with all the essential tools available on Red Square to stay ahead of your competition at a pace that suits you.

Interactive Online Training Cost: $95 per hour GST Inclusive.

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How to Book Your Red Square In Office or Interactive Webinar Training

FTB SPRING Edition 2012

How to Book your FREE Red Square Starter Webinar You can register for our free webinar training by selecting any of the scheduled events by clicking here

SCAN QR CODE

eForms Your Online Real Estate Forms Solution available anywhere at anytime...

EAC eForms have been designed with the NSW real estate professional in mind!

• • • •

• • • •

The most comprehensive range of sales and property management forms available Additional fact sheets and supplementary forms at no additional cost Flexible cost saving annual contracts or simple pay per form payment options Legally backed and supported by the Estate Agents Co-operative with over 50 years experience in the Industry Search and reprint completed forms for up to 24 months Customise with your office logo and details Eliminate errors with automatic population of your details Unlimited technical support and advice

Try the latest up to date online forms solution that will assist in reducing costs whilst presenting your office as professional and compliant...

Call EAC on 1300 137 161 to learn how you can evaluate EAC eForms today.

realestateworld.com.au Wendell Sailor Ads His Weight Behind realestateworld.com.au

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

September saw the commencement of the 2012/2013 realestateworld.com.au marketing campaign, to further establish the brand as the leading publication and property website in the Illawarra region. This season’s campaign, I feel has taken the brand to the next level locally and will utilise a series of TV and Radio commercials as well as targeted ‘outdoor’ bus shelter advertising across the region.

Wendell Sailor has again been utilised across all promotional channels to capitalise on his popularity in the region. The 30 second TV commercials were filmed at Battery Park and Wollongong CBD in mid-August and starred Wendell with several staff members volunteering to appear from the MMJ office in Wollongong as extras. At the end of the day we managed to finish the commercials with several individual comedic endings that highlight the popularity of your publication as well as promoting the service available on the website.

The TV commercials commenced, with both the WIN and Prime networks, on peak programing spots from Thursday 6th September 2012. The new radio campaign commenced with i98 and Wave FM in the first week of September also featuring Wendell.

In October, a five month outdoor bus shelter campaign will also commence utilising high visibility sites throughout the Illawarra region to further reinforce the brands number 1 for real estate status

To view the current TV commercial click here

If you are not currently subscribing to realestateworld.com.au and would like more information on how you can join the spirit of co-operation, click here

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FTB SPRING Edition 2012

Advantages to EAC Membership

By Ross Graham, Sales Manager Membership Services

Most members say they joined to be a part of a group that has their interest at the heart of its purpose!

Why do we join clubs, groups or for that matter political parties? The answer is not as simple as the very cool uniform; it comes down to being with like-minded people who share your values. When you add your business and its profitability to your considerations, the benefits that accrue to membership figure greatly in your decision.

So why join EAC? It’s not the very cool uniform. Most members say they joined to be a part of a group that has their interest at the heart of its purpose! Everything EAC does is for the benefit of its members; that mission is part of the Co-operative’s charter.

So what are the advantages of being a part of the Co-operative? Here is a list of all the benefits that members can access and/or have entitlement to.

1. Y ou are a part of the EAC community and the Co-operative.

Indeed, you receive shares in it and you are entitled to participate through Board representation, in its direction.

Of course, there are also our social events such as the bowls and golf days. As a member you will receive various communications including these e-newsletters: a. From the Boardroom b. Industry News Together, these newsletters keep you well informed on EAC and industry matters.

2. You enjoy the membership pricing differential.

Most products and services provided by EAC are at least 10% less for members. The membership pricing differential delivers a significant cost advantage across a broad range of products and services frequently used in your business.

3.

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Access to the services of EAC preferred suppliers. a. 10% REA discount on most subscriptions b. Upload fee for REA waived for Red Square users c. Mitsubishi National Fleet discount

FTB SPRING Edition 2012

d. Insurance services in conjunction with OAMPS providing General, Professional Indemnity and many different types of Insurance. e.

Caltex Calcard - The Starcard is an account facility offered by Caltex and Ampol Service Stations across Australia, providing EAC Members with a discount off the pump price for petrol and diesel. f. iVisual Digital Displays – Members receive 10% discount on installation and monthly service fees g. National Tenancy Database (NTD) Saving of $33.00 off an annual subscription with NTD h.

1300 Real Estate Members receive 10% discount on monthly service fees. 1300 realestate provides your office with more leads utilising cutting edge phone technology.

4. Access to the Co-operatives real estate technology. a. Red Square Listing Management b. www.realestateworld.com.au 5. A ccess to the Co-operative’s Agency Practice and Support services.

Headed up by Geoff Hunter, the Agency Practice and Support services team provides guidance and advice on a wide range of subjects to members.

To find out more about the many benefits EAC membership provides visit www.eac.com.au or call membership services on 1300 137 161

SCAN QR CODE

Fast & Flexible Searching Why not start every property search directly from a map!

Access to the most advanced and interactive state wide mapping tools available for property professionals.

• See property details as you navigate around the map • Single or multiple unrestricted radius searches • View property boundary measurements and area size

Effortlessly source any information you need by performing multiple street, suburb, postcode or council searches as well as having the ability to add a new search to existing search results. You can even search directly from our mapping tool!

Red Square Map Search!

Are you interested yet?

For more info call EAC on 1300 137 161 or email us on membership@eac.com.au

EAC e-marketer PACKAGES The cost effective solution to your online presence. n ellers Join the conversatio ers and s buy Connect with

Build Your Brand Locally, Regionally and Nationally

For as little as $273 a month on a 24 month contract, your office can have access to the latest online tools to ensure maximum exposure of your brand to buyers and sellers alike.

WHAT YOU GET

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Latest in EAC Powered Premium Website packed with features including; • Home page • About us page • Staff profiles page • Contact us page • Feature Property on the homepage • Property quick search feature • Mortgage Calculator • Property email alert • Consumer Neighbourhood Report feature • 6 x online real estate forms • Automatic property upload • Website hosting • Email hosting • Search engine optimised (SEO) • Social Media enabled • Blog (mapped to your domain)

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All the Social Media Tools for connecting with buyers and sellers including; •

• • • • • • • • •

Your Listings uploaded to your social media pages Facebook company page setup Linked In company page setup Twitter account setup Google + account setup Google analytics account setup Google web profile setup Google Places setup You Tube Channel setup Office Blog setup

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A realestateworld.com.au Pro package and all of your listings uploaded to your website as well as most of the major real estate listing portals including;

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Meaningful Property Newsletters you can produce in less than 5 minutes that include; • • • • • • • • • • •

Full integration with your listings Unlimited campaigns Buyer and seller lead alerts via SMS Customised branded templates Featured properties OFI’s New rentals News content provided daily Campaign management tools Social Media integration Spam compliant

If purchased individually these features would total over $6,500. Avoid a big upfront payment with our 24 month cost effective plan from $273 a month.

Contact us today about our e-marketer package on 1300 137 161.

Technology Review Red Square Unleashed

By Don Harb, EAC IT Manager

The ability to use any computer anywhere at any time and have your settings and other information available to you is probably the biggest difference between the Red Square desktop version and the Red Square Web version Red Square Web has now been in the market place for over 2 years and recently replaced the application version that was first introduced to the Australian market in 2000.

With the implementation of Red Square Web, a number of enhancements and features that were never possible before are now a part of the Red Square Web system. Some of these features include:

• Access information anywhere at any time for any computer with your settings • Street View integration • Greater integration with the Red Square Mapping system The ability to use any computer anywhere at any time and have your settings and other information available to you is probably the biggest difference between the Red Square desktop version and the Red Square Web version and with the recent introduction of Red Square Mobile as long as you have a browser enabled computer, smartphone or tablet PC. Google Street View has been a part of the Red Square Web Mapping system since it was first launched. This was introduced to compliment the aerial/satellite imagery that forms part of the mapping system. In the recent upgrade to Red Square Web, Google Street View was incorporated into the NSW Sales Information. This means that any property that didn’t have a photo associated with it will automatically incorporate a Google Street View image into any report that has an image associated with the report. This feature does not remove the ability to upload an image to the property in question. By clicking the upload image button (this can be done by either clicking on the arrow next to the record or on the map image in the report on screen) you are able to upload an image of the property to replace the Google Street View. This is in real time so the image can be used immediately after uploading is complete.

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While these are some of the main features that Red Square Web introduced there are a number of little goodies that can make the system work that little bit better for you and your office.

One feature that is available on any of the search types is the ability to save and recall common searches that you may require. This can be especially useful when you may have a search that is performed at different times so that you do not have to rekey the information every time. The search parameters can be saved and then recalled at a later time.

With any data system, the information provided is only as good as the data being received and Red Square Web makes it easy to update the information and add photos in a couple of simple steps. Red Square Web lets you update information in real time for NSW Property Information. You are able to update Beds, Baths, Parking and the type of property it is from the any of the reports in the system. Once you hit update the new data is immediately available for use in any report or print out allowing you to provide a better client experience.

A feature that has been around since the inception of Red Square is the ability to export the information on the screen to a file. With Red Square Web this has become easier and is now in CSV (Comma Separated Values). This sort of file can be used with your own systems to provide the underlying information as well as to update your own database systems with the latest information. This can be done for listings, CMI and NSW Property Information searches.

There are many other features that are available for use that can make your experience of using Red Square Web more your own. In the coming editions we will delve further into specific sections and the little goodies that the development team have put together for you.

EAC Classifieds

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

You Can Now Order NSW Fair Trading Real Estate Fact Sheets through EAC The available publications are: before they Agency agreements – for the sale of residential property - This fact sheet must be given to vendors sign an agency agreement. rural properties.

Bidders guide - This fact sheet must be given to all bidders prior to an auction of residential or agreement.

New tenant checklist - This fact sheet must be given to all tenants at the time they sign a tenancy To order your copies click here

Get Mobile – Mobile Office Websites Pending Launch!

team has almost The development phase in preparation completed the testing new realestateworld. for the release of the well as our new com.au mobile site as . With millions of mobile office website e content through users accessing mobil lets, developing a smartphones and tab never been more mobile presence has for a release date and important. Stay tuned t will be sent to your how to order details tha office shortly.

Red Square Webinars - a Win ner with Real Estate professionals EAC’s free fortnightly Red Sq sessions, conducted by Pa uare webinar training t Royce, have reached a new level of popularity with NSW real estate professionals. Recent ses sion attendance, now averaging over 30 online attend the opportunity to make sure ees, who have taken they have all the basic operational and upgrade req uirements of the product well in hand.

“I joined the four presen tat yesterday morning. I though ions Pat Royce did t well presented, and I got a lot they were very good, out of it- thank you.” – Craig Johnstone, Valuer - Op teon “Very good webinar thank you , concise, informative, enjoyable and well worth the time invested.

I will certainly be doing the oth er 3 webinars.” – Adam Savage, Sales Consultant – Peter Fisher Property Group Visit our Red Square Training Page by Clicking Here.

EAC Empl oyment O The Membe pportunit Account M rship Services Sales y anager b team is

currently se ased at ou experience r e applicationd sales person looking Rosehill head Office king to employ a Tele . details click for that extr a challenge This role would be amarketer - Internal here. . To find ou t more abou perfect fit for an t the positio n and

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The Form Guide

By Maureen Faapito, Administration and Resources Manager

In September NSW Fair Trading announced a new partnership with EAC to supply the Agency agreements for the sale of residential property, Bidders Guide and New Tenant Checklist fact sheets.

This partnership sees NSW Fair Trading ceasing to supply these real estate fact sheets in print form and bulk copies in packs of 50 can now be purchased through EAC. NSW Fair Trading will however continue to provide online access to fact sheets for consumers to download and print from the NSW Fair Trading. The Factsheets are also available to download on eac.com.au and EAC eForms.

Below is our pricing for the Factsheets and if you normally order your forms from another supplier make sure you compare our prices prior to ordering.

Come in and visit us at 2A/175 James Ruse Drive, Rosehill NSW 2142 for your stationery needs. The new display includes: • Printed Residential, Commercial, Rural, Business and Retail Agency Agreements • NSW Fair Trading factsheets • Auction Bidders Paddles and Cards • Seinfork Display Stands • Corflute Signs, Signboard Stickers, Window Stickers and much more!

Order Online and Save!

EAC031 – Bidders Guide

From 1 October 2012 we will be reducing our delivery and handling fee for orders placed online from $15.00 to $13.00. The normal delivery and handling fee of $15.00 will still apply to orders received via fax or mail.

Member - $12.50 Non Member - $15.00

To visit the online store now and save, click here

Packs of 50

EAC032 – Agency Agreements Agency agreements for the sale of residential property Member - $25.00 Non Member - $30.00

EAC072 – New Tenant Checklist Member - $12.50 Non Member - $15.00

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Our new Stationery Store at our new offices at Rosehill

FTB SPRING Edition 2012

What’s New?

By Maureen Faapito, Administration and Resources Manager

We would like to welcome Nikki Ilovski our new receptionist Nikki brings a wealth of experience in her role to the organisation and team and it is good to have her onboard.

In additon to managing Reception and taking care of the incoming calls and the greeting of visitors, Nikki will also be assisting in the sale and distribution of our Real Estate Forms and Stationery and the day to day administration of the Co-operative.

For Members and customers that may of called since our move you may of noticed that we now have a virtual receptionist or auto attendant in place that allows you to select the area within EAC that you wish to talk to. Just so you are aware this function is only normally used when Nikki is away from her desk or after normal business hours as we still believe it is important from a service perspective to still have a person answering the phone when you call EAC.

Our new corporate look As part of the move to new office’s we have taken the opportunity to update our corporate image and this includes our letterhead, envelopes, business cards and business shirts.

The shirts form part of the new corporate culture we are trying to build on and are branded with both the EAC and realestateworld.com.au logos.

The shirts will be worn by all employees who come into contact with members and customers and several employees based in the office have even purchased shirts to wear out of their own pockets. In addition to making our people instantly recognisable when they come into your office, they also allow us to represent the Co-operative with a professional image when in public.

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Updating of our Address and Contact details Have you updated your records with our new address details?

It would appear as though some members and customers are still sending through mail using our old address details. This mail is currently being redirected but once this ends, it will probably end up back with you. The address details should be as below.

Our new office is located at: 2A/175 James Ruse Drive Rosehill NSW 2142 Our Postal Address is: P.O Box 9054 Harris Park NSW 2150 Our Telephone Number for all enquires is 1300 137 161 and our Fax Number is 1300 789 675.

If you have any questions in this regard please do not hesitate to contact us.

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CONTACT

Gain more customers and improve your client loyalty by utilising one of the Industry’s leading customer relationship management and marketing tools.

Marketing campaigns

Increase Sales

Reach your contacts

Grow your business

Generate more leads

Monitor leads

Keep in touch

CONTACT Red Square Contact is a web based customer relationship management application that can be accessed anywhere you need it. Personalised login screens with various access levels for sales reps and administrators. Integrated calendar and diary containing your daily tasks and events. Customised reporting with the ability to share action plans, contacts and buyer matching with our multi office environment feature, make Contact a premium office tool. It’s also totally compatible with Red Square.

Contact Database • • • • •

Easily add, sync or import contacts with Google or Outlook Auto- Capture and storage of enquiries from your website Unlimited client categories (Cashed up buyers, prospective landlords, investment buyers ) Client information & tracking features Attach open home or inspection feedback against each prospective buyer to easily prepare vendor reports

Customer Relationship Management • • • • • •

Bulk printing of vendor letters Campaign Manager (monitor effectiveness of your email marketing) Classify contacts according to level of interest.

Attach Action/Correspondence/Trail plans to clients Load all your letters into Contact (thank you for listing, congratulations, etc) Send SMS/Emails to all clients once off or in bulk

Communication • • • •

Generate Window Cards, Just Listed Flyers etc Send 1:1 or 1:Many (bulk) SMS and/or SMS messages to clients Match a prospective buyer against properties matching their requirements Match a listing against your list of prospective buyers

Office Administration/Financial • • • • • • • • • • •

Create login accounts for each staff member Conversion reports and tracking of staff performance Offsite backup tool Franchise/Corporate reporting Source of enquiry reports Advertising Manager Sales Trust & Bank Reconciliation Calculate agent and office commission reports Cash flow forecast reports Track advertising expenses Enhanced Duplicate checking tool for contacts

Call EAC on 1300 137 161 to find out how you can become a Contact powered agent today.

Staff Profile

Karen Sneyd - IT Client Liason

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager Smart, attractive, motivated, committed, team player and a budding landscaper. Now that I have grabbed your attention let me introduce you to the latest member of the Red Square Support team, Karen Sneyd.

Karen has been with EAC for just over one year and has become an integral part of Red Square Support.

Karen’s unassuming style can only be contrasted by her staunch commitment to service and problem solving. In addition to her many accolades Karen has been a recipient of the ‘EAC Employee of the Month’ award providing further acknowledgement of her service and commitment to our valued customers.

I recently took the opportunity to ask Karen some questions to give you a better insight into the ‘personality behind the phone’.

What were you doing job wise before working with EAC?

What sort of hobbies or activities do you like to participate in after work hours?

Before commencing work at EAC I was employed in the Macquarie Fields community with Work Ventures. I taught computer skills and was also involved in a variety of lifestyle courses, including cooking, the production of the Fields Cookbook, managing the day-to-day running of the centre and assisting visiting services including the legal team. I have also worked at Cumberland Newspapers as an operator in the Classifieds, Production and Electronic Ad Services departments, and as Production Manager to a team of graphic artists responsible for creating advertisements to deadline in the South West Sydney publications.

Outside of work I like to drop in to see friends and have a cuppa, go to the gym, spend time with my daughter, watch movies, do some gardening (in the process of a backyard blitz), and I also crochet.

What are your usual daily tasks as IT Client Liaison?

My role is mainly to assist clients and members with Red Square Web usage and associated technical issues over the phone.

In addition to this I may be called on to assist other EAC staff members, and set up new equipment.

Give an example, without naming names, of an interesting situation you have had to deal with on the phone since appointed to your position.

I don’t think I could name just one - every call is interesting in some way. I guess I just find people interesting. So, don’t be shy – if you have a question/problem, just pick up the phone and say ‘Hi’.

What motivates you to come to work every day?

I like to be busy, I like to help people… and I need to pay bills!

Also, I get in too much trouble if left to my own devices ;)

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What sort of music do you listen to?

I listen to lots of different music and have many radio stations set up on my stereo in the car, along with some CD’s – I love driving with music. I don’t like thrash metal though!

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

In 5 years I envision that I’ve completed an IT course at diploma level; that my daughter has finished her study and will be in a well payed job and we can afford to buy a place together (maybe!). Well, I can dream can’t I?

Member Profile

Will Soeterboek - Bevans Group

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager Each edition of From the Boardroom features a profile of an EAC Member to give you an idea of how they achieved success in their area. This edition features Will Soeterboek, co-owner of the Bevans group of offices and who is undisputedly one of the real estate industry’s ‘big players’ in the Illawarra region of NSW. Will has been an advocate of the Co-operative since 2007 and enjoys Platinum membership across the groups nine offices in addition to being a strong supporter of the realestateworld.com.au website and publication.

How did you first get started in the real estate industry?

How do you see the Co-operative helping the real estate industry?

My father Bill was a pioneer of real estate in the Illawarra and really built the Bevans brand in the 70’s and 80’s. At that time I was working in the film industry as an art director.

I think the Co-operative has a really good publication in realestateworld.com.au

Bill died in 1994 and a few years later I became involved with the group and started to work with some members of the group with marketing and increasing their presence, all around the time of the web being introduced. I remember lots of agents telling me at meetings that it was a waste of money and would never take off. Not so long ago.

Can you describe your most memorable recollection from your career?

I have had a lot of collaborative moments over the last 12 years. I have really enjoyed the past 6 years in partnership with Justin Sydenham in the Bevans Thirroul office. Together we have built a great culture there and I think we have pushed a few creative boundaries and made a great team. We are attracting really good people to our business and also choosing the demographic that we do business with. Not many cold calls, all relationship building and word of mouth referral.

So we can get to know you better, what are your personal interests or hobbies?

I have a partner, Juanita, who I can easily spend all of my time with, and two great children, one who works with me at the new Wollongong office. I also read a lot. I could spend a lot more time reading, but people demand your attention, don’t they?

The quality of the paper is something I looked forward to for ages, and something that the other local media could not provide. For a long time we have embraced great photography as the basis for our extensive marketing and the publication allows us to present with quality. People always comment on our full page ads.

How do you support the industry alternative, realestateworld.com.au?

All our properties are uploaded there. Our offices subscribe to the major web portals and our web budget exceeds our print spend.

Where do you see yourself and the Bevan’s group in 5 years?

I am in the process of expanding my business relationships with some really good people in the group, and I think them having equity is a great opportunity to look at some areas of our business, like holiday and commercial, also business broking, and really look at doing something different in those underserviced areas of the market. I would also like to grow the marketing side of our business. We are gathering new clients outside real estate and it is exciting to work with fresh clients.

Who would you rate as your biggest inspiration in your life?

Well, there are a lot. I really like the French writer Gilles Deleuze, Richard Branson, Tom Peters, Haruki Murakami, the blog unclutteredwhitespaces.com, created by a good colleague of our business Ben Rennie, my business coach David McCann has started to be more of a mentor now that we know each other well. The way we run our business tends to bring out the inspirational and the collaborative in people.

What do you see as the secret to the success of the Bevan’s Group?

One of the secrets to our success is that we try not to have secrets. We really like the idea of transparency in all our dealings and try to avoid the competitive culture that we see in many real estate businesses.

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Does your office website cut it these days?

Don’t put up with yesterday’s technology. EAC can provide a complete modern office website solution with all the bells and whistles for under $1000.

Call the real estate Industry website specialists on 1300 137 161 to find out more or visit our website by clicking here

Welcome New Members

Robert R Andrew Campsie Julie Hannon

Century 21 Combined Orange Andrew Voguer

Industrial Property Wetherill Park Philip Tacca

L J Hooker Dapto Daniel Lambert

Kanda Real Estate Stuarts Point Ken Pritchard

National Real Estate Guildford Joseph Kaltoum

DK Property Partners Cabramatta Dang Vo

Sue Edwards Real Estate Asquith Ken Edwards

Swansea Real Estate Vikki Auberson

Redbank Property Management Picton Tanya Bzadough

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FTB SPRING Edition 2012

EAC Contact List

Estate Agents Co-operative Ltd. Phone: 1300 137 161 ABN 52 079 055 637

Fax: 1300 789 675 274 Miller Road Email: innovations@eac.com.au Villawood NSW 2163

Membership Services

Email: membership@eac.com.au

realestateworld.com.au Publications

Email: publications@eac.com.au

Red Square & realestateworld.com.au Website Support

Email: redsquare@eac.com.au

Web Design & Development

Email: webservices@eac.com.au

Real Estate Forms & Stationery

Email: stationery@eac.com.au

Compliance & Practice Support

Email: practicesupport@eac.com.au

Training Services

Email: training@eac.com.au

www.eac.com.au www.realestateworld.com.au

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EAC & realestateworld.com.au Account Managers

For the information of EAC members and Subscribers we have included your EAC Account Manager’s contact details below.

MEMBERSHIP SALES Ross Graham 0427 741 956 rgraham@eac.com.au Sales Manager - Membership Services

Pat Royce 0425 257 485 proyce@eac.com.au

Victor Baptista 0434 155 886 vbaptista@eac.com.au

Ray Chippington 0425 267 596 rchippington@eac.com.au

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FTB SPRING Edition 2012

MEMBERSHIP SUPPORT Phyllis Devereaux 1300 137 161 pdevereaux@eac.com.au Sales Support Officer

Joanna Bartlett 1300 137 161 jbartlett@eac.com.au Sales Administration Officer

PUBLICATION SALES Malcolm Walsh 0425 332 151 mwalsh@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Illawarra

Jon Casey 0434 155 888 jcasey@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Northern Rivers

To confirm your sales representitive please contact EAC Membership Services on 1300 137 161 or email membership@eac.com.au

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Back in 1984, EAC started its own credit u nion called t he Estate Agent s Co-operativ e Credit Union .

EAC has now moved from its old Villawood premises to our new modern location in Rosehill.

Did you Know ? r 100 e v o d a h EAC In the 90’s vances d a h t i W . employees an now c C A E y g o in technol k load r o w e m a s cover the oyees. l p m e 6 3 with

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