realestateworld.com.au

Boardroom from the

5th edition

Keeping the Industry Informed

Member Profile Adam Martin page 11

Random Acts of Kindness page 17

The Chairman’s View

Smart Operators can Thrive in Troubled Times

By Dale Whittaker, EAC Chairman

T

he news from most regions seems to be that the market is continuing to maintain its momentum, and not just from the first home buyer end. The previously quiet second and third home buyer markets seem to have started to see some encouraging activity which will hopefully continue.

With a lot of positive news releases of late such as average house prices up, interest rates still on hold and unemployment not quite as bad as predicted so far, it would appear that the general public’s level of confidence in the future is improving. Couple this with a supply demand imbalance in most areas and hopefully some reasonable times may be ahead. Even the increased building activity is coming off a very low base and is unlikely to address this imbalance for some considerable time.

The key as always in these times is stock. Everyone is short of it and you need to make sure every listing opportunity is converted.

As we will soon be coming into spring, a traditionally strong listing time, may I suggest that it is a good time to look at your listing kits and your method of delivery, scripts, etc to ensure you are giving yourself the very best chance on every occasion.

EAC has some excellent products in this area with its CMA and Neighbourhood Reports that can ensure that you appear as professional in your market knowledge as any agent, a key area in gaining the clients confidence and something that most of your opposition won’t bother with.

Many people are blown away with the level and amount of information in these reports and the easily read graphs of market trends in your area certainly help in convincing clients to list at a much more realistic price.

As always, if you are not familiar with these products or maybe not confident on how to set them up, just call us on 1300 137 161 and we will get your Account Manager out to bring you up to speed straight away.

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FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

In the Pipeline

What’s going on behind the scenes at EAC?

By David Crombie, Chief Executive

S

o much has occurred since the last From the Boardroom and, as a result, the team at EAC have been very busy.

The last few months have seen Red Square 7 formally released with some 4000 users having now been upgraded to this new version.

This release introduced many enhancements and included the introduction of Current Market Information, a new version of Neighbourhood Reports and Street Maps. No sooner was the new version of the software out there and I was already planning the next round of enhancements.

The realestateworld.com.au web site continues to grow on all fronts with increases to unique visitors, page impressions, and subscriptions.The level of content has also increased over the past few months. We continue to update the site with new features and are working on a new, fresh design that will be released in the coming months.

Our realestateworld.com.au publications have remained stable with no real drop off in paginations. Some have actually grown in content due to increased support from the agents. This would appear to be against the trend that is being experienced by many other publishers. I think the quality, cost, your support and the fact that the realestateworld.com.au publications are purely real estate based are the differentiating factors.

The rollout of our online ad building system, AdBuilder, continues, providing those offices that use it with the flexibility to create and supply their ads electronically.

For those offices that produce their own publications or mini-mags, this solution combined with the very good prices we have access to through the printers who print our magazines, we can provide a very cost effective solution.

You would have noticed a new Stationery and Merchandise Order Form that came out at the beginning of July. If you need any stickers or marketing aids make sure you look at the extensive range of merchandise that is available at very competitive prices. As a result of increased demand we are also looking at the production of items such as personalised Sold stickers not only for your office but also for salespeople. We already produce these for many offices, so if you are interested let us know.

Continued next page..

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

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The training partnership with Think Real Estate is progressing well. I have spoken to many salespeople, property managers and principals who have attended courses and the feedback has been nothing short of excellent, with some commenting it has been the best training that they have ever attended. We can offer a wide range of training from Skills based, CPD, Certificate of Registration and even Licensing. We are already to go with the latest training requirements that were set by the Office of Fair Trading in May. Training is scheduled for many venues across the state but is also available via correspondence or can be tailored for, and delivered within, your office to suit your requirements. If you need training remember Think EAC Training and call 1300 818 874.

Geoff Hunter and the team have been out in the field performing many Compliance Reviews and I have to say that some of the findings have been a little disturbing. The cost of the Review and the peace of mind that it offers is nothing compared to the potential loss of commission and fines based on some of the issues that have been found. As a result of the success of this service and resulting feedback from the members we will be introducing several new services in this area in the coming months so watch out for the announcement.

Early July saw the launch of a real estate search feature to Google Maps in Australia. The new feature allows real estate agents, franchise groups and portals like realestateworld.com.au to upload their listings directly to Google Maps at no cost, making them more easily discoverable by the millions of Google Maps users in Australia. EAC was a Foundation Partner and I have been working with Google since June 2008 on this initiative, initially helping them develop the specification for Australia and then the testing of the upload function.

More and more people are starting their search for a new home online The latest research shows that 87% of Australian home buyers use the internet to research properties. Google themselves saw more than 35% growth in real estate-related searches from Jan/Feb 2008 to Jan/Feb 2009.

There has been much talk in the media and the blogs about the effect that Google will have on some of the large existing real estate portals - I think it is still too early to tell. Do they feel threatened? Yes! Should they? Possibly.

Why, Because Google “has� the potential to change the online real estate landscape in Australia. Stay tuned!

All listings in Red Square or on realestateworld.com.au are automatically uploaded to Google Maps at no additional cost.

I have also recently spent a considerable amount of time studying the emerging area of Social Media Marketing. I first came into contact with this area of marketing over two years ago and it is now quickly gaining traction. If you are not aware of what I am talking about it is the use of tools such as Twitter, LinkedIn, facebook and Blogs to name a few.

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FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

You will need to get your head around how to use these tools to promote you, your business and your listings pretty quickly. To make the job easier I have already begun putting together a package to help you do this and have been fine tuning it with a few agents before offering it as a service to EAC Members. If you are interested in finding out more about this emerging area, then just call me, email me or contact me on any of the social networking sites above.

There are many benefits of being an EAC Member and, in addition to access to many discounted goods and services, we continue to concentrate on delivering services you need and require in the day to day running of your business. We provide tangible services providing tangible benefits.

Real Estate, as you would appreciate, is a business that revolves around people and over the past few years to enhance the level of service provided (in times when many other similar organisations have been putting people off) we have invested heavily in putting people on the ground. This was done to ensure that you gain the maximum benefit from EAC and our products and services.

I have to say that it still amazes me when I visit offices and talk to principals that many are unaware of everything that is available to them in the way of goods and services through their association with EAC, and not necessarily just new products and/or services but those that have been available for a significant time.

I ask that, if you are not sure or would like some assistance with getting more out of our services such as Red Square, that you contact us and your area representative will come out to your office and take you through what you are interested in knowing about.

That is it for another update. As always we welcome any feedback you might have to help us make our products and services more beneficial to your office as, ultimately, we are about providing the best, most cost effective service to you and not attaining profit at the expense of the industry.

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

4

Eye on the Industry

By John Carson, Chief Operating Officer

Trust Account Audit Requirements – Documentation 2009

U

nder the Property Stock and Business Agents Act 2002, licensee’s records in relation to the handling of trust money must be audited by a person qualified to act as an auditor.

Up until now the Office of Fair Trading has mailed the required audit documentation (the Audit Report or Statutory Declaration) to licensees.

However, Audit documentation relating to the 2008/2009 financial year will not be mailed to licensees. The required documentation should be downloaded from the Fair Trading website.

You must submit an audit report to the Office of Fair Trading, if you received or held trust money during the financial year ending 30 June 2009 and are: • • •

a licensee a former licensee, or a personal representative of a licensee.

In most cases, it is the licensed corporation that receives and is responsible for trust funds. Therefore, in most cases, a trust account audit must be lodged by the licensed corporation. However, if an individual licensee receives and is responsible for trust money, then a trust account audit must be lodged by the individual licensee.

If a licensed corporation or an individual licensee has not held any trust money during 2008/09, then a statutory declaration must be lodged declaring this.

Every licensee, both corporations and individuals, must lodge either a trust account audit or a statutory declaration.

Completed audits and statutory declarations must be lodged with the Commissioner for Fair Trading no later than 30 September 2009. If a trust account audit is not lodged by the due date, a licensee is regarded as a disqualified person and their licence would not be renewed until such time as the audit was lodged.

Additionally, the failure to lodge an audit when required can result in the imposition of monetary penalties and/or prosecution action being taken by the Office of Fair Trading.

As stated above the required documentation is available online ONLY. Go to the Trust account audit requirements page to access audit and statutory declaration documentation as well as for information to assist in the preparation of audit reports.

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FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

New Legislation – FAIR WORK BILL On 1 July, 2009 there were changes to the Commonwealth Industrial Laws with the introduction of the Fair Work Act 2009. This Act effectively replaces the Workplace Relations Act 1996.

The changes introduced included: 1. New Government Body: The creation of a new government body called Fair Work Australia that incorporates such functions as varying awards, making National Wage Case decisions, approving enterprise agreements, mediating and the arbitration of unfair dismissals, mediating and the arbitration of industrial disputes.

2. Unfair dismissals: Changes to the federal legislation applying to unfair dismissal laws including – • the removal of the current exemption where employers with less than 100 employees were excluded from the unfair dismissal provisions; • the reintroduction of unfair dismissal laws for award covered employees with the exceptions being: - an employee employed by an employer with less than 15 employees will have to have been employed for 12 continuous months - an employee employed by an employer with more than 15 employees will have to have been employed for 6 continuous months.

There are other exceptions as to the unfair dismissal jurisdiction such as employees on fixed term contracts or fixed projects or employed on a seasonal basis, those dismissed for serious misconduct and casual employees to name a few.

3. Enterprise bargaining The process of making enterprise agreements has also changed and unions as a result have been given significant new powers regarding representation of employees during negotiations.

Also there is a new code of conduct introduced in the process of negotiations for agreements which is “Bargaining in Good Faith” which may mean access to the employer’s books.

4. Industrial action The issues regarding legal or illegal industrial action in general remains the same as the previous legislation and unless the industrial action has been voted on and endorsed by the employees and then verified

by Fair Work Australia it will be illegal 5. Union right of entry to employer’s premises Unions have the right to enter the premises of an employer if the union has the right to represent the employees of the employer.

Conditions apply relating to the right of entry such as the union official holding a valid right of entry permit, giving at least 24 hours notice to the employer, entering during working hours, complying with any reasonable requests from the employer such as where meetings with employees may be held or attending to OHS in that workplace.

EAC’s HR Consultancy, Solutions For The Workplace, has created an Employment Manual that is available on CD that covers all aspects of the new legislation including: • The Legal Framework; • Recruitment and Selection; • Employment - Job description - Employment applications - Candidate interviews - Employment contracts - Pro formas including, letters of offer, terms of employment, payroll set up forms, termination; • Ending of Employment - Warning and dismissal procedures, notice periods • Employment Policy Handbook.

For information on obtaining a copy of the Employment Manual contact: John Tamplin - 0417 552 801 or Maria Loutsopoulos – 0416 047 943 and mention EAC.

Continued next page..

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

6

Creative Circle

By Damien McDonald, Sales & Marketing Manager

I

probably don’t have to convince anyone that as a business today you have to be online; the question is more likely what you should do, and how much of it. There are hundreds, and hundreds of people online giving you all different advice, which in some way makes it harder, rather than easier to determine what you should do.

Just a reminder why you should do this….

Most of all, your competitors may do it badly - I can almost guarantee that some of your competitors don’t do half of the things they could be doing online. The vast majority of businesses still see marketing (and therefore their website) as a “set and forget” kind of thing. There’s an immediate opportunity. Look at your competitors and see what they do poorly.

Top things to do Invest time in content - the more you’ve thought about your niche, and how you position yourself away from others, the better. This means that you can use SPECIFIC key words in your content and page titles that will help people understand your differentiation, and search engines find you. Make sure people can find the information they may be looking for FAST. Don’t be gimmicky; people are in a hurry.

Invest money in design - create an online presence that makes you look bigger than you are, as it is a window to you and your brand. If you do have some money to spend, spend it with someone who can help you with design such as the team at EAC web services. Why would you go through all the effort to get someone to your site, to present them with an image of you that is less than professional?

Make a blog a key page of your site, so you have your own media outlet. It is STILL a way to give your prospects and customers value that they may not get from your competitors.

Get active in social media - If your office is focused on B2B for promotion of commercial properties make sure you are on LinkedIn. Networking is the lifeblood of most B2B marketing. If then you have to invest time in continuously building your network online. A LinkedIn account with two contacts is useless. A LinkedIn account with 50 or 100 is starting to get pretty powerful.

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FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

Start a Twitter account and use it wisely; contrary to popular belief, your customers won’t really care if you’re stuck in an airport, you’ve just divorced or if you’re playing with your kids. What you DO want to do is use it to follow your customers, (if you can), post links back to your blog, or to other sites your customers might be interested in. Use it to promote a premium property or local market statistical information, only to your web followers. Your facebook page can be automatically updated with your Twitter updates too.

Experiment with Google pay per click advertising, BUT spend the time researching the best possible keywords, the same keywords you have used right throughout your website content. Be as local and specific as you can, and use the phrases that describe your specific niche and your local market as much as you can.

It’s going to take time -Whatever you do, online or off, and as the saying goes, the best time to start is yesterday, but today is the second best option. So, what are you waiting for?

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

8

Making Your Presence......

Part 2

By Don Harb, IT Manager

Over the years of working for EAC and in the I.T. industry, I have received many questions about the role of technology in business and how it can be used to improve turn over. One of the most common questions is ‘How can I make my web presence more effective?’ or more to the point ‘How can I get to the top of Google?’ In relation to second question, the answer is ‘How much are you willing to spend?’

I

n my last article I focused on the first question in the paragraph above, but with the influence that Search Engine Marketing, or SEM, is now having on the experience and habits of consumers and how they find your site, I thought I would touch on some ways to get better ‘Bang for your Buck’ and the tools that can be used to monitor and improve this. I will be trying to answer the second question while giving some tips on how to make sure that you don’t have to spend money that you don’t need to. So let’s get into this.

The first question is ‘What is SEM?’ In a nutshell, it is paying for adverting position on search engines. Within SEM there are a number of pricing structures. Some of these that you may have heard of are: •

•

•

•

Cost Per Click (CPC) – This is the most basic method of pricing. It means that every time someone clicks on your ad, it will cost you the amount that you have put as the spend amount against that ad.

Cost Per Impression (CPI) – This is another method that is widely used. This means that you will be charged the spend amount every time that your ad is shown.

Cost Per Lead (CPL) – This method is not widely used by many advertising providers as it is very hard to manage and maintain. It also requires some form of registration and not all users are happy to do that. This is, when you receive a lead, you must pay the spend amount.

Cost Per Sale (CPS) – Similar to CPL but this is actually paid upon a sale.

Once again, very difficult to manage and maintain.

Due to some of the limitations and issues with the last two options, most SEM is based around CPC and CPI. In the case of this article, we will focus on the Google version of this called ‘Adwords’. Adwords is focused around the Cost per Click model. You will notice on the Google search engine, when you do a search, the sponsored links come up on the right hand side of the results as well as, in some cases, highlighted in yellow at the top of the results. These are paid for advertising.

Where the link comes up in the sponsored section is determined by how much is bid on that particular search term.

This type of marketing can be very effective as you can customise your Adwords campaign to meet the needs of your particular needs. Every office is different so Adwords gives you the flexibility to create a campaign entirely customised to your offices needs. Here are some things to consider before you look at implementing an SEM campaign:

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FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

1)

2)

How much are you willing to spend per day? – The Adwords version of SEM allows you to choose a daily limit of spend. This allows you to budget for it accordingly as you will have no additional or hidden costs to this type of marketing, as well as giving you the ability to decide how much you can afford without breaking the budget. Once you have reached your daily limit, you listing will no longer come up in the sponsored links.

Who do you want to market to? – You are spending money on marketing, you must decide who you want to focus your marketing on and what you want to achieve out of this type of marketing.

Realistically this type of marketing is pointing back to your website, but what part of your website is entirely up to you although it should be relevant to your search terms.

3) Keywords (Search Terms) – This is a term that most people have heard before but with SEM it means something a little different to your normal Keywords that you use on your website. In SEM, Keywords are the search terms that you are willing to bid on. These can range from broad/general/ common terms such as “Real Estate NSW” to more specific terms such as “Real Estate Albion Park”. Like any Auction the more you are willing to Bid on that particular term the higher up the list of Sponsored Links you will be, but also like an auction, the more the search term is likely to be used by consumers the more it will cost for you to be higher in the list. This is then also influenced by the information on your site. The Keywords need to be relevant to your web site information or your ‘Quality Score’ will not be as good for your SEM campaign. (I will go into Quality Score in more detail in my next article.)

Once you have studied the three points above, you need to then determine how much you are willing to spend out of your daily budget on each search term. Once again, take into account the second and third points as this will help you ascertain which search terms are most important to you and help you determine which ones you are willing to spend more of your budget on.

Like any marketing, it is not simply a “set and forget” campaign. Any type of SEM requires constant review as your needs and the market place changes to make sure that you are getting the most from your investment. We at EAC have been using SEM on both eac.com.au and realestateworld.com.au for a number of years with great success. Although our campaigns would be a little different to an office’s campaign due to the different information that we are providing to the consumer, we have seen great results over this time from using Adwords. We are constantly looking at the campaigns that we are running and trying to determine any changes, updates or tweaks that we may need to make.

Combined with the tips and tricks from my previous article, you can create an experience for the user where you can easily and readily provide them with information that they are in search of while being able to easily find you as well. Remember when you are selling yourself online, you are selling to a much larger audience with many different needs. Using these tips effectively can allow you to promote almost anyone that you or your services are relevant to.

In my next article I will introduce tools that are out there to allow you to monitor your campaigns and that can also guide you in what information is relevant to what you are trying to achieve through your use of SEM.

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

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EAC Membership Profile Adam Martin MMJ Real Estate Windang

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ach edition of From the Boardroom features a profile of an EAC Member to give you an idea of how they have achieved success in their areas.

This editions focus will be on Adam Martin who manages the highly successful MMJ Real Estate in Windang in the Illawarra who has been a member of EAC since July 1995.

Q: What is your real estate background?

A:

Real Estate has been embedded in me since I can remember. Having a father (Joe Martin) who lives and breathes the industry certainly has its perks. I can still recall his renowned negotiations and his questions thereafter seeing if I had picked up on how he handled the deal. He’s a grand man my father and his knowledge of

the industry is an invaluable asset.

Q: What is the secret to success for MMJ Windang?

A:

The secrets to the success of Windang to date has been none other than hard work, integrity, empathy, enthusiasm, longevity and great people working in the business.

At times it has been tough, but we’ve always managed to ascertain quickly who was working with us and who was against us. We have had to evolve quickly with the changing times and we feel we have cemented the formula to continuous growth and we understand the immense opportunities that remain. We have a young team with a couple of “very experienced (NOT OLD) wise heads” all headed in the same

exciting direction.

Q: How has being a member of the Co operative helped your business?

A:

Our firm has been an active member of the Co-Op for some 25 years. While we can reminisce of great times in the past, we acknowledge the constant phenomenon known as “change” and how that change has brought new ways of carrying on business.

The Co-op has always been at the forefront of change aligning itself to the new present technologies, keeping its members well abreast of the best systems available for the benefit of our clients & customers.

Q: In your opinion, what’s the best feature of Red Square?

A: Very hard to distinguish a best feature. It’s a great system, right up there with the best of them. Current data information is a favourite.

Q: How do you support the Industry solution realestateworld.com.au?

A:

Indeed a great implementation ensures data is fresh & up to the minute, particularly in our individual working localities.

Needless to say, being “OUR VERY OWN” property website, it requires full member support for continuity & growth – in return we get lower operational costs & data ownership. We need its expansion. We support it with all our stock.

Q: Where do you see yourself and MMJ Windang in 5 years?

A:

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One thing is for sure, I can assure you I will still be getting my backside kicked by my team. We are all very dynamic and there are a lot of goals we will implement over the course of the next 5 years. Oak Flats will be properly established at that time and further growth is certain. We are all grounded but at the same time ecstatic with the opportunity of moving forward. It’s great to be a part of something that means so much to all of the people involved. We are also blessed everyday by having the opportunity to work with and for the greatest people in the world – OUR CLIENTS!

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

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ESTATE AGENTS CO-OPERATIVE Current Market Information With EAC Red Square Current Market Information you can stay one step ahead of your competition.

With the ability to equip yourself with the knowledge of what’s currently on the market, just sold and recently withdrawn from sale information, you can have a complete overview of any properties sales or rental history at your finger tips.

Benefits Include: Identify listing Opportunities Track shifts in list prices daily Quantify your vendors expectations Merge data directly into Neighbourhood Reports in seconds

RED SQUARE 1300 137 161

Identify listing hot spots Compare your listing prices with current market selling prices Ability to customise and save your search criteria as well as sort results to suit your individual needs.

Current Market information is fully integrated with Red Square’s unique and comprehensive reporting facilities and is the most accurate prospecting and marketing tool for the modern real estate professional.

EAC Red Square Current Market Information helps you to Sell and Rent properties FASTER! Call your local EAC Red Square representative on 1300 137 161 for a free 7 day trial of the most economical prospecting and marketing tool available to the NSW real estate industry today.

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

Meet the Board Peter Carmont Profile

P

eter Carmont is the Principal and Director of Professionals Ballina and is the recently appointed Vice Chairman of EAC.

Peter purchased his office in January 1992 which looking back was probably a bold move for a 27 year old that had never been in the Real Estate Industry. My background was Surveying and Accounting. It turned out to be a great move as the office has been very successful regularly gaining awards within the Professionals Real Estate Group.

Peter has been a member of EAC since 1992 and was the local zone chairman before joining the board of EAC over 12 years ago. “EAC has been tremendous for our zone as multilisting was very strong initially and whilst the concept may have waned over time the relationships between agents is very good which makes for a better working environment.”

Peter’s office has been the No1 Professionals Office in NSW on 2 occasions which he stated is a great honour and a reflection of the calibre of staff in his office. “On a personal note I have received several silver awards as runner up in sales categories but have never got my hand on the Gold Logie”.

Peter has a busy life with 5 children between the ages of 6 and 15 which means most weekends are taken up with their sport or his open houses. Peter lives opposite the beach so his family goes surfing quite often with the boys now really getting into it. Peter took up soccer 3 years ago which has been great for the physiotherapists in Ballina as they try to repair his torn muscles. “I am an avid follower of the mighty St George Dragons and after some 30 years without a premiership I think this might be our year”.

“EAC membership is a core part of our business as the range of services EAC can offer agents is outstanding and comes at a far less cost than competitors within the industry can offer. We have the EAC Gold Membership package and I find it hard to believe any agent could get a better range of services and support at the price EAC can offer.”

“Our zone introduced the realestateworld.com.au magazine some 15 months ago and it has been an outstanding success. It is clearly the No 1 real estate guide in our area and has resulted in significant cost savings for agents and provided us with a superior quality production”

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

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EAC Staff Profile Sandy Eime Red Square Support Administrator

By Damien McDonald, Sales & Marketing Manager

M

ost users of Red Square would be familiar with Sandy as she has been the voice behind the Red Square Support 1300 number for the past 12 months and the first point of contact for customers calling in with a query relating to the product.

Sandy has been an integral team member with EAC for the past 20 years I thought I would ask her some revealing questions to give you all a better insight to “The voice behind the phone”.

Q: A:

Before working at EAC, what were you doing job wise?

EAC has provided me with the first real job experience. Prior to this I was simply trying to find my niche in the workplace and delved into some administration and accounting work. I joined EAC in 1989 to work in the Realtor Department as a desktop publisher. It was an exciting prospect as I was going to learn something new. I left in 1994 to start a family and rejoined in 1997 to work again for Realtor on a part time basis. Currently working for the IT department full time. You could say, by now, I have become part of the furniture.

Q: A:

What are your usual daily tasks in Red Square Support?

I am the first point of contact for customers who call our support line and as a result my job requires me to listen to our customers, establish their needs and provide them with the appropriate help or put them in contact with the appropriate person to assist them. I am also the co-ordinator for Red Square Training in Sydney and Wollongong and I look after Red Square Support Administration. A good phone manner, great customer service and following through on requests are paramount to me.

Q:

A:

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

I have been in this position for one year and apart from our treasured customers with their normal requests I have had to deal with people who were interested in dispute resolution, people chasing Bond money and on occasions I have had requests to clear up blocked drains. None of which is remotely linked to the work I do.

Q: What motivates you to come to work everyday?

A: I guess the alternative motivates me to come to work everyday. In all seriousness I like the company I work for because they are a great bunch of people. EAC is a family conscious company and management is always accessible. The morale, health and well being of employees are an important part of the ethos of EAC. Q: A:

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

I would love to indulge in some ‘me time’ after work but alas it remains on the wish list due to the demands of being a mum and running a household. If I can fit in a daily walk and an occasional movie I am happy. Whilst it is a luxury, I do enjoy travelling to exotic locations and indulging in degustation fine dining.

Q: What sort of music do you listen to?

A: The music varies depending on the mood I’m in. I appreciate most genres from pop, rock, jazz, blues and as of recently I am developing a taste for classical.

Q: Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

A: Five years from now, hmmm, your guess is as good as mine. If history has anything to say I will still be here, learning and growing along with the company.

15

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

RED

SQUARE

RED

SQUARE

RED SQUARE –Powerful Real Estate Marketing Solutions

EAC Red Square provides cost effective real estate industry solutions for marketing and NSW property data information across NSW. With our latest version, Red Square 7, we’ve added some exciting new features and fully integrated it with the Neighbourhood Reports suite – creating by far the most powerful desktop solution for real estate professionals on the market EAC Red Square empowers real estate’s top professionals with industry leading marketing and data solutions!

Solutions For Your Office Sales Team State – wide data and mapping Current market listing sales information Ability to customise reports Software allows the combination of listings, sales data and current market information into market analysis reports Property Managers Customise rental lists and window cards Current market rental information comparisons Map rental locations for your rental lists Property Valuation Search by lot and plan number Ability to customise reports to suit your needs Add searches to saved searches Export data reports to XL spreadsheets Our company has found that Red Square not only provides us with the latest information on property searches but also allows us to customize our sales reports, marketing material and up-loads and manages our listings all from one place. Its ease and flexibility of use has given it an ever increasing role within our daily office work.

Iris Leong Director Licensee Amsure Realty

ESTATE AGENTS CO-OPERATIVE

“As Newcastle’s largest independently owned and operated valuer firm, our analysts insist on data accuracy. user friendliness in a property data solution and mapping facility are also required to meet the needs of our clients. Thats why we have been subscribers to Red Square since 2001. Red Square has the flexibilty to search by lot and plan numbers as well as being able to customise, import and save reports for future use is important to out business Michelle Martin and is the reason Operations Manager why we use Red Duponts Square”

To find out how your office can take advantage of the most accurate and up to date property data solution, call Red Square on 1300 137 161 to arrange a FREE demonstration.

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

Random Acts of Kindness

Above and Beyond the Call of Mateship

M

ateship is a highly prized ideal in this country.

Yet few are privileged enough to know just how powerful it can be.

Several mates from Martin Morris & Jones Real Estate embody the idea of mateship in its purest form.

They rallied around their mate Warren Hayes, whose life was changed in an unimaginably tragic way 12 years ago – and they haven’t left his side since.

Late last year Phillip Jones, Daniel Hastings, Michael Croghan, Geoffrey Jones, Alan Chaffers (EAC Illawarra Board member), Robert Aubin and Matthew Morgan were honoured with the 2008 Pride of Australia Medal for Mateship, which is awarded to an Australian or group of Australians who have demonstrated loyalty and goodwill to others, pulling together to achieve a common good, especially when times are tough.

Unexpectedly, the group of friends were again recognised for their friendship and dedication by the new Channel Nine program, Random Acts of Kindness.

The program rewards Australia’s unsung heroes for their generosity and helps make their dreams come true.

Warren’s mates were included in a segment in which his wife, Tania, was recognised for her devotion.

The couple’s story has received much media coverage over the years as a testament to the power of love.

Warren was just 29 when he was diagnosed with a life-threatening brain tumour.

Tania, his fiancée at the time, was only 22.

He repeatedly defied experts by clinging to life. He spent 446 days in hospital, underwent 20 operations and endured infected brain shunts, fungal and bacterial meningitis, golden staph, pneumonia, a deep vein thrombosis blood clot and spasmodic breathing. Tania was told that he might never breathe on his own again.

After repeated setbacks Warren’s condition finally stabilised. Unfortunately, after only a short time in a rehabilitation hospital, specialists deemed his progress unacceptably slow and advised that he should be sent to a nursing home.

Tania refused to give up, so at the age of 24 she took on the enormous responsibility of becoming his full-time carer.

Before he fell ill Warren had been working as an estate agent at MMJ Wollongong.

News of his illness devastated the firm and they rallied behind him immediately.

In Tania’s nomination for the Pride of Australia Medal for Mateship, she wrote that during the 16 months that Warren was hospitalised, not one day passed where there wasn’t a visit, phone call or card from his MMJ mates, encouraging him to fight.

17

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

The firm paid him extra entitlements and when Warren was released from hospital they helped find an appropriate home for them, as well as making sure Warren and Tania had everything they needed for a fresh start.

Warren’s mates set up a roster where five days a week they took turns to help with his physical rehabilitation, trying to teach his body how to walk again.

Twelve years later, they still go to Warren’s house at 5pm each evening.

They do the hard physical work, and then they relax and talk about the latest goings on in the real estate market over a cold beer.

Their devotion to their friend was rewarded by Random Acts of Kindness.

They were enjoying a barbecue on the back deck of Warren and Tania’s home with Warren’s family to celebrate their achievement of winning the Pride of Australia Medal for Mateship.

All apart from Warren’s father and mate Tim (who were in on the secret) were caught unaware by Karl Stefanovic and the crew. There were several significant surprises for Tania, Warren and their young son Josh, but Warren’s MMJ mates were equally spoiled.

They were treated to the day of a lifetime when they – and fellow mates Brendan Carr and Tim Jones - were taken to the Members Stand of the Sydney Cricket Ground.

There, they were introduced to the NSW Sheffield Shield Team and told to suit up in cricket outfits, ready to play against them.

Director/sales consultant from MMJ Dapto, Alan Chaffers, said the group of mates were shocked by Warren’s diagnosis and devastated that the surgery didn’t end with the desired result.

“We were all devastated when we received the bad news after that first surgery. ”I’ll never forget telling him the day before that he’d be alright in the morning, and he wasn’t.

Alan said the Random Acts of Kindness surprise was incredible. “It was such a huge surprise and such a privilege, as we’re all a bit cricket-mad. “To play a game of cricket against the Blues at the SCG... it was just amazing.

Alan said that despite Warren’s ordeal, he hadn’t lost his dry sense of humour.

“He’s always been great company and still is. I’ll be heading around there again at 5pm today.”

PICTURE: (Back row from left) Michael Grogan, Rob Aubin, Geoff Jones, Matthew Morgan, Sarah Murdoch (guest medal presenter), Alan Chaffers, Phil Jones. (Front), Warren Hayes and Daniel Hastings.

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

18

Holiday & Short Term Rent Rolls

By Rick Wraight

M

any real estate offices have, at their finger tips, an untapped commercial opportunity lying dormant in their office.

Given the downturn in sales income over the past 3 years agents are continually looking at how to just cover costs and retain existing key staff …little have they realised they have an opportunity already within their offices that will cost little to set up and yet one that will reap significant rewards and add thousands of dollars to the value of their rent roll….it’s called Holiday and Short Term Property Management.

Rick Wraight Director of realestateworld.com.au, co director of Tea Gardens Real Estate and acknowledged industry leader in Holiday Management explains the many opportunities available to agents who embrace Holiday and Short Term Rental management.

Rick explains….

Many years ago my good friend Max Raine , Chairman of Raine & Horne, said ‘Rick… as a small country RE agency you have to commit yourself to embracing all facets of real estate sales and managements…quite simply apart from the direct income stream generated by all forms of property management you want people traffic through your office….’

As a small RE office owner we quickly realised the wisdom of Max’s words…we identified a significant number of properties that suited our potential holiday and short term rental market and encouraged those property owners to become involved.

Many years later we can report this side of our management portfolio has been a significant contributor to our overall rent roll income but also a significant contributor to our sales income.

The benefits of a Holiday & Short Term Rent Roll include: 1. Additional income per property that can be 3+ times that of a permanent rental property 2. Sales opportunity to holiday guests and short term tenants 3. Sales opportunities to your ’new’ landlords 4. Increases office profile within your towns commercial community by introducing a new customer base 5. Provides short term accommodation for business/institutions within your town thus increases office profile Your office becomes the towns unofficial ‘accommodation centre’ • The value of your rent roll increases • The new staff hospitality code of conduct changes the attitude of your entire office Many agents will simply say…..

• That’s too much work • I don’t know anything about it so its no good • I’m too busy struggling to make money so I don’t have time to learn • I don’t understand the available technology to make it easy and I don’t want to learn Well let’s look at the following equation…comparing permanent management income to holiday management income.

19

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

Look at the following equation…

At a glance you can see the gross income form a holiday property is 3 times that of a permanent rented property.

The cost to run each type of property management is around $600 per year so the net profit difference is substantial.

You cannot increase the revenue earned from a permanently let property other than by increasing your management fee…and that is a hard task.

However a holiday and short term rental property is its own little profit centre…the skill of the agent can continue to increase the occupancies to show a return sometimes well in excess of 10 permanently properties.

No matter what the size of your town there is a continuing demand for holiday and short term rental accommodation.

So how do you set all this up?

Your office will have already a trust accounting system that should allow a Holiday Management system such as YesBookit to integrate all payments automatically.

The holiday management system YesBookit will provide you with every piece of information you require on a daily basis including; •

• • • •

live availability calendars and ability for staff and guests to book on line owners ability to make owners bookings cleaners logins for daily duties source of business reports detailed occupancy reports to assist owners and possible potential purchasers

You will now need to brand your office as an ‘Accommodation Centre’ and make one section of your office look like one.

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

Create a ‘holiday only web’ site…

(Understanding that 90% of bookings are now web related) Upgrade a staff member to become your new ‘hospitality ‘manager and consider some front of house training.

Identify suitable properties and draw up strategies.

Study your possible competitor’s establishments and see how much market share is currently available hotels/resorts/visitors information centres etc Talk to institutions about their short term accommodation needs…hospitals/tech colleges/schools/police etc…( you might be quite surprised of their needs).

Invite local business’s to be suppliers to your new holiday clients Make yourself highly visible in search engines such as Google.

And don’t forget to put your holiday listings into realeastateworld.com.au

Rick Wraight also consults on this subject directly to independent agents and franchise groups…contact him at rick@teagardensrealestate.com.au

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

20

New EAC Staff

W

ith the recent re-location of the Newcastle based realestateworld. com.au Publication Retail Sales Division to the EAC Head Office in Sydney, in May, several positions were filled to accommodate the daily requirements of the division responsible for the sale and compilation of all retail related content into the five realestateworld.com.au publications throughout NSW.

Abdul Khan – Team Leader Abdul holds the position of Team leader and is responsible for the daily operations of the division, ensuring call rates and sales targets are met across the five realestateworld.com.au publications located throughout NSW. Before commencing with the Co operative, Abdul previously was employed as a Call Centre Manager with the Affinity Capital Group based in Parramatta.

Amy Daniels – Sales Consultant Amy forms an integral part of the recently relocated retail sales division as a Retail Sales Consultant liaising with small to medium business clients across the 5 realestateworld.com.au publications. Amy comes to the Co operative with a raft of retail experience gained from her previous position as retail features consultant with the Fairfield Champion local News publication.

Allison Calleia – Graphic Artist Allison is the retail sales division’s newest member and was appointed to the position as Retail Sales Graphic Artist. Allison’s duties include the design and compilation of retail adverts that appear across the network of realestateworld.com.au publications.

Before commencing with the Co operative Allison was employed as a Graphic Artist with News Limited designing features for their Courier Network of publications.

Margaret Merhi – Red Square Help Desk Consultant Margaret was recently employed by the Co operative as a Red Square Help Desk Consultant to assist in customer queries and training relating to all EAC Red Square products and services. Margaret was previously employed with Telstra, liaising with customers on Internet, email and other services that Telstra provides.

21

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

FREE

TRIAL

How would you like an unfair advantage in winning new listings?

Offer av ailab

le

until 30th Se pt 2009

“Where have all the vendors gone?” – that’s what we’re hearing from agents all over the country. Lack of stock has become a major challenge. Running a close second is the need to “be everywhere” with limited marketing budgets.

At last, EAC can show you a tool that addresses both of these problems. It’s a brand-new way to market your services that automatically exports your Red Square property listings into the most attractive, flexible e-marketing package we’ve ever seen.

Called the Proactive eBook, the service automatically updates all your related eBooks with any new information or changes – without you lifting a finger.

You have to see these eBooks to understand their impact! They make it easy to attract new listings because you are marketing not just yourself but your vendors’ properties – easily tailoring each eBook for a targeted audience of potential buyers matched to each property, (at no extra cost!)

If you think I’m dreamin’, read on…

Smart real agents like Toop & Toop, Raine & Horne and Ray White are already using the Proactive eBook to secure new listings – because vendors perceive that this new approach is attracting the right potential buyers.

Even better, the Proactive eBook includes a built-in business model if you want to attract sponsors and advertisers as well as vendors.

What is the Proactive eBook?

The Proactive eBook is a real time, full colour e-magazine that can be emailed or read online, exclusively promoting your selling capability and your listings – not those of your competitors.

You can create a complete book of listings or send ‘minibooks’ of specific locations or property types for individual clients – all in minutes.

You simply select the database contacts and dates for your email marketing campaign: Red Square and Proactive take care of the rest.

You can be enjoying a rapid return on investment right now, with a free 30 day trial for EAC and Red Square customers.

EAC does not make new product recommendations lightly.

We urge you to give the Proactive eBook a go.

Who uses Proactive eBook?

The Proactive eBook is actively used by Toop&Toop Real Estate who has won the REIA innovation award nationally for the last GROUP four yearsTECHNOLOGY straight!

proactive

Raine & Horne North East - Graeme Brown (Principal):

“...we are extremely happy with how the eBook works for us, it is an integral part of our sales and appraisal process, it consistently identity Online generates four new listings per month, it’s easy to use and we receive positive feedback from vendors and purchasers.”

my eprofile

Ray White Central NT - Jacqui Smith (Marketing/Settlements Coordinator):

pix el book

“It’s such a Digital huge improvement …we are publishing providing our clients with a better quality presentation….we love it and we have 1000 happy clients.”

For your free 30 day trial, please call

pro active tours

08 8232 3193 or interactive online marketing 08 8232 3102 email info@practek.com www.proactiveebook.com/reia

pro active ebook dynamic online publications FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

14

In-Office Compliance Reviews Does Your Office Comply?. .

Compliance Review Uncovers Some Very Expensive Errors!

Failure to provide a vendor with the Approved Consumers Guide

$4,000 (Fine)

Advertising a property before a Contract for Sale was received (Because the vendor insisted and by only a few days)

$10,000 (Fine)

Agency Agreement, Invalidated by several minor errors, due simply to inadequate training of the salesperson and lack of supervision by the principal resulting in a loss of commission

$7,500

Property Management, failure to conduct initial inspection report

$1,100 (Fine)

(Potential Loss of Commision)

Geoff Hunter, EAC’s Industry Liaison Officer and compliance advisor has noted that some quite simple errors recently uncovered by EAC’s “In Office” Compliance Reviews could have potentially cost the offices involved thousands of dollars in fines and lost commissions.

“Licensees are exposing themselves to a maximum fine of $20,000 for failing to implement the Commissioners Supervision Guidelines and Checklists and as a consequence not being able to demonstrate”Proper Supervision” as required by section 32 of the act.”

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

Protect Your Business by Eliminating Risk!

The EAC “In-Office” Compliance Review is designed to highlight any problems in your office procedures which may lose your commission and leave your agency open to fines from the Office of Fair Trading for the applicable legislation.

Geoff Hunter or one of his team of experienced industry specialists will visit and efficiently review your agency. You will be provided with an immediate findings list followed by a written report on compliance issues and areas of risk.

Areas Reviewed include u -JDFOTFT BOE DFSUJGJDBUF PG 3FHJTUSBUJPO

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u $PNQMBJOUT )BOEMJOH 1SPDFEVSFT

Can You Afford Not to Have Your Office Reviewed?

Ensure you get Paid Commission! Avoid Fines! & Minimise Risk!

Contact EAC to book your In-Office Compliance Review on

1300 137 161

or email membership@eac.com.au Dear Geoff, Your compliance audits are pretty thorough aren’t they!!

I pride myself on running a fairly tight ship with various checks in place above those required by the office of Fair Trading.

You still managed to highlight areas for improvement and I can sleep a little easier at night knowing an unannounced visit by a fair trading officer will be considerably less traumatic Thank you!

Ted Hanson Principal Southern Estates Wollongong FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

in association with

for bookings and course details phone 9587 5277

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

Your EAC and realestateworld.com.au Account Managers For the information of EAC members and Subscribers we have included your EAC Account Managers contact details below.

Jeff Buchanan

0419 697 677

jbuchanan@eac.com.au Area of Operation – North Shore, Northern Beaches, Northern District, Hills District, Gosford, Central Coast North, The Entrance, Lower Lake Macquarie, Newcastle

Beanca Karaniki

0407 648 440

bkaraniki@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Eastern Suburbs, Sydney City, Inner West

John Kay

0425 389 715

jkay@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Illawarra, St George, Sutherland

Victor Baptista

0434 155 886

vbaptista@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Penrith / St Mary’s, Campbelltown / Camden, Liverpool / Fairfield, Hawkesbury, Blue Mountains, Central West NSW, Outback NSW

Hayley Tuohy

0434 155 887

htuohy@eac.com.au Area of Operation – South Coast / Ulladulla Districts, ACT, Southern Highlands, The Murray, Riverina, Snowy Mountains.

27

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

Pat Royce

0425 257 485

proyce@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Forster / Tuncurry, New England / North West, Taree, Port Macquarie, Mid North Coast.

Malcolm Walsh

0425 332 151

mwalsh@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Wollongong / Mid South Coast.

Bob Rose

0434 155 889

brose@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Illawarra/ Mid South Coast

Jon Casey

0434 155 888

jcasey@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Mid North Coast, Northern Rivers.

Claus Bjarnoe

0425 749 904

cbjarnoe@eac.com.au Area of Operation – Sydney.

EAC Membership and Red Square enquiries. realestateworld.com.au Publication enquiries.

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

28

Welcome New Members

The Board, Management and staff would like to extend a warm welcome to the following new members that have joined the Co operative.

Successful Ways Sydney Scott Durrant Dougmal Wollongong Sales Adrian D’Amico L J Hooker Iluka Chris Speirs Dougmal Real Estate Corrimal Collin Roberts Synergy Real Estate Bella Vista Khalid Samad Ian Martyn Real Estate Linda DiDonato Gogo Real Estate Pty Ltd Castle Hill Ray Brawn Barlow & Monk Livestock & Property Dubbo Denise Monk Bevans Corrimal Sam Vescio Property Link Management Pty Ltd Castle Hill Erika Druzinec National Investment Realty Waterloo Alex Iskandar Shakirov Vantage Real Estate Potts Point Brett Phillips Elders Real Estate Hornsby Greg Williams Homefront Real Estate Thornleigh George Habkouk Ian Dinnerville Real Estate Hornsby Ian Dinnerville JJ Crawford Real Estate Bankstown Doris Crawford Encore Real Estate Gosford John Vandy L J Hooker Kiama Marnie Beauchamp Ourimbah Real Estate Peter Allwood

29

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

EAC Contact List

For the information of all members. Below is a list of EAC Staff and their contact details that you can contact in relation to specific product and services enquiries.

Red Square Support T: 1300 137 161 Monday to Friday 8.45am to 6.30pm e: redsquare@eac.com.au

Print Services Trish Craig (Print Management Co-ordinator) T: (02) 9724 6999 e: artdept@eac.com.au

Finance Manager Sylvia Cortez T: (02) 9724 6999 e: scortez@eac.com.au

EAC IT Don Harb (Manager) T: 1300 137 161 e: dharb@eac.com.au

Member & Client Services Phyllis Devereaux T: (02) 9724 6999 e: pdevereaux@eac.com.au

Web Services Chris Younan (Web Developer) T: (02) 9724 6999 e: cyounan@eac.com.au

Advertising & Marketing Damien McDonald (Sales & Marketing Manager) T: (02) 9724 6999 e: dmcdonald@eac.com.au m: 0425 257 482

EAC Stationery Maureen Faapito T: (02) 9724 6999 e: mfaapito@eac.com.au

Realestateworld.com.au Publications Judy Galea T: (02) 9724 6999 e: jgalea@eac.com.au

EAC Estate Agents Co-operative Head Office: 274 Miller Road, Villawood NSW 2163 T: (02) 9724 6999 F: (02) 9724 6407

FROM THE BOARDROOM 5th edition

30