Download - FTB Edition 9

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Page 1: FTB Edition 9

Boardroomfrom the

9th edition

Introducing Red Square WebWEB

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FTB 9th EditionIndex

03 The Chairman’s View - Dale Whittaker

04 In the Pipeline - David Crombie

06 Eye On The Industry - John Carson

09 Red Square Moves Online - Damien McDonald

11 Compliance Matters - Geoff Hunter

15 Practice Support - Silvana Ferraro

17 Around the Traps - Damien McDonald

19 The Form Guide - Maureen Faapito

21 realestateworld.com.au - Damien McDonald

22 Technology Review - Don Harb

25 Staff Profile - Damien McDonald

26 Member Profile - Damien McDonald

31 Welcome New Members

32 EAC Contact List

33 EAC & realestateworld.com.au Account Managers

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EST 2004

i V i s u a l . c o m . a u | 1 3 0 0 7 6 7 1 1 6

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iWal l iTouch The f i rst vert ical iWal l in Austral ia !

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The Sydney market appears to be slow in the north and eastern suburbs with small declines in prices recently and yet sections of the western suburbs have experienced in excess of 10% growth.

The Northern Rivers area, battered by storms and floods, also appears to have slowed significantly and may take some time to fully recover.

I think the only conclusion to be drawn is that your perception of the current situation and your hopes for the next 6 months depend very much on where your business is located.

At the time of writing this article we have just had a new Federal Budget and of course we also have a new State Government. The general consensus seems to be that the budget has done little to assist our industry, one of the drivers of the economy. I think our best hope is for The Reserve Bank board to see it as conservative and hold off on further rate increases for a bit longer than they were otherwise planning.

The State Government has not really had the chance to show its hand yet, however, there are plenty of areas it could target that would assist: zoning issues resulting in continued supply constraints, excessive red tape and fees just to name a few. It has already introduced a Bill to abolish the ad Valorem Tax and we will keep a close eye on developments and meet with key ministers to discuss this and other industry issues.

A bright spot for us, however, is the introduction of some new technology from EAC that should help your business.

Firstly, there is the web based version of Red Square which others will talk about in more detail later in this publication, and having seen it I can assure you that it will be a great addition to any office.

The new version of mapping is also a significant move forward, as is ongoing work on CMI with more and more current data.

Be assured that the ongoing development of all of EAC’s services never stops. I have just finished the annual planning day with the CEO and all department managers and was overwhelmed with their passion, commitment and the raft of new ideas and initiatives that they are working on.

But that’s for next time…

The Chairman’s ViewThe Market, The Budget and aNew Government

By Dale Whittaker, EAC Chairman

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It appears that the NSW real estate market is still patchy and unpredictable to say the least. Even in an area as small as the Illawarra it can be performing strongly at the northern end and yet be weak in the south or vice versa month on month.

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Welcome to the second edition of From the Boardroom for 2011.

This year has already been a big year for the Co-operative, and even as I write this we are in the midst of a particularly exciting and busy period that will see even more firsts for EAC as we continue to grow and move forward.

Early in the year we saw the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 come into play and in addition to updating all of our printed and electronic forms to comply with the new Act we have also created several supplementary forms and checklists to assist in making the change easier for you as well. If you have not seen these additional forms and checklists, call our Agency Practice Support line on 1300 137 161 to find out how you can access them.

Over the months of March and April, we held our Industry Update seminars at some 28 venues across the state. It is very encouraging to see attendance grow to over one thousand people for this round of seminars. The next round of seminars will be held in November this year. If you have any topics you would like us to cover in our Industry Updates, feel free to let us know.

EAC is always looking at ways in which it can assist agents and industry save costs by taking control of its own destiny and to this end, as a result of continued requests in March, we decided to reconsider the launch of a realestateworld.com.au publication in the Central Coast. We spent several weeks in the region talking to agents and holding meetings but despite getting the support from several of the franchise groups and many of the independent agents we were unable to get the necessary level of formal commitment. It takes a considerable level of resource, financial and otherwise to launch a new publication and EAC with the small margins that it operates on cannot commit to a publication if it can’t get a commitment from the agents and industry itself.

One of the most exciting projects that we announced at our Industry Update seminars was the release of Red Square Web. Red Square Web will provide the platform for the delivery of our Listing, Property Information and Mapping services moving forward. Within 12 months the current version of Red Square will be phased out.

In the PipelineWhat’s Happening at EAC

By David Crombie, EAC Chief Executive Officer

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Red Square Web provides the functionality of Red Square and can be accessed anywhere, anytime via the Internet. This new version has been created from the ground up and has been designed to provide a clean, easy to use and intuitive user experience. We have maintained much of the existing user experience so it is not like learning a new system but this new version also includes many new features to the Listing, Current Market Information, Property Information and Mapping services.

Continued next page..

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Red Square Web has been in testing since July last year by some 100 real estate agents and valuers across the state. I would like to personally thank all the offices and valuers for their assistance and feedback provided during the testing program. The feedback provided by these users on the new version has been extremely positive. Red Square Web will be formally released in July.

I am certain you will find a great deal of interest with the pages of this From the Boardroom. 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 service and not profit at the expense of the industry.

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What’s happening at EAC continued

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Continued next page..

Eye On The IndustryThe Year Ahead at EAC

By John Carson, EAC Chief Operations Officer

As reported in the December 2010 edition of “From the Boardroom” and 2010 Annual Report, in reviewing the future needs of the Co-operative, the Board of Directors were giving consideration to relocating the Co-operative’s Head Office operations.

During its review of operations the Board of Directors also considered the ongoing suitability of the Co-operative’s premises in Wollongong.

As a result of these deliberations the Board concluded that:

Villawood Premises:• The Head Office premises located at Villawood were no longer suitable to the Co-operatives

needs. The Villawood premises comprise two buildings each consisting of both office and warehouse facilities. When purchased in 1987 these premises suited the Co-operative’s operations and in particularly its large printing infrastructure.

Since that time, and following significant restructure of EAC’s services and infrastructure, including its printing operations and joint venturing arrangements in areas such as the provision of training services, the need for warehousing facilities (which make up some 50% of the sites area) no longer exists.

It was also agreed that the cost of “remodelling” the Villawood premises would not be cost effective.

Wollongong Premises:

• The Wollongong office, utilising two staff, carried out certain administrative work, did pre-press for the Illawarra realestateworld.com.au publication and distributed stationery on behalf of the Co-operative.

As a result of improved technologies, the Board resolved to move the Administrative and realestateworld.com.au publication pre-press operations to Sydney to bring it in line with all other publications. It not only streamlined EAC’s operations, it achieved cost savings without any diminution of services.

This restructure meant that these existing premises also no longer met the needs of the Co-operative and more suitable premises would be considered.

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Accordingly, and in line with the above findings, the Board resolved to sell both the Co-operative’s premises in Villawood and Wollongong.

It is the Board’s intention that once the Villawood premises are sold the Co-operative will purchase and relocate to more suitable premises comprising almost entirely of office space, allowing for meeting and training rooms.

In Wollongong the Co-operative will also look to lease more suitable premises; premises with suitable office space for our sales representatives as well as sufficient room to hold both small meetings and training sessions.

In making the above decisions and when purchasing replacement property, top of mind for the Board of Directors will be to ensure that such a move enhances the asset value of the Co-operative for its members.

Realestateworld.com.au Pty Limited (REW)

In early 2007 the Co-operative undertook a joint venture with the Real Estate Institute of New South Wales (REINSW) with regard to the provision of certain goods and services including the provision of a portal and data services. As a result, a joint venture company known as realestateworld.com.au Pty Limited was formed.

In late 2008, REINSW, for reasons best known to itself, decided that it no longer wished to be involved in the provision of portal and data services through its joint venture arrangement with EAC. This resulted in the signing of a Deed of Release terminating the portal and data arrangement.

Since that time REW has continued to operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Estate Agents Co-operative Limited. On review, the Board of EAC has resolved that, effective from the new 2011 – 2012 financial year, it will wind up the REW company and bring it in as a “division” of the Co-operative. This decision will again streamline EAC’s operations and avoid the additional reporting costs associated with running a “separate” entity.

Albeit the EAC Board fervently believed in maintaining an industry owned and controlled real estate portal, taking on the venture as a wholly owned subsidiary came at a cost. The decision will significantly impact the reported profit of the Co-operative for the 2010 – 2011 financial year given the debt that EAC took on as a result of REINSW’s decision to enter into the Deed of Release. This said however, EAC is confident that not only will the site be a long term profitable venture but it will ultimately benefit the industry as a whole.

Eye On The Industry Continued..

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By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

Red Square Moves Online

Monday, July 4 sees the launch of the much anticipated Red Square Web product. Red Square Web will provide the platform for the delivery of our Listing, Property Information and Mapping services moving forward. Within 12 months the current version of Red Square will be phased out.

Red Square Web is the result of 18 months of development and provides users with a simple to use portable online tool that has a far greater range of additional features and search options. Some of the new features available include:

• Web Based • New Search Results Format • Inclusion of suburb Wikipedia information • Google Street View• New agent and consumer orientated reports• State-wide Aerials and Satellite imagery• The latest in map search technology • Ability to update property details live• The next generation of Neighbourhood Reports • 100% Australian owned

Red Square customers will receive communications detailing user access instructions, as well as, product training seminar times and locations.

If you are not already using Red Square as a part of your business’s sales and marketing mix, contact EAC on 1300 137 161 to arrange an in-office demonstration.

New Mapping Features Overview

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Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 (the Act)Property, Stock and Business Agents Regulation 2003 (the Regulation)

General

Display of licences and certificates of registration Many offices are confused about the requirement to have all licences and certificates “on display” in their office. This is NO LONGER a requirement having been discontinued when the current Act was introduced. There are, however, specific rules in place.

Section 12 of the Act provides that a holder of a licence (licensee) or a certificate of registration (registered person) must produce on request at the business premises the licence or certificate of registration to an “authorised officer”. An authorised officer includes a Fair Trading inspector and a police officer.

Therefore, whilst the licence or certificate need not be “on display” as such, it should be kept at the business premises for inspection purposes if called upon.

Requirements to display The holder of a licence has additional requirements as set out in Section 29 of the Act as follows:

Display of name at registered office

(1) A licensee must display legibly and conspicuously outside the licensee’s registered office and any other place at which the licensee’s business as a licensee is carried on: (a) the licensee’s name and description as a licensee, and (b) a description of the kind of licence or licences held by the licensee.(2) In addition, a licensee that is a corporation must display legibly and conspicuously: (a) outside the corporation’s registered office, the name of the person in charge of the corporation’s registered office, and(b) outside any other place at which the business of the corporation is carried on, the name of the person in charge at that place.(3) A person must not display or exhibit outside or near the person’s office, house or place of business any sign or other matter that indicates or implies that the office, house or place of business is that of a person licensed as a kind of agent under this Act unless the person is licensed as an agent of that kind. Maximum penalty: 50 penalty units.

Requirements for corporations If trading as a corporation, either on the front door or front window (legibly and conspicuously) the following is required to be displayed.

1. The corporation name, the trading (business) name as shown on the licence and the description of the licence, simply “Corporation Licence”. 2. The name of the licensee in charge of the corporation and the class of licence(s) held by that person.

By Geoff Hunter, Industry Liaison and Compliance Advisor

Compliance MattersCommon Compliance Mistakes

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Continued next page..

Conclusion All licence holders, which include corporations and employees, are required to display their name and class of licence(s) either on the front door or in the front window so they are clearly visible from outside.

Registered persons i.e. holders of a certificate of registration are not required to display their details.

It is not necessary to display the licence number or expiry date.

Register of EmployeesSection 42 of the Act requires that a register of all employees who hold a Certificate of Registration (registered persons) must be kept. This Register must show the name and residential address of each person employed, must be kept for a minimum of 3 years following the cessation of employment and must be kept at the place of business. Note, the requirement does not included licensees.

Whilst it is not a requirement of the Act for the employer to maintain a record of CPD points obtained by each employee, EAC recommends that this be done and included in the register.

Section 32 of the Act requires “proper supervision” of the office and compliance by employees with the Act and regulations. Maintaining a record of all employee CPD points would assist in demonstrating this supervision. It also helps to serve as a reminder at renewal time.

Sales

Real estate agents selling rural propertiesThe definition of a real estate agent in the Act is very comprehensive but specifically excludes any auctioneer or agent from acting in respect of any parcel of rural land unless the regulations provide otherwise.

Clause 5 in the Regulation extends the definition of real estate agent to provide that they may act in respect of any parcel of rural land of an area up to 20 hectares (50 acres).

Offers in writingThe majority of agents negotiate offers very well but unfortunately, many neglect to keep the required evidence.Clause 3 of Schedule 2 to the Regulation makes it clear that offers may be submitted orally but must then be confirmed in writing. It is also clear that multiple offers from the same buyer must also be confirmed in writing.

Whilst some agents take the view that this is, just “another job”, the process actually works to benefit the agent. Written confirmation of the offer, or series of offers, protects the agent from any subsequent allegation that the offer, or offers, was not submitted and either vendor or purchaser were disadvantaged consequently. Keeping a written record of offers also demonstrates the level of involvement by the agent in the transaction, which is a significant element when determining who is the effective cause of sale if there is a commission dispute.

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Expression of interest deposits and further offersMany Sales Trust receipts for “expression of interest deposits”, sometimes known as “initial deposit”, or “part deposit” or incorrectly as “holding deposit”, do not comply with the requirements of the legislation.

Clause 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 2 to the Regulation requires that:

Information to be given when expression of interest deposit paid

(1) When an agent issues a receipt for an expression of interest deposit made prior to exchange of contracts, the agent must inform the person who paid the deposit that the principal has no obligation to sell the property or the purchaser to buy the property and the deposit is refundable if a contract for the sale of the property is not entered into. The information must be provided in writing and may be provided on the receipt.(2) The agent must promptly inform the principal when an expression of interest deposit has been paid.(3) The agent must promptly inform the person who paid the deposit when the agent becomes aware of any subsequent offer to purchase the property received from any other person. The agent must also advise the person who paid the deposit that they have the right to make further offers up until exchange of contracts has taken place.

Clause 5 (3) of Schedule 2 to the Regulation clarifies the action to be taken by practitioners when a further offer is received for a property after an initial deposit has been taken and prior to the exchange of contracts.

Compliance Matters Continued..

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By Silvana Ferraro, EAC Agency Practice & Compliance Advisor

Practice SupportResidential Tenancies Act and Regulation 2010

15

Frequently asked questions

The following are the most common questions we have received to date. The responses include reference to the relevant section(s) in the Residential Tenancies Act 2010 (Act) and clause(s) in the Residential Tenancies Regulation 2010 (Regs).

QUESTION 1 - Tenant liable to pay rent after vacating Is the tenant responsible to pay the rent after vacating the premises if they have vacated before the end of termination notice?

NO - see Section 110 (2) in the Act, which is set out below. There is one exemption, for fixed term terminations, as per Clause 13 in the Regulation (Regs), which is also set out below.

Tenant may vacate at any time before end of termination notice given by landlord (S110) (1) A tenant who is given a termination notice by the landlord, or who gives a termination notice, may give vacant possession of the residential premises at any time before the termination date.(2) If a termination notice is given by a landlord, the tenant is not liable to pay any rent for any period after the tenant gives vacant possession of the residential premises and before the termination date.

Effect of early vacation of residential premises (Cl 13 Regs) Section 110(2) of the Act does not apply in respect of a tenant who is given a termination notice for a fixed term agreement under section 84 of the Act and who gives vacant possession of the residential premises before the end of the fixed term agreement.

QUESTION 2 - Early termination by the tenant A landlord at the time of entering into a tenancy has no intention of selling the property but 3 months later circumstances change and needs to sell. Can the tenant vacate the premises without penalty?

Section 100 of the Act sets out the grounds for early termination by a tenant without having to pay compensation to the landlord. Subsection (1) (c) refers to where the landlord fails to disclose an intention to sell prior to the tenant entering into the tenancy agreement.

The legislation is in its early days and there are no tribunal decisions at this time on which to rely. We will need to wait for a case to learn what matters the Tribunal will take into account and the reasons for their decision. We assume that the landlord will need to prove that they had no prior intention of selling and that the change in circumstances was unforeseen.

QUESTION 3 - Breaking lease early What costs can the landlord charge the tenant for breaking the lease early when the optional break fee term, clauses 41 and 42 have been crossed out?

A tenant may be charged the following:• rent until a new tenant is found, and • a percentage of the advertising costs and the reletting fee.Note the agent must mitigate the tenant’s costs and no penalties under certain circumstances including undue hardship grounds.

If the clauses are not crossed out then the costs payable are in accordance with clause 41.More information - Fair Trading fact sheet, Breaking a lease early at:

www.fairtrading.nsw.gov.au and then Quick links/Publications/Download and Print.

QUESTION 4 - Condition report on renewal of lease Can we use the previous condition report on renewal of the lease with the current tenant?

Additional term 46 in the EAC lease provides that where the parties agree, the previous condition report may be used when renewing a tenancy with the existing tenant. However, keep in mind that the new condition report contains additional information on the last page of the document so it would be better to complete a new condition report using the new form. It is a matter for individuals to decide.

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QUESTION 5 - Management and leasing agency agreements Do we need to obtain new residential management and leasing agency agreements?

The new residential tenancies legislation does not necessarily mean a change to your management and leasing agency agreements. The Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 and Regulation 2003 set out the terms in these agreements. The answer will depend upon how the form is completed. For example, you can only charge the lease preparation fee that is specified in the agreement. Consider how you will pass on to the landlord any fee that may be charged by the strata management for the supply of by-laws and the collection of any material facts from the landlord.

Practice support information

On giving a notice to: 1. Tenant when premises are for sale, and 2. Owners Corporation of a tenancy

1. Legal requirements for giving a tenant notice that the premises are for sale All types of premises

Notifying tenant of appointment to sell (Property, Stock and Business Agents Regulations 2003 Sch 2, cl 15)

If the managing agent becomes aware that the property is listed for sale, or a real estate agent has been appointed to act on the sale of the property, the managing agent must immediately give the tenant written notice of the sale of the property or the name and contact details of the selling agent. The clause does not mention residential property so it must be taken that it applies to all property.

Residential premises

Notifying managing agent of appointment to sell residential property(Property, Stock and Business Agents Regulations 2003 (Sch 2, cl 6))

If an agent is appointed to sell residential property that is tenanted, the agent must immediately give written notice of the appointment to any agent responsible for managing the property.

Sale of residential premises (Residential Tenancies Act 2010 s53)

A landlord must give the tenant a minimum of 14 days written notice of the intention to sell.

EAC formAn EAC form, Notice of Intention to Market the Premises for Sale will be available soon to customers of eforms.

2. Requirements in respect of notifications to Owners Corporation of new tenancies

Notice to Owners Corporation of Leases or Subleases or Assignment (Strata Schemes Management Act 1996 s119 Community Land Management Act 1989 s46)

A lessor is required to provide a notice to the Owners Corporation of a lease, sublease or assignment of a lease. The notice must be provided to the owners’ corporation within 14 days of the commencement of the lease, sub-lease or assignment. Property managers when signing up a tenancy should advise the Owners Corporation accordingly. EAC has produced a form to assist.

EAC formThe form is available with your login and password at: www.eac.com.au – user guide page.

NSW legislationhttp://www.legislation.nsw.gov.au/

www.eac.com.au and then member services/useful links

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For this edition and moving forward I thought it beneficial to our readers to explore Industry relevant web and print articles circulating “around the traps” and select a stand out article that I could feature in this new story category. For this edition, I have selected an article that explores prospecting for referrals and the effect it has on new business.

Prospecting for success: The power of referrals

Ask any professional agent and they will tell you that referrals are the basis of a profitable and sustainable real estate business.

In real estate prospecting there are four key areas that require constant attention:

1. Prospecting for new buyer and seller business2. The pre-listing stage and the listing appointment itself3. Helping buyers to make a decision4. Follow-up and self-promotion to ensure referrals

However, this article will focus on the first point – prospecting to find sellers and buyers.

Prospecting for listings

Prospecting for real estate business is crucial. Without prospecting you don’t have listings, without listings you don’t have sales, and without sales you don’t get paid. So, is it not better to prospect in such a way that when you do get the business, you have a 70 to 80 per cent chance of getting paid?

Ask any professional real estate agent and they will tell you that if you walked into any average real estate office, the total stock they have for sale could be broken into three categories:

1. One third that will sell due to a motivated seller and being correctly priced,2. One third that could sell due to a fairly motivated seller, but requires much work to be done, especially in educating the seller to market, and3. One third where the agent is wasting their time.

Where does your personal stock fit into this one third, one third, one third rule? The trick is to know which listings fit into which category so you know where to concentrate your efforts.

When prospecting for new business, try to be 70 to 80 per cent sure you are dealing with a seller who appears genuinely motivated to sell and, in your opinion, will listen to the market via you, as to what their property is worth.

In the real estate industry, much time, energy and money is wasted in the area of canvassing, because most agents do not realise that the market/public has changed, is changing, and will always change. Many agents suffer from the “Who Moved My Cheese?” factor. They use the traditional method of bombarding households with continual letters, mailbox flyers, door knocking and junk e-mail (if this still works in your area like it used to, yes, continue to use this method as long as you are getting the business).

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

Around the TrapsBusiness Advice for Agents

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Now consider the greatest form of prospecting – referrals. The point of difference here is you.

Ask any professional agent and they will tell you that referrals are the basis of a profitable and

sustainable real estate business. In order to succeed you need to build your own client/customer

referral network.

Your own client/customer base

A client base is a group of people who you have either done business with you before or, when they are ready, they will do business with you.They like your manner, your honesty, your professionalism, your proven results, and they would gladly recommend you.

If we called any of these clients and said, “Kylie Smith suggested I call”, they would reply “Yes, Kylie, she’s pretty good. She sold/helped us buy our property six months ago”. In other words, these clients know you.

Remember:

• Prospecting requires hard work – there is no magic pill.• Prospecting is basic – but how you follow up your prospecting is critical.• Prospecting is also either quality or quantity – which strategy do you think is the best? Quality!

Here is something you can do immediately: focus on the listings in your area that have not yet been sold. Whether it is a private sale, an open listing, a failed auction or a tired exclusive listed by the opposition, don’t these sellers need some help? They can be an excellent source of “present needs” business – you do know that the owners were, at one stage, interested in selling. Otherwise, why list for sale? If they are serious, and still want to sell, why not contact them and see if you can list their property? (Warning: Be conscious of your real estate Code of Conduct under the legislation)

How do you meet sellers?

How do you actually meet people that may need your services in the future?The best way to meet a prospective seller is through being contacted as the result of your website or meeting someone through:

• a recommendation from a colleague or close friend,• a recommendation from an existing client,• a recommendation from a past client,• a social function you attended, and swapped business cards,• a business luncheon you attended,• a sporting colleague,• a golf partner,• your network, your partner’s network, or your children’s network of friends.

Asking someone who knows you, knows of you, or knows of your reputation is the key to successful prospecting and securing those listings you need to be successful.

Above and beyond all methods of prospecting, one stands out the best of all – past clients and past customers. The business you can get from the satisfied and impressed clients with whom you have done business before is where the best business of all comes from. Remember, turn them into “walking advertisements” for you. However, there is a catch – your past clients and customers have to be impressed with you before they will recommend you to others.

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March 2011, marked our one year since returning to the market with our own suite of Agency Agreement Forms. Customer feedback overall has remained positive. We strive to continue providing the best professional service to our clients.

It has been a busy start to the year with the new Residential Tenancies Act 2010 which commenced on Monday, 31 January 2011. EAC completed its review of the New Residential Agreements according to the Residential Tenancies Act and Regulations 2010.

The following forms have been updated to meet the New Regulations:

• Residential Tenancy Agreements – Part 1 Front Page which is now combined with the Residential Tenancy Lease Part 1, Pages 1-10 • Residential Condition Report• Residential Notice of Termination• Residential Application for Tenancy

Our extensive user guides have been updated to assist in the use and correct completion of our forms. This has been highlighted during several roadshows we have performed over the last twelve months.

Testimonial:

EAC are currently distributors for Seinfork Display Signs, Secur-a-key Cabinets and Endurosigns.

Testimonial:

By Maureen Faapito, EAC Stationery Manager

The Form GuideCelebrating Our One Year Anniversary

I have been taking advantage of the services offered by EAC for about 21 years, and during this time I’ve attended many free seminars offered, which have always been informative. They were vital in helping me and my staff understand the changes in legislation and the impact they would have on our business.

Maureen, from their Stationery Department has always been very helpful and is always a pleasure to deal with. The convenience of EAC being a couple of minutes drive from my office means that when I need anything in a hurry I can just drop in.

I recently subscribed to their eForms which allow us to download all the property management and sales documents we need. The girls in property management particularly like the Tenancy Leases because we no longer have to worry about running out and they are easy to populate.

Peter TannousLJ Hooker Guildford

I have been associated with EAC for more than 20 years now, throughout that time utilising many of their services including, but not limited to, printing, forms & agreements, corflutes & stickers, publications & property data.

In every dealing EAC proves to be efficient, cost effective and above all, reliable.In today’s competitive market place, EAC offers the time poor real estate agent a one stop shop for all their needs.

I will continue to use the services of EAC when required , and strongly recommend them to all real estate practitioners who value old fashioned reliable service backed by up to the minute technology & data .

Andrew McDonaldRay White Point Clare

19

Page 21: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

Introduction To Our New Range Of Products

In the past few months we have been expanding on our existing products.

AUCTION PADDLES – Always Bid with Confidence

All paddles are supplied in a light easy to use snap shut carry case.

Features: • Waterproof• Polyurethane Plastic• Range of Colours• Australian Made• Reusable• Affordable• Paddles are numbered clearly from 1-15

KEVRON KEY TAGS

Features:• Tag Size – 56x30mm• Insert Size – 37x21mm• Ring Size – 19mm• Colour: Assorted • Two-piece moulding of tag has excellent clarity and is durable. Insert is easy to read.

EAC 2012 Diaries

Order now and expect delivery in November!

A4 DIARY (297 x 210 mm)

Plain A4 Diary(s) at $36.00 ea - EAC Member / $40.00 ea - Non MemberPersonalised A4 Diary(s) at $40.00 ea - EAC Member / $44.00 ea - Non Member

A5 DIARY (246 x 164 mm)

Plain A5 Diary(s) at $36.00 ea - EAC Member / $40.00 ea - Non MemberPersonalised A5 Diary(s) at $40.00 ea - EAC Member / $44.00 ea - Non Member

Features :• Black Grained cover padded front and back with Gold border corners • Magnetic closure mechanism to cover with 2012 foil stamp • Monthly tab dividers inserted at start of each month • Business card plastic keepers • Removable telephone/address book • Removable note book • Approximate legal and associated expenses section • Home Loan Guide and Stamp Duty section

Personalisation charge includes 25 characters per line (including spaces) for up to two lines. This means that you can have 50 characters total.

IMPORTANT: Diary orders requiring personalisation must be submitted prior to 21 July 2011.

20

Page 22: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

realestateworld.com.au has come a long way since first launching in June 2007 to now being a wholly owned subsidiary of EAC, that is taking it to the media owned sites. With multiple points of entry realestateworld.com.au enables a far greater level of participation from NSW real estate offices. In some high content areas of NSW, offices are reporting a property enquiry level comparable to the major portal sites at a fraction of the cost.

The behind the scenes work over the past 6 months has led to a vast increase in independent and franchise upload providers, including the L.J. HOOKER E2 as well as the My DESKTOP systems supplying feeds to the realestateworld.com.au site. Almost any office can utilise the site, giving them a cost effective listing presence on one of the fastest growing Industry owned real estate sites in NSW.

XML Feed Providers now uploading to realestateworld.com.au

Including realestateworld.com.au in Your Offices Marketing Mix

If not already doing so, your office can commence listing on realestateworld.com.au by utilising one of several packages:

Starter Package (Free): Designed to allow your office to get your listings onto the site at no expense;

Pro Package ($29.95*): Allows your listings to stand out from the crowd with enhanced search and office profile features;

Elite Package ($49.95*): All the benefits of the pro package with the added ability for your listings to be uploaded to several third party sites such as realestate.com.au and domain.com.au just to name a few.

Subscribing to realestateworld.com.au to upload your listings has never been more cost effective and easy. Contact realestateworld.com.au on 1300 137 161 for a subscription form and start your cost effective property advertising today.

*EAC Membership pricing. Non EAC Member pricing includes an additional $10 per month.

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

realestateworld.com.auThe Industry Owned Property Listing Portal Providing Real Marketing Value to the Industry

21

Page 23: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition 20

Technology ReviewEmail in Business

By Don Harb, EAC IT Manager

22

Email is now, and has been for some time, an integral part of any business. So how much thought goes into choosing an email service as well as the email environment within the business itself? Here are some questions that you should ask yourself as a business owner in relation to email services before making a decision.

1) How important are my emails to me and my business?This question opens up to another question: How effective would my business be without email communication? And how much of the work that I do has email involved at one point or another?

2) How accessible do I need my email service to be?Simply put, how are you going to want to access your emails? Do you want to access your emails from home, from work, from any computer, on a PDA or all of the above?

3) How much maintenance am I willing to put into my email service?Every type of service available has its maintenance requirements. The question is: are you going to be doing this yourself or are you going to nominate someone else? And how quickly can you recover from a disaster?

4) How much am I willing to spend to get everything that I want and do the benefits outweigh the cost?Once you have answered the questions above you will be able to determine the answer to this question.

Now that I have given you the headache of all these questions, let’s look at the general scenarios that are available to you for your email service and the pros and cons of each.

In my years in IT I have seen many changes to the services that are available to, and used by, businesses for their email solutions. Over the last 10 years especially, there have been many changes that have occurred in the services on offer. These changes have come about due to many reasons. Some include; the ways we do business, the change in our consumers, the development in devices and even to some extent the changes in the laws that govern the businesses that we work in. We have also seen over this period of time a major shift in the offerings for the internet and the use of online services in business.

Continued next page..

Page 24: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition23

Free email services and email redirection

When email became a necessity of business at the turn of the century, the costs involved in maintaining a business email service were prohibitive in most cases. Many service providers such as EAC tried to limit these costs by providing email redirection using free services such as Hotmail, Yahoo Mail and more recently Gmail, as the underlying email service combined with redirecting email sent to client domains to these free services.

While this kept the costs to a minimum for the business, it created a number of issues. Firstly, all emails were downloaded to the computer that accessed the underlying free email address. This meant that those emails could only be accessed from that machine and if that machine was not backed up correctly, all emails would be lost. The next issue was that when you responded to an email, rather than coming from [email protected] it would come from [email protected] or whichever free service provider the redirection pointed to.

This method was extremely difficult to setup and also created a lot of issues in relation to the ongoing maintenance in relation to backup and email disaster recovery and flexibility of the email system. Thankfully the costs have come down and this service is being phased out by many service providers.

POP or IMAP email services

This is the most basic of all business grade email services that are on offer today. This type of service can provide access from many different devices to the one email address. Many services providers will also allow access to a web interface so that you can access these emails from any device that has an internet browser on it. Emails are generally saved to the device that downloads them but also, in most cases, a copy of the email will be saved to the server of the email service provider allowing for recovery of emails if a device fails.

Generally, this type of service has some limitations set on it such as maximum mailbox size (generally 100mb per email address), the length of retention time of the email on the server and what happens once you hit your quota. Also, there is no service agreement in relation to backup of emails on the server in most cases and therefore backup becomes the responsibility of the individual or the office. These services can range in price but usually start from around $10/month per domain. EAC offers this service as part of its offerings due to the fact that it provides the basic services that most offices in real estate require.

Internal Mail Servers

This type of email setup includes all the services from the POP/IMAP while allowing for the greatest control over the services with the least outside intervention. All configurations are done at a local server level and it allows for more flexibility in what services you can provide to your email clients. The services that you provide are only restricted by what you decide to configure and allow. The amount of mailboxes per domain and the size of each mailbox are only limited by what you configure them to be, what space you have free on your server and what type of backup unit that you have.

Although there are many benefits to this type of setup there are also some considerations that need to be taken into account that may, in some cases, outweigh the benefits of this type of setup. There are initial upfront costs that can go into the 10’s of thousands depending on the size of the office.

Technology Review Continued..

Page 25: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

Contact EAC now to find out how Social Media can help drive your business,or start following us on Facebook, Twitter & Linked in

Social Media Advertising & Marketingis now a mass-communications channel and too important for any organisation to ignore.

Providing complete business solutionsto the real estate Industry for over 50 years

EAC Social Media Packages are Available for as little as $550.00 for EAC Members.Log onto www.eac.com.au to find out more or call EAC direct on 1300 137 161

The ongoing maintenance of this type setup can vary depending on whether you have the expertise to maintain this yourself or whether you have a third party look after the maintenance on your behalf. There are some other considerations as well i.e. reliability of internet connections and the services allowed on that internet connection. This can also affect the ongoing costs.

Hosted Mail Servers

Effectively this is the same as the Internal Mail Server but is generally hosted by a service provider. Although all maintenance and setup costs are absorbed by the mail server host, you will generally pay a monthly cost per mailbox that you want setup. In the long term this can be more costly than the internal mail server as your office requirements grow but also allow for a lot of flexibility to accommodate this growth. There is also no ongoing maintenance and in most cases this type of setup comes with a full backup service included in the monthly cost per mailbox.

As you can see there are many different services out there, and even though I have named a few there are many more scenarios that you can have. In most cases the scenarios above cover the requirements of most offices. EAC has created agreements with service providers to allow its clients to have access to most of these mail services directly or indirectly through third parties.

When it is time to review your services and what your requirements are make sure that you take all these things into consideration as well as any future plans before deciding on an email service configuration. If you are unsure, EAC, as always, is here to provide you with guidance in these tough decisions. Please contact EAC Web Services on 1300 137 161 for assistance.

Page 26: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

EAC web services customers will be familiar with the voice of Anna Nguyen as the customer face behind the EAC Web Services and Social Media department. Anna, who commenced her employment with the Co-operative in October 2010 is the driving force responsible for overall customer satisfaction on all web and social media related programs. I recently took the opportunity to ask Anna some questions to give you all a better insight to “the voice behind the phone”.

What were you doing job wise before working with EAC?

I cut my teeth as Sales & Marketing Assistant for a wholesale company in Sydney dealing with all manner of customers and suppliers on a daily basis.

What are your usual daily tasks as Client Liaison?

Listen, learn, ask and respond.

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

On the whole, I would say that I enjoy dealing with offices but can remember one day an agent came at me with a verbal machete after I rang this person about the need for a new website due to our code upgrade. After explaining the reason for my call in greater detail the agent, now understanding, calmed down. The outcome - I’m still alive!

What motivates you to come to work every day?

Knowledge, experience and interaction as well as the enjoyment of working in a ground breaking section that strives to ensure agents have a better understanding of how technology can be used in their office’s marketing mix.

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

Any activity that doesn’t involve sitting in one place like going for a swim at the local pool, walking my dogs or doing the 7-km Bay walk with a couple of friends are things I usually do after work.

What sort of music do you listen to?

I have a wide range of musical interests but will narrow it down to anything that is not country or RnB.

Where do you see yourself in 5 years?

More skilled, more loved, more lived.

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

Staff ProfileAnna Nguyen, Web Services Liaison

25

Page 27: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition 26

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 areas. This edition will feature Greg Toner who manages the highly successful Toner & Associates in Orange NSW who have been EAC Members since October 2008.

What is your real estate background?

I first became a valuer in 1967 and worked with the Valuer Generals Dept. and was transferred to Orange in April 1968. I resigned from the Valuer Generals in 1977 and started up the firm Blowes Toner Pty. Ltd. in Orange in 1979 which functioned as a general real estate and valuation office and also as a Stock & Station Agency. This firm ceased in 1983 and a new firm called Orange Nationwide Realty was started in 1984 which subsequently became Toner Savage & Co until it was bought out in 1992. A new real estate firm of Toner & Associates was commenced in 1995 and has been trading under my supervision since that time. During all this period I have continued to practice as a registered valuer in Orange as well as general real estate practice.

What do you see as the secret to the success of Toner & Associates?

The secret to the success of Toner & Associates has been the personal service in all real estate matters and attention to detail. We are very keen upon keeping our clients in the loop regarding all matters of sales and management and believe that they need to know and be kept up to speed with law changes and changes in the real estate market. We have always been members of the relevant Institutes associated with real estate and valuation and have always attended the relevant CPD courses even before they were compulsory.

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

EAC has helped my business enormously through hosting of our website, design of our website and offering CPD courses in Orange where other industry institutions have failed to do this. Professional help is only a phone call away and this is vital for a small independent firm such as ours. I must also give a wrap to Victor Baptista (our regional rep from EAC) whose assistance has been invaluable.

In your opinion, what is the best feature of Red Square?

Red Square is a very helpful tool in the everyday use of sales and property information plus mapping. We also use it exclusively for listing, EAC forms and uploading to the website. It saves us valuable time and is very easy to use – the staff love it!

Where do you see yourself and Toner & Associates in 5 years?

In 5 years time we see the firm still operating under the same name but probably with an altered ownership when I choose to cut back in my time spent at the office. Owners sometimes tend to hang about too long and don’t know when their time is up.

Member ProfileToner & Associates

By Damien McDonald, EAC Sales & Marketing Manager

Page 28: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

Your Simple Cost Effective Printed Real Estate Forms Solution

EAC has listened to its Members and the Industry and has responded and is pleased to announce the release of EAC Forms. EAC Forms will provide your office with quality easy to use real estate forms at a cost that will easily compete with most existing forms in the market.

Why use EAC Easy Forms?1. Our Forms are simple to use and, in some cases, half the length of other existing forms in the market - Saves time, easier for you to complete, minimised risk of errors and easier for your clients to understand.

2. Our Forms include all of the popular residential, rural, business and commercial sales, leasing and property management agreements.

3. FREE professional advice on forms related queries or issues.

4. Our Forms are very cost e�ective. Take a look at the comparisons below and work out the savings.

5. The Forms are legally backed and supported by the Co-operative.

EAC Print Forms EAC eForms

Why choose EAC Easy Web Forms?EAC eForms will provide your o�ce with over 40 forms and agreements in an easy to use system.

Fully Backed by EACEAC eForms are legally backed and supported by theCo-operative avoiding any compliance issues that may arise from using other non industry providers. Make sure you read their terms and conditions as some actually suggest you obtain your own legal advice as to the compliance or otherwise of their forms. We stand behind our forms and provide you with peace of mind.

eForms Bene�ts

Online access ensures that you are always provided with the most current form available without having to download or install updated forms, which eliminates redundancy

With automatic population of your o�ce information and the ability to save defaults for each form, the risk of errors and incorrectly completed forms is greatly minimised

ability to maintain separate company details for sales or property management

Default settings provide consistency & minimise potential errors

Unlimited technical support via the EAC support line Search and re-print completed forms for up to 24 months

available to suit your o�ces budget

Member DiscountAll EAC Members receive a discount on both the subscription packages and enjoy reduced prices under the pay per form option.

Demo OnlineYou can see a demonstration of the functionality and versatility of Easy Web Forms by simply going to www.formsonline.com.auOnce you have entered the site simply click on Demo eForms now

Your Simple Cost Effective Electronic Real Estate Forms Solution

EAC eForms provides your office with the best electronic forms solution that will greatly reduce the time required to complete forms. Our eForms solution brings the future of real estate forms to your office today.

How to Order Call the EAC Easy Forms

Support Line on

1300 137 161 for more details or

simply logon to www.formsonline.com.au

to download anorder form

FORM NAME EAC MEMBERPRICE

EAC NON MEMBER PRICE EAC PAD SIZE

SAVING PEREQUIVALENT

PAD SIZE*

Sales Inspection Report & Exclusive Selling Agency Agreement - EAC011 $22.50 $25.00 50 $14.40

Sales Inspection Report & Auction Exclusive Selling Agency Agreement - EAC012 $22.50 $25.00 50 $14.40

Sales Inspection Report & Open Selling Agency Agreement - EAC013 $22.50 $25.00 50 $14.40

Rural Sales Inspection Report & Exclusive Selling Agency Agreement - EAC015 $18.60 $20.65 20 $14.16

Rural Sales Inspection Report and Open Selling Agency Agreement - EAC016 $18.60 $20.65 20 $5.97

Commercial/Industrial Sales Inspection Report and Exclusive Selling Agency Agreement - EAC017 $13.50 $15.00 25 $4.95

Commercial/Industrial Sales Inspection Report and Open Selling Agency Agreement - EAC018 $13.50 $15.00 25 $4.95

Commercial/Industrial Sales Inspection Report & Auction Exclusive Selling Agency Agreement - EAC019 $13.50 $15.00 25 $4.95

Business Sales Inspection Report and Exclusive Selling Agency Agreement - EAC020 $16.15 $17.95 25 $8.42

Business Sales Inspection Report and Open Selling Agency Agreement - EAC021 $16.15 $17.95 25 $8.42

Retail Lease - EAC030 $2.40 $2.65 1 $4.00

Commercial Lease - EAC035 $2.40 $2.65 1 $2.40

Residential Exclusive Management Agency Agreement - EAC100 $12.80 $14.20 50 $5.65

Residential Tenancy Agreement Part 1 - EAC110 $25.80 $28.65 100 $11.10

Residential Tenancy Agreement - Each Part 1 Pages 2 to 9 - EAC110A $0.80 $0.90 1 $0.06

Residential Tenancy Agreement - Pack of 10 Part 1 Pages 2 to 9 - EAC110A $7.20 $8.00 10 $1.40

Residential Tenancy Agreement Condition Report Short Version Part 2 - EAC110B $15.40 $17.10 20 $3.32

Notice of Termination (Residential Tenancy) - EAC120 $12.20 $13.55 50 $6.25

Application for Tenancy - EAC121 $22.80 $25.35 50 $33.72

Residential Exclusive Leasing Agency Agreement - EAC131 $16.70 $18.55 50 $9.66

Residential Open Leasing Agency Agreement - EAC132 $16.70 $18.55 50 $9.66

Commercial/Industrial Exclusive Management Agency Agreement - EAC133 $20.35 $22.60 20 $13.85

Commercial/Industrial Exclusive Leasing Agency Agreement - EAC134 $20.35 $22.60 20 $13.85

Commercial/Industrial Open Leasing Agency Agreement - EAC135 $20.35 $22.60 20 $13.85

* Based on published REINSW information as at 1 April 2010

How to Order Call the EAC Easy Forms Support Line on 1300 137 161

for more details or simply logon to www.eac.com.auand select the Forms & Stationery icon

106

profile: open2view

Passion for PhotograPhy? Put yourself in the frame with Open2view

from humble beginnings in new Zealand more than 10 years ago, ‘open2view’ has grown to become Australia and new

Zealand’s leading real estate photographic and marketing business.

The company’s Australian website open2view.com.au receives more than 80,000 visitors each month who view the professional images and videos of residential and commercial properties for sale, which are supplied by over 175 photographic franchisees Australia-wide.

Chris Bates, open2view’s founder and managing director, believes the company’s success has been achieved by creating a business where franchisees can be intimately involved, and if properly supported, can achieve their own outstanding business success.

“it’s simple: we succeed if our franchisees succeed,” Chris says.

“My philosophy is similar to ricardo Semler,

Open2view is focussed on finding franchisees who are motivated, passionate, enthusiastic, friendly, creative, and committed to success – just like everyone else in the Open2view community.

the manufacturing magnate of Brazil, who believes that providing the franchisee with the appropriate support, infrastructure and tools they will develop their business to the level that they would never be able to attain individually.

“As a very close knit and extremely proud community, open2view’s franchisees are passionate. like any successful business there is a need for direction and structure, however unlike most businesses the value and respect of individual input and contribution is seen as paramount. Speak to any open2view franchisee and you will find an enthusiastic, professional and dedicated community member wanting to ‘push the envelope’ to its limits. As a ‘cutting edge’ business we draw in the best of technology, marketing, creativity and business processes.

“At the end of the day we are a service industry so we are looking for people who are self motivated, enthusiastic and have the ability to communicate effectively. our people come from all walks of life but the majority have experience or some interest in photography, a creative flair and are computer literate,” Chris says.

open2view’s branding has now become synonymous with quality of product and service and this is being supported with a major radio campaign with ‘Triple M’ in Melbourne to promote open2view to the vendors who are the end user of their services.

At ground level, franchisees develop close working relationships with local real estate agencies, but due to demand they also work for advertising companies and property developers and are known for providing arguably the largest, integrated range of photographic and marketing services available through a single point.

working from open2view branded vehicles, carrying specialist photographic equipment, including a 20 metre extension pole, gives

photographers the flexibility and freedom to get almost every picture and angle required by clients. Training is centred on architectural and real estate photography, but that’s not just taking a ‘snap’. preparation, composition, post-production editing and customer relationship building are all part of the ‘toolkit’.

“Talking of toolkits,” Chris said. “we provide interactive floorplans, walkthroughs with music and voice-overs our 3G mobile web service is fully operational using Qr code technology and we have now started rolling out High Definition video services.

“Most people in open2view do it because they love it. for many it is a lifestyle choice. if you want to run you own successful business, love meeting people and want to be part of an exciting and rapidly growing industry, then we would love to meet you.”

What Open2view’s client say“ - Open2view’s ‘can do’ attitude has delivered amazing results for our business and I believe made a significant contribution to the success of our business” Oakleigh Agency Principle .

“ - WOW – The walkthrough is amazing, THANK YOU so much.. please pass on my thanks to your photographer for doing such a great job” A Vendor from Emerald, Victoria

“ - We used Open2view to photograph our property and were really impressed with how swiftly and professionally this was handled. The photographer was a pleasure to work with and his eye for detail made a world of difference. The photographs captured not only the structural elements of our home, but also the essence and ‘feel’ of the place.” Vendor from Geelong.

Prospective Open2view photographic franchisees should visit the website at www.open2view.com.au to get a feel for the quality of the work, then call Ken Greeff on 0405 556 704 or email [email protected].

Page 29: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition106

profile: open2view

Passion for PhotograPhy? Put yourself in the frame with Open2view

from humble beginnings in new Zealand more than 10 years ago, ‘open2view’ has grown to become Australia and new

Zealand’s leading real estate photographic and marketing business.

The company’s Australian website open2view.com.au receives more than 80,000 visitors each month who view the professional images and videos of residential and commercial properties for sale, which are supplied by over 175 photographic franchisees Australia-wide.

Chris Bates, open2view’s founder and managing director, believes the company’s success has been achieved by creating a business where franchisees can be intimately involved, and if properly supported, can achieve their own outstanding business success.

“it’s simple: we succeed if our franchisees succeed,” Chris says.

“My philosophy is similar to ricardo Semler,

Open2view is focussed on finding franchisees who are motivated, passionate, enthusiastic, friendly, creative, and committed to success – just like everyone else in the Open2view community.

the manufacturing magnate of Brazil, who believes that providing the franchisee with the appropriate support, infrastructure and tools they will develop their business to the level that they would never be able to attain individually.

“As a very close knit and extremely proud community, open2view’s franchisees are passionate. like any successful business there is a need for direction and structure, however unlike most businesses the value and respect of individual input and contribution is seen as paramount. Speak to any open2view franchisee and you will find an enthusiastic, professional and dedicated community member wanting to ‘push the envelope’ to its limits. As a ‘cutting edge’ business we draw in the best of technology, marketing, creativity and business processes.

“At the end of the day we are a service industry so we are looking for people who are self motivated, enthusiastic and have the ability to communicate effectively. our people come from all walks of life but the majority have experience or some interest in photography, a creative flair and are computer literate,” Chris says.

open2view’s branding has now become synonymous with quality of product and service and this is being supported with a major radio campaign with ‘Triple M’ in Melbourne to promote open2view to the vendors who are the end user of their services.

At ground level, franchisees develop close working relationships with local real estate agencies, but due to demand they also work for advertising companies and property developers and are known for providing arguably the largest, integrated range of photographic and marketing services available through a single point.

working from open2view branded vehicles, carrying specialist photographic equipment, including a 20 metre extension pole, gives

photographers the flexibility and freedom to get almost every picture and angle required by clients. Training is centred on architectural and real estate photography, but that’s not just taking a ‘snap’. preparation, composition, post-production editing and customer relationship building are all part of the ‘toolkit’.

“Talking of toolkits,” Chris said. “we provide interactive floorplans, walkthroughs with music and voice-overs our 3G mobile web service is fully operational using Qr code technology and we have now started rolling out High Definition video services.

“Most people in open2view do it because they love it. for many it is a lifestyle choice. if you want to run you own successful business, love meeting people and want to be part of an exciting and rapidly growing industry, then we would love to meet you.”

What Open2view’s client say“ - Open2view’s ‘can do’ attitude has delivered amazing results for our business and I believe made a significant contribution to the success of our business” Oakleigh Agency Principle .

“ - WOW – The walkthrough is amazing, THANK YOU so much.. please pass on my thanks to your photographer for doing such a great job” A Vendor from Emerald, Victoria

“ - We used Open2view to photograph our property and were really impressed with how swiftly and professionally this was handled. The photographer was a pleasure to work with and his eye for detail made a world of difference. The photographs captured not only the structural elements of our home, but also the essence and ‘feel’ of the place.” Vendor from Geelong.

Prospective Open2view photographic franchisees should visit the website at www.open2view.com.au to get a feel for the quality of the work, then call Ken Greeff on 0405 556 704 or email [email protected].

Business Franchise Profile:Open2view

Page 30: FTB Edition 9

iRealty Proud to be associated with EAC

iRealty Premium – Property eNewsletters with serious Grunt

Meaningful Property eNewsletters in 5 minutes iRealty Premium, incorporating iRealty’s revolutionary Lead Alert Solution

(AU Pat No. 2011100146) – (International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/AU2011/000107)

iRealty Premium will send your Leads – Buyers and Sellers alike, straight to your mobile phone and email inbox BEFORE your Contact is lost to a Competitor

No need to be a computer whiz to create and send your Property eNewsletters

No need to sit and watch the screen to see the results of your eNewsletter Campaign come in

Property listings automatically loaded to your iRealty Account Comprehensive Content Library at your fingertips Property eNewsletters will save your Vendors money and, reduce listing

times Property eNewsletters will Educate your Buyers Property eNewsletters will Educate your Sellers Property eNewsletters will generate Property Sales Property eNewsletters will generate new Property Listings Property eNewsletters CAN become the main source of Sales and Listings

for ANY Real Estate office no matter how large or small or how well resourced that office is. With just minimal training from iRealty and a little discipline

Contact iRealty NOW! 1300 855 982

1300 855 982 [email protected] www.irealty.com.au/eac

Page 31: FTB Edition 9

Did you Know?

EAC Members receive a 10% discount on any realestate.com.au website package

when renewing their subscription.

EAC Membership enables any of your office staff to a National Fleet Motor

Vehicle Discount from either Sutton City Holden or Lander Mitsubishi Motors on a

large range of their current models.

EAC Membership enables your office to contact our Agency Practice experts for free informative advice and guidance on

practice related issues.

EAC Members can take advantage of our relationship with Caltex & Ampol fuel

providers and can apply for a Starcard account facility that provides members with a discount off the pump price for

petrol and diesel.

There’s a lot more to EAC Membership than you may think. Visit www.eac.com.au or call EAC Membership Services on 1300 137 161 for more details on our

substantial membership benefits.

iRealty Proud to be associated with EAC

iRealty Premium – Property eNewsletters with serious Grunt

Meaningful Property eNewsletters in 5 minutes iRealty Premium, incorporating iRealty’s revolutionary Lead Alert Solution

(AU Pat No. 2011100146) – (International PCT Patent Application No. PCT/AU2011/000107)

iRealty Premium will send your Leads – Buyers and Sellers alike, straight to your mobile phone and email inbox BEFORE your Contact is lost to a Competitor

No need to be a computer whiz to create and send your Property eNewsletters

No need to sit and watch the screen to see the results of your eNewsletter Campaign come in

Property listings automatically loaded to your iRealty Account Comprehensive Content Library at your fingertips Property eNewsletters will save your Vendors money and, reduce listing

times Property eNewsletters will Educate your Buyers Property eNewsletters will Educate your Sellers Property eNewsletters will generate Property Sales Property eNewsletters will generate new Property Listings Property eNewsletters CAN become the main source of Sales and Listings

for ANY Real Estate office no matter how large or small or how well resourced that office is. With just minimal training from iRealty and a little discipline

Contact iRealty NOW! 1300 855 982

1300 855 982 [email protected] www.irealty.com.au/eac

The Ultimate Digital

Signage Window Display

With real estate buyers conditioned to viewing properties from the comfort and convenience of

their computer, traditional card displays are quickly becoming nothing but time-wasting window fillers.

Forward thinking real estate agents who saw the marketing movement toward digital signage are fully reaping the benefits of the set-and-forget technology that effectively maximises office window space with

individual dynamic screens.

Australian digital display company iVisual now provides real estate agents with a new and bold

window display technology that takes marketing and presentation to a whole new level - the iVisual iWall.

By linking multiple screens, a single image can span a whole array of screens to display on a combined video wall. Listings can be randomly displayed on individual screens with prime listings or corporate

marketing being injected into the presentation schedule to display over multiple screens for

maximum impact.

For more information visit iVisual.com.auor call 1300 767 116

Page 32: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

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

Welcome New Members

31

My Abode Real Estate Alexandria Kaster Yuen

Dougmal Harcourts Dapto Michael Garside

Nicholson Property Consultants Manly Mark Nicholson

Integrity Property Agents Gymea Clasina Shipsey

T. Williams & Co Cootamundra Richard Adams

Dare Developments North Sydney Joan Khouzame

Raine & Horne Wollongong Harry Kersten

Katrina Beohm Real Estate Katrina Beohm

W Group Pty Ltd Matthew Walsh

Sawtell Real Estate P/L Jon Withers

Bundanoon Real Estate John Byrne

State-Wide Realty Engadine Bruce Werry

Yass Valley Property Andrew Curlewis

Moruya Tuross Real Estate Lilian Brindley

Elders Real Estate Ballina Natalie Leslie

RE/MAX Unlimited Realty Miranda George Bournelis

Chris Gryllis Real Estate Chris Gryllis

Elders Real Estate Tumut Ray Piper

Westside Industrial Arndell Park Grant Beaumont

John Puglisi Property Services Hunters Hill John Puglisi

irent Property Management NSW Debra Palmer

Ray White Berala Frank Screnci

Century 21 Plateau Property Alstonville Noel Outerbridge

Inside Story Realty Robertson Susan Everdell

Todd’s Real Estate Bundanoon Wayne Todd

Harvey Carr Realty Springwood Collin Harvey

Future Partners Real Estate Bankstown Duy Khang Dang

Botta Sutherland Shire Menai Leonie Mallice

Treasure Real Estate Ashfield George Lee

National Industrial Realty Smithfield John Capolupo

Benchmark National Moorebank Vince Tripodina

Brough Real Estate Ashfield Timothy Simpson

Gordon Robinson Real Estate Bellevue Hill Jane Robinson

Professionals Real Estate Goulburn Allan McDonald

Ray White Yass Daniel Gilbert

Blue Square Property Mascot Amos Fischmann

Derrick MacRae Estate Agents Glebe Derrick Macrae

The Property Investors Alliance Burwood Yue Wang

Tringas Property Group Nick Tringas

Guardian Property & Asset Management (NSW) Pty Ltd Liam Crowther

Waterdale Property Agents Balmain Lisa Ballo

L J Hooker Orange Patrick Cutcliffe

Page 33: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

EAC Contact List

SYDNEY

Estate Agents Co-operative Ltd.ABN 52 079 055 637274 Miller Road Villawood NSW 2163 Phone: (02) 9724 6999 Fax: (02) 9724 6407 Email: [email protected]

General Enquiries Phone: (02) 9724 6999

Membership Services Phone: 1300 137 161 Fax: (02) 9724 6407 Email: [email protected]

Red Square Support Phone: 1300 137 161 Email: [email protected]

Web Design & Development Phone: 1300 137 161 Email: [email protected]

Real Estate Forms & Stationery Phone: 1300 137 161 Email: [email protected]

realestateworld.com.au Publications Phone: 1300 789 675 Fax: (02) 9724 6260 Email: [email protected]

Training & Professional Development Phone: 1300 818 874 Email: [email protected]

Print & Design Phone: 1300 952 258 Email: [email protected] Web: www.eacprinting.com.au

WOLLONGONG

11 Victoria Street Phone: (02) 4228 8445Wollongong NSW 2500 Fax: (02) 4226 3926

32

Page 34: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

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

EAC & realestateworld.com.auAccount Managers

Jeff Buchanan

0419 697 [email protected] Area of Operation – Lower Northern Sydney, Central North Sydney, Northern Beaches, South Eastern Hills District

Beanca Karaniki

0407 648 [email protected] Area of Operation – St George Sutherland, Eastern Suburbs, Inner Sydney, Inner Western Sydney, Southern Highlands

Sharon Wells

0425 267 [email protected] Area of Operation – Central Coast, Hunter

Victor Baptista

0434 155 886 [email protected] Area of Operation – Fairfield, Liverpool, Outer Western Sydney, Blacktown, Shaolhaven, Central West NSW

Angelo Lofitis

0434 155 887 [email protected] Area of Operation – Canterbury Bankstown, Central Western Sydney, The Murray, ACT, Riverina

33

Page 35: FTB Edition 9

FTB 9th Edition

Phyllis Devereaux

1300 137 [email protected] Member & Client Services

Pat Royce

0425 257 [email protected] Area of Operation – Illawarra, Mid North Coast NSW

Malcolm Walsh

0425 332 [email protected] Area of Operation – Illawarra

Jon Casey

0434 155 [email protected] Area of Operation – Mid North Coast, Grafton, North Coast

realestateworld.com.au Publication enquiries.

EAC Membership and Red Square enquiries.

Kitra Brennan

0425 389 [email protected] Area of Operation – New England / North West

34

Page 36: FTB Edition 9

OAMPS Insurance Brokers Ltd ABN 34 005 543 920 AFSL 238312

www.oamps.com.au

Closer to clients, closer to communities®

The complexities of running a business today require support by an insurance adviser who understands your specific risk exposures and is able to develop tailor made solutions that adequately protect your business.

At OAMPS Insurance Brokers we’ve made it our business to get to know the risks associated with running a real estate agency business.

Working in conjunction with the Estate Agents Co-operative, OAMPS has developed industry specific risk cover and services, including -• Professional Indemnity and Management Liability• Expanded business insurance policy coverage• Workers Compensation advice and claims/premium expertise• In house claims processing

For an obligation free appraisal of your insurance requirements, contact your nearest OAMPS branch.

NORTH SYDNEY (02) 9424 1705 PARRAMATTA (02) 8838 5700 WAGGA WAGGA (02) 6933 6600 WOLLONGONG (02) 4266 8700NEWCASTLE (02) 4979 3333

FORBES (02) 6851 1200 CANBERRA (02) 6283 6555

One insurance broker understandsthe real estate agency business.