The wait is finally over. Prudential Real Estate Narellan is now open!

Property owners in and around Narellan can now experience the same premium real estate service enjoyed by their Campbelltown cousins since 1988 with the opening of the new Prudential Real Estate office at Narellan.

The new branch is located at 5 Somerset Avenue, in newly renovated premises, directly opposite Macarthur Credit Union.

Headed up by budding entrepreneur and self-confessed workaholic, Nick Gauci, the Narellan team cannot wait to meet the locals. Nick is joined by experienced real estate professionals Rhonda Ekinci and Kaela Simpson.

“We do things a little differently. After operating the Ingleburn branch for the past two years we have developed a unique approach to marketing properties that often creates record prices in days rather than months” commented Nick on his first day at the new office.

“We’ve found that most people we serve need only a few things done properly. Outstanding advertising, hard working agents with crack negotiating skills and fairdinkum feedback. That’s what we do. And our hundreds of past clients agree”

With demand for quality real estate services growing in the area, the Narellan team is thrilled to be offering their unique brand of real estate services to such suburbs as; Mount Annan, Currans Hill, Spring Farm, Harrington Park and Elderslie.

Both Nick and Rhonda are committed to delivering on the Prudential Service Guarantees and understand the worries homeowners face in choosing the ‘right agent’. Nick adds that “With Prudential Service Guarantees, our clients enjoy superior service backed by the latest technology plus a highly personalised marketing plan without the worries you might associate with a property sale.”

With future plans to move into the developing suburbs of Oran Park Town and Gregory Hills as the market continues to heat up, Prudential Real Estate Narellan looks forward to assisting local residents through their property journey, whether buying, selling, renting or leasing. Now trading in Narellan, stop into our office on Somerset Avenue to meet our team. We look forward to meeting you!

(Look for our sign, you won’t miss it!)

We've got a Heart!

Yesterday, we were fortunate enough to be visited at our Prudential Real Estate Campbelltown by Katya Yatsenko, General Manager at Heart for the Homeless.

Heart for the Homeless is a not-for-profit organisation which promotes and facilitates the reuse and recycling of homeowners unwanted goods to those less fortunate. Registering your unwanted furniture and clothing for collection will see Heart for the Homeless contact you to assess the goods, organise a hassle-free pick-up time...and they will handle the rest!

Distributing the goods to charities to help fund crisis counselling, emergency housing and so much more, Heart for homeless is a helping hand for those in need.Click here to watch their “Story” video.

We interviewed Katya and here's what happened...

Shelby; Why are you passionate about Heart for the Homeless?

Katya; Heart for the Homeless initiative incorporates the common sense approach where instead of throwing away unused or unloved clothes and furniture people can easily donate these items to people in need and, hence, positively impact lives in their community.

It also encourages people to be kind to the environment.

Shelby;Tell us a little bit more about Heart for the Homeless...What does it involve?

Katya; The “It’s Your Move” initiative seeks to rescue and reclaim on average 15-50 kg of usable resources that would normally be thrown out each time a person moves home.

We aim to minimise waste and damage to the environment by connecting the real estate industry with Heart for the Homeless. This has been achieved through developing a web based technology where residents moving home can "register their move" and "make their move count".

Our system notifies a charity in the area to collect unwanted items and redistribute them to those in need or to help fund crisis counselling, emergency housing and so much more.

Please watch our 1-minute CardboardCity video that visually explains our concept.

Shelby; What are the core values at the heart of this not-for-profit organisation?

Katya; Our vision is to be a progressive and passionately efficient organisation, focused on influencing and empowering our community to be active in reducing poverty.

Unfortunately, when it comes to homelessness, there is no one single solution, that’s why we’re working on creating efficient programs and systems. If we can creatively connect the supplies to those in need, we believe, we could see thousands of lives positively impacted by the vision that is Heart for the Homeless.

Shelby; Prudential Real Estate is excited to become more involved in the promotion of our association with Heart for the Homeless, how can others get involved with the cause too?

Katya; Our initiative is a great opportunity for people to make a difference every time they move homes or just spring cleaning. Anyone can register for a free collection of their unwanted or unloved items at http://www.heartforthehomeless.org/site/apply-now

Rather than throwing away unused or unloved clothes and furniture, we are encouraging all tenants and homeowners to think about donating their unwanted goods to someone less fortunate in the community, as well as being kind to the environment.

Shelby; Why is it important to give ‘heart’ to the homeless?

Katya; There are currently more than 100,000 people in Australia who are homeless. However, each day 11,000 Australians move house, discarding up to 50kg of usable resources during this process – that’s approximately 2,000,000 items straight to landfill each week.

Our initiative has an exciting blend of compassion and common sense with multi-faceted charitable advantages where donated items are redistributed to those in need, or used to generate funds to resource multiple aid and assistance programs on the ground.

Shelby; Thank you for coming out to speak to us today Katya.

We really appreciate it and look forward to developing our relationship with Heart for the Homeless.

At Prudential Real Estate we are proud to sponsor Heart for the Homeless to facilitate the collection of our clients’ unwanted goods to find a new home with those most in need. Our staff will be out and about spreading the word about this worthy cause as they reach out to the local community. So feel free to ask them how you can get involved in this initiative, or please find more at: http://www.heartforthehomeless.org/site/about.

We also invite the community to participate alongside the Prudential Real Estate Team in the A Night Out in the Cold Macarthur this August. We’d love to see you there!

It’s time to LOCK IT IN!

With the recent repeat 0.25% interest rate cut, we were frightfully unaware of how ideal the time is for all homeowners to secure a better mortgage interest rate.

Luckily, Craig Corbett came to visit us this morning at our Prudential Real Estate, Campbelltown office to fill us in on this fantastic opportunity. Craig has highlighted to us that as the interest rate cycle is on a downward curve, an upward trend is imminent, making now the perfect time to lock in fixed rates.

Let’s be honest...no one likes to repay more to the banks than we have to. So, now at 2.0%, it is the best time to contact Craig to find out how you can partially or fully secure your interest rate at: 3.99 % fixed rate for 3 years or 4.39% fixed rate for 5 years. Mortgage repayments attribute a fair dent to the  household budget, so why not reassess your options today and lock in a better deal.

Please follow the following link to find out more about Craig Corbett’s partnered home loan services:

http://www.prudential.com.au/how-much-can-i-borrow-loans.html

Craig is happy to provide you with guidance on the rate options available on:  0418 204 120.

Surprise...Surprise. Guess who won an award?

Well guess what happened for our team at the LPMA Conference 2015?

Drumroll please…

Nick Giles, Business Development Manager (Property Management), was honoured as a joint-recipient of the nationally recognised, LPMA 'Excellence in Business Development' Award, 2015.

We don’t want to make Nick’s head too big, however the Prudential team is very proud and appreciative of Nick’s ongoing and innovative efforts in Business Development. Driving the team Business Development teams’ client-focused Property Management services, Nick has helped Prudential pioneer the local marketplace.

Celebrating his win with a few ‘sparkling waters’ after the Leading Property Managers of Australia Awards for Excellence Night, Nick’s passion for consistently meeting client objectives has finally been recognised. Attributing the win to the support of our Business Development teams’ commitment to client engagement; implementing our 5 service guarantees and innovating new ways to satisfy client objectives and reward loyalty.

At the helm of the Business Development (Property Management) team since its start up in 2012, Nick has developed a unique BD approach which is resulting in exciting opportunities for our clients and our organisation.

So why are we different?

Take a closer look at why Prudential’s Business Development team is out-mastering the competition - our guaranteed property management services which ensure, for example, the payment of rent to landlords regardless of tenant payment. Prudential is unique to the marketplace in our ability to offer the following guarantees:

1. If your tenant won’t pay the rent we will;
2. If we have not found a tenant for your property in 14 days we will pay the rent;
3. Not happy? Pay nothing;
4. 3-months try-before-you-buy service and,
5. Switch from another agent, no cost, no stress

For more information on our five service guarantees please visit:

http://www.prudential.com.au/our-guarantee-of-services.html

Yes, it finally happened! Prudential pays out on guarantee.

When we introduced our Guaranteed Property Management Service last year we were very confident. 

After all, we had worked very hard to produce a service that was second-to-none, substantially better than any of our competitors and one that would ensure a new standard of satisfaction for our landlord clients.

We were so sure we guaranteed our performance - we offered to pay if our service fell short of expectations.This was a  first for any real estate agent in Sydney.  

So, I guess it was inevitable that eventually something would go wrong, and it did. 

Fortunately for our clients, Bernadette and Simon, pictured below, they were protected by our guaranteed service and didn't lose a cent. In addition, they now have a wonderful tenant, paying their rent on time and looking after their property investment as if it were their own. They can also sleep well at night knowing our guaranteed service will protect them in the future as their investment grows.

You can find out more about our Guaranteed Property Management Service on our website - click here.

Why did we publish this story? Our guarantees appear too good to be true. In fact, several people doubted we would pay even if there was a claim, thinking our guarantees were some sort of elaborate trick. So we thought it would be a good thing to prove that occasionally we do not reach the high standards we set for ourselves (we're only human, after all) But when this happens our clients do not lose - and we have to pay out on our guarantees

Some agents are useless ... sorry, but they are

Lots of things have changed in real estate over the past few years. It wouldn't take me long to write a long list but I want to tell you about one of the silliest trends we've noticed.

Years ago, if you wanted to buy a property, you called on your local real estate agent. For an increasing number of people this is no longer the way they buy property.

Today, some people employ a buyers agent.

What's a buyers agent? This is a real estate agent who acts for the buyer. In theory they locate the best property for their buyer client, negotiate a really great price and pass on the benefit to their client, the buyer, who then pays them a fee, often thousands of dollars.

I can understand how this trend has come about. After all, real estate agents are trained negotiators. Good agents are excellent negotiators. But we act for the property seller, not the buyer. And because people only buy property once in a while and are not as skilled as real estate agents with the negotiation of property sales many buyers will feel they need to be protected by someone with equal skills.

Sounds like a great theory, doesn't it?

But the buyer's agents we have come into contact with have been useless.

I know that's a bit tough, but honestly, they are terrible negotiators. At least the ones we have met. And in almost 100% of cases they pay too much. For an agent like me who acts for the property seller they are a dream come true. They avoid negotiating by making a great offer to start with which they know our client, the property seller will accept, often with a big grin and open arms.

Great for us. Not great for the buyer they represent who now has to pay thousands for the privilege of paying too much. Amazing!

If you are thinking of buying a property save your money and go direct to your local real estate agent. I could almost guarantee you'll end up much better financially.

Real estate advertising - what you read should be what you get!

Can you believe what you read?

Apparently not when it comes to real estate agent's advertisements. It seems for many years most of us have been a little wary of the often colourful descriptions agents use when pitching their latest listing.

And who can blame them? I'm sure we've all heard of someone who has responded to an advertisement for a "great first home" only to find the structure barely held together by spiderwebs and hope.

In fact, many of the jokes about real estate agents would be devoid of meaning if there were not an accepted set of assumptions about their manipulative use of language, as the following extracts from BBC News Online, humorous “dictionaries” of estate agent euphemism demonstrates: 

In Need of TLC ... often means ... In need of demolition.

Internal Viewing Recommended ... often means ... Looks awful on the outside.

Original Features ... often means ... Water tank still contains cholera bacterium.

Studio apartment ... often means ... You can wash the dishes, watch the TV, and answer the front door without getting up from the toilet.

Secluded location ... often means ... It was in the middle-of-nowhere - barren and desolate. Suitable film set for Mad Max 5, perhaps?

I'm sure you get the picture.

But things have changed in recent years. In NSW and in most other states Agents are expected to write accurate advertisements without exaggeration - sometimes a difficult task when trying to present a client's property in the best light.

Section 51 of the NSW Property, Stock and Business Agents Act 2002 forbids a licensee in the course of carrying on their business from publishing or causing others to publish any statement that:

• is intended or apparently intended by the licensee to promote the sale or lease of any property, and
• is materially false, misleading or deceptive (whether to the licensee’s knowledge or not).

Fair Trading NSW has a range of penalties waiting for any agent who oversteps the mark. This is good news for consumers who can now view advertisements placed by agents in the reasonably certain knowledge that "what you read is what you get"

Whilst I was researching this article I came across the following item which pokes fun at the way property advertising has been viewed in the past and I thought you might enjoy it as much as I did - remembering, of course, agents today have a higher standard to follow.