First time winner to ‘pimp’ his property

October 24, 2011 1 Comment

Craig Folino receives his prize from principal Tim Treeby

First National Real Estate Treeby recently announced that Ringwood resident, Craig Folino had won First National’s ‘Pimp Your Property’ competition for a Dulux home re-paint worth up to $10,000.

‘Australians just love home ownership and there’s a huge amount of interest in making improvements in order to maximise capital growth. But the last thing people want to do in their spare time is paint their house’ Timothy Treeby, principal from First National Treeby said.

‘In a sense, we all prosper by riding on the back of our property renovations so we took a tongue in cheek view in the naming of this home re-painting competition.

‘As registrations for the competition began pouring in, my hopes that one of our local residents would win the competition really began to lift’ said Mr Treeby.

‘When our national administration contacted me with the winner’s details, I couldn’t wait to make the call to let the customer know.’

Competition winner, Craig Folino was over the moon when he received the news.

‘I couldn’t believe that I had really won the competition and would be receiving a re-paint to the value of $10,000. I’ve never won anything in my life’ said Mr Folino.

As a customer of First National Treeby, Mr Folino already has the agency manage an investment property. He became aware of the competition through the agency’s online marketing and entered via First National Ringwood’s website.

‘Having bought property through First National Treeby and also having an investment property managed by them, it’s brilliant that I have the opportunity to improve the value and appearance of my property with this Dulux painting and consultancy prize.’

Mr Treeby estimates that a $10,000 investment in the property of Mr Folino’s choice will improve its value by many tens of thousands of dollars.

Mr Folino visited First National Treeby’s Ringwood office to receive the official prize notification and arrangements are now being made for a consultation to the value of $1000 with a Dulux Colour Consultant, to be followed up shortly afterwards with the home re-paint to the value of $9000.

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Agents should rate in energy scheme

October 20, 2011 2 Comments

Media Release – 20 October 2011

As Federal Parliament passes the Carbon Tax, legislators and policy makers should now turn their minds to making a viable and adoptable national mandatory disclosure energy rating scheme says Stewart Bunn, communications manager of First National Real Estate.

“We support mandatory disclosure of a home’s energy rating, which is where this nation, and the rest of the world, is heading,” Mr Bunn said.

“But we need to make sure the proper policy and regulations are in place, and that the appropriate people play the right roles.”

According to Mr Bunn, the crucial component to success is a national and consistent approach.

“Each state already has a ratings scheme in place, but there are no national standards and regulations,” Mr Bunn said.

“A number of studies conducted by both industry and academia have found ratings and results to be inconsistent.  This can be due to software flaws or subjective interpretation of results and can be compounded by a lack of correlation between the actual energy performance of houses and their star ratings.

Mr Bunn said the real solution to the mandatory disclosure issue lay with government and industry working together.

“Government needs to get the scheme right and put in place the appropriate financial support, resources and implementation,” Mr Bunn said.

“That means getting the regulations and policies passed, educating the general public on the benefits of energy efficiency ratings and funding ongoing research and development.

“It then falls to real estate agents to promote the ratings through the marketing of the properties they have on their books to buyers and lessors.”

The real question then, says Mr Bunn, is how assessors are selected, trained and accredited. It is important that they are independent of the real estate profession so no potential conflict of interest is perceived by consumers.

“This is the tricky part of the equation,” Mr Bunn said.

The First National Real Estate network is committed to environmentally efficient principles and prides itself on its green initiatives – it fully supports a national mandatory disclosure of energy efficient ratings scheme, as long as all players act in the interest of the environment.

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For further information contact Stewart Bunn, National Communications Manager, on 1800 032 332

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Albany Creek winners to ‘pimp’ their property

October 18, 2011 Leave a comment

Kerrie & Rodney Stuckey accept their vouchers from Des McKeever

Media Release – 18 October 2011

First National Real Estate Albany Creek today announced that local residents, Rodney and Kerrie Stuckey had won a prize in First National’s Queensland ‘Pimp Your Property Home Renovation Giveaway’ competition.

‘The prize sees Rodney and Kerrie pocket $500 in Bunnings Hardware vouchers to use to improve their home, or whatever they choose’ said Des McKeever, First National Albany Creek principal.

Mr Stuckey was very excited to receive a call from First National Albany Creek last week, inviting him to a presentation of the prize.

‘You can rest assured that these vouchers will be money well spent’ said Mr Stuckey.

‘I also want to acknowledge the First National Real Estate team for its honesty in this prize draw. When a person with no previous association with First National can win a substantial promotional prize, it validates the openness and integrity of the organisation.

‘I may have had no association with First National in the past, but your sincerity assures I will deal with you on property matters in the future’.

As registrations for the ‘Pimp Your Property Home Renovation Giveaway’ competition began pouring in, Mr McKeever’s hopes that one of his local residents would win the competition really began to lift.

‘When our administration contacted me with the winner’s details, I couldn’t wait to make the call to let Mr Stuckey know’ said Mr McKeever.

Queensland residents can enter First National Real Estate’s current competition, ‘Get the job done’ through the rest of the month of October. There are five $5,000 Bunnings Hardware gift voucher prizes to be won.

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Issued by: First National Real Estate

For further information Des McKeever, Principal from First National Real Estate Albany Creek on: 3264 2188 or 0416 150 841

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Look beyond fees for effective management

October 13, 2011 Leave a comment

National Property & Marketing Manager, Amanda Kohler

Media Release 13 October 2011

Nearly 150 of First National Real Estate’s property managers recently gathered in Melbourne for the network’s annual Property Management Conference – ‘Network, Share, Evolve’.

The professional development forum was chiefly focused on issues affecting the efficient management of millions of dollars of property investments nationally.

Because of changes to Australian tax law, investors can now borrow for the purposes of property investment and this has resulted in an exponential increase in the amount of property acquired by Self Managed Superannuation Funds (SMSFs). As a result, property managers must be prepared says First National Real Estate’s Property and Marketing Manager, Amanda Kohler.

‘A recent draft ATO ruling suggests trustees may soon be able to use money in their fund to renovate property as well. That means property managers need to be equipped to guide landlords who own investments, as part of their SMSF, toward appropriate, cost effective renovations, using licensed tradespeople. First National Real Estate has taken steps to assure that its property managers are aware of qualified specialists in the industry and can point customers towards a range of providers.’

According to First National, most property investors spend too little time assessing the skills of their property manager and need to look beyond fees when choosing who will manage their investment portfolio.

‘Property Managers frequently manage real estate portfolios exceeding the value of most financial advisors yet rarely receive such recognition’ says Ms Kohler.

‘The commitment required to effectively maintain properties, quality client relations, legislative compliance, and, excellence in customer service is sometimes extra-ordinary or even super-human’.

Yet, when choosing a property manager the network indicates that the majority of landlords and investors look only at management fees, thinking that property management represents little more than the collection of rent.

‘Investors need to consider the systems and experience behind the agency that they are entrusting the management of their properties to’ says Ms Kohler.

‘Professionally qualified and trained property managers bring so much more to the equation than rent collection. You only need to experience one problem with a tenant to begin to understand the importance of a comprehensive appreciation of the laws governing tenancy. Paying a slightly higher fee for a more professional manager makes a huge difference, even without a problem tenancy.

‘And, a good property manager does so much more than protect you from undue anxiety. They offer valuable advice about how to improve rental yields, guidance on when and where to invest and can even point investors towards the right place for advice about tax effective property investment for Self Managed Superannuation Funds’ says Ms Kohler.

Property investment remains one of the most secure forms of long-term wealth creation and, with current share market volatility as well as concerns about the economies of Europe and the United States, First National anticipates increasing interest in property investment from Australian investors in the next twelve months.

‘A climate of stable interest rates and the prospect of perhaps even a reduction in rates in the near future makes bricks and mortar exceptionally attractive’ says Ms Kohler.

First National Real Estate has over 450 offices throughout Australia and New Zealand.

For further information:
First National Real Estate:
National Property and Marketing Manager, Amanda Kohler on 1800 032 332

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Get the job done! Win one of five $5,000 hardware vouchers

October 1, 2011 Leave a comment

Media Release – 1 October 2011

First National Real Estate has launched a competition throughout Australia where homeowners or home hunters have five chances to win $5,000 in hardware gift vouchers.

‘Australians love do it yourself projects so there’s always huge interest in our competitions where the prize helps get another home improvement finished’ said Stewart Bunn, First National’s communications manager.

‘Whether you own your own home or rent, there’s a lot of useful equipment or even home furnishings that you can buy with $5,000 worth of hardware gift vouchers’.

During the competition, First National Real Estate will also be offering a free iPhone App called Real Estate Rumble’ said Mr Bunn.

‘Real Estate Rumble is just for fun. You don’t have to play the game for a chance to win one of the five competition prizes but, like building up a real estate portfolio, the game is addictive’.

Customers can download their free game from Apple’s iTunes Store or the App Store; just search ‘Real Estate Rumble’.

To enter the competition, participants should visit www.firstnational.com.au or the website of their nearest First National office and follow the prompts to register.

‘Get the job done’ runs between 1 October 2011 and 11.59 pm AEDST on 31 October 2011.

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Issued by: First National Real Estate
For further information Stewart Bunn, National Communications Manager, 1800 032 332

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