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  • We Are Real Estate

    Ashleigh Goodchild: Pushing boundaries

    On getting into real estateAfter studying naturopathy and accumulating way too many massage prac hours, I decided to get a job as a receptionist in a real estate office while I finished off my study. Turns out, real estate gets really busy and I got promoted before I finished the massaging hours. The happiest moment in my careerOpening up my…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Jack Miltos: Gut feelings

    On getting into real estateI chose real estate when I was a 16 year old kid. I remember driving around with my family looking at properties with an agent, getting in the car afterwards and my older brother saying the agent has a tough job dealing with people all day and only making money when he makes a sale, he’d…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Tameka Smith: Quality over quantity

    On getting into real estateI was working in property valuations and was approached by a well-known real estate agent to join his business. I started in administration then moved very quickly into property management. The happiest moment in my careerEstablishing my own rental company, with a very clear quality over quantity approach. Winning a few awards in 2018, including the…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Rebecca Halton: Service with a smile

    On getting into real estateI was looking for a Saturday job while studying and my mum owned a franchise. I loved it from then. The happiest moment in my careerCompeting in my first auctioneering competition. The most memorable momentA property on the Gold Coast, it was rockstar. It was listed for sale with a market leader who didn’t sell it.…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Tiron Manning: Nurture not nag

    On getting into real estateI was dragged from inspection to inspection as a kid, then through display home after display home when parents decided to knock down and rebuild. I got to see a lot of property in my early years. In my mid 20s I was sick of the retail environment of working harder for no extra return or…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Carmel Gardiner: Listen closely

    On getting into real estateI chose real estate after having my family and decided I wanted a career.  I wanted a long-term option, not a part-time role in retail.  The happiest moment in my careerBeing involved with people who want to grow and develop into roles they possibly never thought they could achieve.  Best advice she’s receivedListen to people and…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Julie Harris: Flying solo

    On getting into real estateI was an executive recruiter for 23 years, then the GFC happened and I lost three jobs in as many years. I had to rethink my career and retrain or no one would employ me. A friend suggested real estate so I thought I’d give the certificate a try. I haven’t looked back since. The happiest…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Adam Flynn: Aiming high

    On getting into real estateI was kicked out of school at Year 11 and decided that I wanted to get into real estate straight away, but I had to wait until I was 18. As soon as I reached that age, I started my career and have not considered doing anything else since! The happiest moment in my careerThe happiest…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Jacinta Purvis: Determination, grit and bravery

    On getting into real estateMy husband and I relocated to Bathurst from Sydney after having children to be closer to family. An opportunity arose to enter real estate. With our skill set we thought we could transfer across to the real estate industry. The happiest moment in my careerBeing awarded the top 10 sales agents in Australia’s First National Network…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Fran Wernert: You’re in control

    On getting into real estateI never had any intention of having a career in real estate, however an opportunity presented itself and I went with it. I was working in the newspaper industry as an advertising rep and one of my clients owned a real estate agency. He offered me a job at a time when I was looking for…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Michael McCarthy: From little things, big things grow

    On getting into real estateI chose to be involved in real estate as a franchise manager for a national brand in 1993, with no intention of staying solely in real estate. I very quickly came to realise that I enjoyed the industry and the people within it, and progressed to a national management role quite quickly. An opportunity then opened…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Rob Ward: Stronger together

    On getting into real estateI was running a small web design business prior to REA and Domain portals becoming popular. One of my clients was a local real estate business and they hired me to implement new technologies in their company.  The happiest moment in my careerThere have been many happy moments in my career,…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    David Dwyer: Hooked from day one

    On getting into real estateI responded to an advertisement in the paper. I really had no idea of the day-to-day processes an agent needs to complete, but I was addicted from day one. The happiest moment in my careerAny time I hand the keys to a new owner, especially a first home buyer. The most memorable momentTwo come to mind.…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Melissa Bussenschutt: Nursing new challenges

    On getting into real estateI was an enrolled nurse for around 20 years when I found real estate. I was at a stage where I was looking for something more. My kids had grown up and I felt like I wasn’t challenged anymore. I was lucky enough to be offered a position as a property manager with a local regional…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Damien Ogilvy: Challenging sales are the best

    On getting into real estateI have always had an interest in real estate and spent quite a bit of time looking for the right opportunity to enter the industry. The happiest moment in my careerReally helping people. Sometimes that means a record price that helps accelerate their financial growth, or sometimes it is helping a family out of a really…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Vivien Yap: Don’t give up

    On getting into real estateReal estate chose me, as this is not my first career. Real Estate came to me as my friend recommended I do the real estate course as he had a home for me to sell. The happiest moment in my careerHelping clients. One of the most satisfying was helping my client sell her home just in…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Loretta Khoo: The difference between ordinary and extraordinary

    On getting into real estateI’m not sure whether you choose a passion, or it chooses you. Initially, I thought I chose real estate, but quickly realised it was in my blood and I had followed a deep-seated passion.  The happiest moment in my careerDespite the professional accolades, the happiest times in my career have been those satisfying moments when I…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Frank Cui: DIY agent

    On getting into real estateI was in corporate banking and moved into property development but had not really considered real estate sales as a career. However, in using others to sell property, my expectations were not being met, so  I decided to do it myself.  The happiest moment in my careerThere have been many, many of them but any moment…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Julie Munro: Policing to property

    On getting into real estateAfter 23 years of policing, I fell in love with a real estate agent who lived 1400kms away from me. I took eight months of long service leave and dabbled in what I would do when I moved to Townsville.  Before I knew it, I was a ‘sorta’ PA to my partner (his whole family are…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Jo Mooney: Going ‘all-in’

    On getting into real estateIt’s probably strange to say, but real estate sales was always on my bucket-list, but the timing had never been right earlier in life for the commitment I knew it would require to go ‘all in’. Seven years ago, at just the right time, the opportunity came up within a well-established franchise group, so I grabbed…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Matt Goding: Setting goals

    On getting into real estateIt has always been an interest of mine since I was in secondary school. The happiest moment in my careerWhen I was promoted to a department manager role in a previous job. The most memorable momentThe first unit I sold when starting my career in sales. Best advice he’s receivedDon’t take what your clients say to…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Jason Martin: Turning a hobby into a career

    On getting into real estateIn another life I was working in the money market for a merchant bank and looking for a new challenge or career where my results were more tangible and benefited people I dealt with more directly. I ended up turning a keen interest and hobby in real estate into a career. …

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Pamela Lee Burge: Your smile is your logo

    On getting into real estateMy cousin worked in a real estate office that managed our property while we were overseas and when we returned with a three-month-old baby, I said what everybody says: “I’ve always thought I’d like to be a real estate agent”. I left her office with a job I wasn’t even sure I wanted and have never…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Darin Butcher: treat every sale as if it’s your first

    On getting into real estateAt first I chose computer science to do at university, but after a year failing and reviewing my options, I decided that I would come back to the Central Coast. I was looking for a job at the same time I was learning real estate at Tafe as a backup. Once I started studying real estate,…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Andrew Milne: The art of selling

    On getting into real estateI had been working in men’s retail, in particular selling suits. I had always liked property but I wasn’t handy so I couldn’t be a tradie, but I knew I could sell so I decided to sell homes instead of build them. The happiest moment in my careerWinning my first award for the top salesperson in…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Matt Lahood: Reaching full potential

    On getting into real estate From the ages of 7 to 15 my parents owned three rentals, which my mum managed. They couldn’t afford an agent, so mum would collect the rent and visit the properties – I would go along too and I thought this would be a fun job. The happiest moment in my career When I first…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Katie Knight: Family ties

    On getting into real estate My dad opened the business when I was half way through Grade 12 (we were the ninth RE/MAX office to open in Australia) and I had planned to head to Brisbane to study law when I finished school. Dad spoke to me before I returned my paperwork for university and said something along the lines…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Spiro Drossos: Going off-script

    With 17 years’ experience under his belt, Barry Plant’s Spiro Drossos reveals why it’s important to have real conversations and to think like a customer – not a real estate agent. On getting into real estate As a kid I was always intrigued by and interested in real estate. This, together with my strong customer service background, made real estate…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Grant Smith- Integrity, honesty and passion

    On getting into real estate I have had a passion for real estate since I was a young boy when I used to ride my bike to open homes around the area on a Saturday. This was before the internet and realestate.com.au, so it was a Saturday paper and a marker pen to choose which open homes I’d look at.…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Michael Coombs: Focus on the people, not the money

    On getting into real estate I left school and worked as a landscaper but growing up I always loved looking at houses and going through open homes. I use to go through as a kid, when I was about 15 years old, and ask a lot of questions. Most of the time they would kick me out. I grew up…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    John McGrath: Keep changing and growing

    On getting into real estate I thought I’d like real estate and figured out it was an important transaction in everyone’s life. I was pretty determined to find one thing I loved and stick to it, so it had to be something important if I was going to do it for 50 years. The happiest moment in my career You…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Fadi Hajjar: Break up and make up

    On getting into real estate After a short stint in real estate upon graduating from high school, I decided that real estate was not for me, so we broke up. I went on to complete three university degrees and was a secondary school teacher for almost a decade. But the theatrics and adrenaline of auctions kept luring me back. I…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Lisa Novak: Doing things differently

    On getting into real estate The short answer: I married a real estate agent. I’d always loved property so it was no wonder that I fell in love with a real estate agent and then the industry! I came into the industry as ‘a favour’ to assist with marketing in our then-brand-new agency, then moved into a general management role…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Stuart Benson: The Power of Relationships

    On getting into real estate I consciously chose real estate. I knew a traditional 9-5’er wasn’t for me, and was happy to do odd days and hours because every day was a new location, a new client, a new challenge. On the other hand, auctioneering chose me after a few colleagues reckoned I was born to do it. The happiest…

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  • We Are Real Estate

    Joel Davoren: A genuine love of real estate

    On getting into real estate It took me some time to realise that I love the industry, probably three years. I just stuck with it through the challenging first few years and on the other side of that, I realised I genuinely loved the nature of the industry. Initially it was a job and now it is a passion and…

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