I Remember When with Milton Rendell
Do you remember when Real Estate Plus came to town?
I certainly do of course, being the founder and owner of the concept of Real Estate Plus.
It has been a long journey from when we started in 1999.
Many have asked me why I started the group and the answer is pretty simple; I felt we needed a fresh approach to real estate in the Swan Hills area and I believed I had some ideas that would create that.
Our focus from day one has been to provide better service through quality systems and better marketing coupled with string communication and innovation.
The first step in our journey was opening our first office in Midland Gate Shopping Centre.
There were only four staff including Mike Palmer who is still with the group (now principal of Real Estate Plus Commercial and Industrial) with Shane Winnett as our first consultant later joined by Judy Gan who is still with us today.
Shane sadly passed away a few years later but I know is still with us in spirit.
Our growth was rapid and in 2001, I approached George Sarich who was looking to retire and we absorbed Sarich Real Estate into the group, and still today trade in their old building.
Michelle Glover is still part of the team and Michelle has worked in this building over thirty years in real estate and holds a senior position within our group.
Our ambition was to be the number one recognised brand in the eastern corridor so we were looking to grow.
I then chatted with a good friend of mine John Druce, which led to the opening of our Mundaring office in 2006 which today John and Lee Nangle partner in.
From there the next step was Chidlow in 2009 with Jo Hallam the sole rep at the time when we started which then saw Lynda Moore later join the group via Chidlow as well.
Lynda has been in real estate like myself and John since around the mid-eighties and now she has the Bakers Hill office which opened in 2011.
In between all that we launched Plus Loans in 2008 around the same time as the GFC hit.
Probably not our greatest moment in planning but we hung in there and today we have a loan book in excess one hundred million dollars for our clients.
We then ventured in Forrestfield with our information centre in 2011 and have big plans for that in 2017/2018 which will be exciting.
In 2012, we launched Plus Your Settlements today headed by Sam Winter after our original licensee Janet McDonald retired eighteen months ago and she did a great job of getting us started.
Being able to offer a more complete service to our clients has always been the target but also our approach has been around family and fun.
I think we have demonstrated that through our support to groups such as The Smith Family with annual retreats and funds raising and sporting groups in a variety of locations throughout the Swan Hills.
We are still strong supporters of Swan Districts Football Club and as a past player I still go down and sit in McDonald stand to catch up with some old mates.
Our group continues to evolve and we have plenty of things in the pipeline.
I think 2016 has presented many businesses and individuals a number of challenges but we see 2016 as being a year of learning and adjustment and 2017 as rebound year.
We wish everyone a safe Christmas and a prosperous New Year and again thank you for your support.
If you have any memories like mine, email memories@realestateplus.com.au.
– Milton Rendell, chief executive officer