A few kind words

Thank you for all your help selling our Erskineville terrace. We were very impressed with the high quality of service and professionalism from you and your team at Raine & Horne Newtown. We really appreciated all your hard work and dedication to achieving the best possible result for us. We particularly liked the way that you kept us fully informed throughout the campaign, especially with your detailed weekly reports. Your experience and expert knowledge of the Erskineville market gave us total confidence that we were in good hands. We really enjoyed working with you and appreciated your friendly and honest approach. Thanks to your hard work and fantastic negotiation skills, we ended up achieving a sale price that exceeded our expectations. We were delighted with the end result. Thanks again.

What stood out for me by using Raine and Horne Newtown was the fact that although Duncan Gordon was the prime agent, his partner and the whole team behind them both, worked at getting the buyers to the auction and that Duncan and Michael blended their talents and thereby boosted the potential to get the result that I was happy with.

Having bought my apartment from R&H Newtown in 2006 I was impressed by Duncan’s track record in Chippendale and Darlington, so decided to re-list with R&H Newtown when it came time to sell. Duncan has extensive industry and local area sales knowledge and was able to ensure that the apartment was presented at its best which resulted in a quick sale (4 weeks) despite a hectic and competitive market. Duncan kept me updated every step of the way and there were no surprises. It was a great result and I would be happy to recommend Duncan to any prospective seller.

I cannot recommend Duncan Gordon and the team from Raine and Horne, Newtown, highly enough. From the moment that I met Duncan (recommended to me by my neighbour – he had sold her house in Darlington for well above the expected price) I was impressed. He is professional, extremely knowledgeable, approachable and I felt sure he would act in my best interest. He kept me informed on a regular basis, always happy to answer my questions and at no time did I feel anything by confidence in him. I actually commented to a number of people how happy I was with Duncan and the team. I am a demanding consumer, being from an extensive business and marketing background, and often note that, unfortunately, extremely good service in any business area is not prevalent enough. Raine and Horne ticked all the boxes of what I would expect from a professional real estate company. Paula, the other agent who acted for me was also excellent, as were the office staff and anyone connected to Raine and Horne. I achieved an excellent price for my apartment in Lewisham and would have no hesitation in contacting Duncan Gordon if I were again in a position of selling or buying.

Thanks for your message yesterday. I thought I’d respond in writing to let you know how pleased we were with the conduct of the sale of our property. Over the several years that I’ve been receiving your regular market reports I’ve been impressed by your professionalism and knowledge of real estate in the inner west, gleaned from a long commitment to the area. When it came to our sale you were the obvious choice and my confidence in your abilities proved to be entirely justified. Your advice was sound and the attention to the many details involved in the sale process was flawless from our point of view. The end result was extremely pleasing for us and a credit to the efforts of you and all your team. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend your services and should the opportunity arise in the future, I would readily make use of them again. Many thanks for your great work.

To whom it may concern: In May 2013 we engaged Duncan and the Raine & Horne Newtown team to sell our terrace house in Beaconsfield. Because we live overseas, and would not be in the country for the bulk of the campaign, selecting an agent was a difficult decision for us. We wanted someone we could trust and who would look after all of the details for us, in our absence. I’m very happy to report that Duncan and his team were absolutely perfect in this regard, exceeding all our expectations. He went out of his way to ensure that our experience was as stress-free as possible, by communicating regularly and in great detail. The team took care of the many small details which together added up to an immaculately-presented house, and an extremely satisfying sales result. This included the tradespeople, stylists, and others who presented our property in the best possible way, targeted at a well-defined demographic. Through their combined work, we believe the best possible result was achieved. As Duncan said to us at one point, one of the most valuable contributions that a seller’s agent can make is to provide level-headed objective advice, during the emotional process of selling a house. This helped us immensely, as he often brought us gently around to a different perspective which paid off on auction day. Our recommendation of Duncan and his team is absolutely unequivocal. Please feel free to contact us for any further information or clarification.

A big thank you to Duncan Gordon and his team at Raine and Horne Newtown for selling my property in Darlington. It was a great campaign and wow, what a fantastic result! Duncan, your market knowledge, enthusiasm, communication and negotiating skills produced a result far in excess of initial expectations. I was very grateful for your guidance and it was a pleasure having you work for me as my agent. I would also like to commend the rest of the team for the great job they did with advertising, organising and generally making whole experience surprisingly stress free. I would definitely recommend your services to others.

Why we would recommend Duncan Gordon from Raine and Horne. In selling our property at 38 Thomas Street, Darlington, Duncan impressed from our first meeting as having a superior understanding of the intricacies of the local market. Apart from a successful sales record, we wanted an agent that would be ‘on the same page ‘ as us from beginning to end….strategy, presentation, communication etc. Duncan delivered completely. We took on board his initial suggestion of professionally furnishing the house…this was such a positive move…easily organised and resulting in first class presentation. He knew exactly how to approach the sale. Effectively communicated both with us and prospective purchasers during the whole process, we felt fully involved throughout the campaign. The marketing was spot on and targeted. Via the Raine & Horne relationship with media outlets, we secured prized editorial space and excellent positioning for our advertising. As auction day arrived, Duncan guided us superbly, providing us with a thorough breakdown of all the relevant details, advising an optimal approach for the day’s decision-making. Duncan and his team supported us magnificently on the day. Our appreciation and thanks to you all.

I recently sold my 1 bedroom apartment in Alexandria with Duncan Gordon, and I couldn’t be happier with his professionalism, communication and overall strategy for the sales campaign. Duncan and his team were a pleasure to deal with from the very initial contact. Nothing was too much effort and I was guided through the whole process to make it a relatively painless process (as painless as it can be selling a property!). In the end, Duncan’s excellent negotiation skills resulted in a fantastic result above for the apartment which was above our initial expectations. I would have no problems in recommending Duncan to anyway looking to sell in the inner west.

I came across Duncan in my search for a new home. Having been treated almost contemptuously by so many dishonest and disinterested agents along the way, I was surprised and relieved to deal with an agent who was friendly, genuine, and communicative. He answered my many questions with good humour, and never made me feel like he was in a rush or was pushing me to commit. Even though I knew he was working for the seller, this was never obvious to me as a buyer and I feel this is the mark of a talented agent. I ended up buying that property, which meant my existing home needed a selling agent. Duncan was the obvious choice. Knowing I could trust him to treat my potential buyers respectfully was a huge draw-card, as were his many glowing testimonials on the Raine & Horne website that equally lauded his personality and skill. Duncan kept me informed almost every day of the Auction campaign, even when there was nothing much to report. He was totally reliable, in control, and gave thorough feedback on buyer interest. He patiently answered all of my questions, explained his tactics, and involved me in every decision from start to finish. I was very pleased with the sale price of my property. And whilst it is the market rather than the agent that determines a property’s value, I know that Duncan was responsible for reaching into the market and securing my bidders. All in all I had around 2 months of dealing with Duncan and I’ll miss our interactions, being able to share humour through a stressful time made the buying and selling experience so much more bearable. Even enjoyable! Thank you Duncan & everyone I dealt with at Raine & Horne Newtown for being so helpful, friendly, and human.

Duncan Gordon and his team were exceptional throughout our campaign. Duncan’s attention to detail, outstanding communication and clear knowledge of the property business made the process of selling our house easy. We achieved above our expectations in price and would highly recommend the team from Raine and Horne Newtown. Thanks again for all of your assistance with our sale.

I decided to go with Duncan and Raine & Horne as Duncan’s initial presentation to me was straightforward and realistic. Having made that decision I was impressed by the attention to detail from Duncan in person and from the staff at RH. I had never been through the process of selling a property and at all times I was well-informed and felt that my property and my interests were in good hands. I received timely updates after each open house and the follow-up with prospective buyers was rigorous and positive. In the week leading up to the auction Duncan kept me fully informed of developments and the final outcome was way beyond my wildest hopes. While there is always a bit of luck and timing involved in these situations I strongly believe that Duncan’s role was critical. The rapid escalation of interest in the property as the auction approached reflected Duncan’s excellent management of and communication with the prospective buyers. I would have no hesitation in recommending Duncan and the team at Raine&Horne. I am really very happy to provide the feedback as I found the service excellent, not just because of the outcome.

Duncan and the team combine an extensive knowledge of the area with a passion for real estate. We really appreciated their professional, responsive and thoughtful approach and have no doubt that they helped us to achieve the best result possible.

Just wanted to thank you very much for all your effort in the sale of my son’s house in Newtown. Your information prior to the sale regarding potential result was spot on and turned out to be even better than expected. All the team were fantastic with replying promptly and were very patient and helpful with any questions that I had. I think they went out of their way to make everything happen smoothly for me. I must say that it was very emotional and traumatic selling my sons house, but you made it very easy for me and were extremely helpful with all of your suggestions. You not only made the right suggestions, you then helped out by getting tradesmen etc for any work that needed to be done prior to the sale. It was going to be a very sad day on auction day so I was very happy to sell prior to the auction and at such a good price. Thanks again to everyone involved.

I am extremely pleased with Michaela and Adam’s help, professional and friendly behaviour. I initially contacted your agency via an email and received response from Adam almost immediately. Adam was very kind enough to call me and discuss my requirements. He and Michaela met up with me right next day to see the property and discuss the rent and other process. Adam was very quick to act and put up the advertisement on domain, realestate and your website, probably within a day. That was really impressive and the quality of advertisement too was good. Michaela was very friendly, professional and knowledgeable which was reflected in her interactions with the potential tenants. Michaela immediately followed up with the potential tenants and did a good job in screening them and kept me updated all the time. And within couple of days, we finalised on the tenants. So it was a great outcome with just one open inspection. After that Michaela has constantly been in touch with me and has cared to ask if everything was fine with the new tenants. They both are very humble people too and I will definitely use your agency’s services in future, may it be rental or a sale. I will also recommend them to any of my friends.

Dear Adam, We would like to thank you and your team for the professionalism, honest and friendly approach in the whole process of listing our first investment property and selecting a tenant. Being a first time investor, we were a bit stressed on how is everything will work out; however after spending couple of hours with you in our first meeting, we felt that we will be in good hands. The whole process went very smooth for us and we always felt that we have made a good decision by selecting R&H Newtown as our real estate agent. We would be pleased to recommend you and your team to anyone without any reservation. Thanks

Dear Raine & Horne Newtown Many thanks for your very professional management team which manages my property at Redfern Street, Redfern. I am most appreciative of its work and would like to commend you and the team for a job very well done in fiscal 2014. Kind regards and all the best for a successful year ahead. Sincerely

I would like to take this opportunity to thank you for the services you have provided to date. I’m happy with the level of service you provided and the professionalism you showed including the staff I dealt with at Raine & Horne Newtown. I will definitely condsider engaging this agency again if opportunity arises in future.

I really appreciate all your efforts over the last few years it has been great (and easy) dealing with you on all matters with our property. If we are unsuccessful with the sale I will definitely get back in touch about releasing.

As always you're very easy to get on the phone or email. You have a personality and are always upbeat. You also manage to do little miracles like rent my unit with only 2 days 'down time'. So please pass on how happy I am and how much of a star you are.

Thank you so much for the prompt and professional service that you have provided in regards to the rental of my apartment. I’m very happy and impressed that you were able to rent it out so quickly. Kind regards

After spending many years overseas upon our return we were looking for our first property and came accross Gerard and Raine & Horne Newtown and what a pleaseant surprise that was. After speaking with many other agents who didn’t want to know us, Gerard took the time to understand our needs and actively went out looking for our property. Within a few weeks Gerard found the home, attended the auction on our behalf and secured the property for us. Since that time Gerard and his team have been managing our property and it is worry free for us. The team at Raine & Horne Newtown take care of all the leasing, responding to tenants requests and of course collecting the rent. Thanks Gerard and your team we will continue to recommend you to anyone looking for an agent that is better than the rest.

Lydia was our agent during our tenancy at 21 Ferndale St in Newtown for approximately 18 months. I meant to write this email earlier but only just got back from a work trip. Lydia has been a wonderful agent and has assisted us with some complex issues at times, particularly as the landlord was renting for the first time. As a landlord myself I understand the requirement to balance the needs of both tenants and landlord and I think Lydia did an excellent job. Lydia was always really understanding and extremely helpful and I can't compliment her work ethic highly enough. We were sad to have to leave 21 Ferndale St as the landlord was returning from overseas, and unfortunately our new agent isn't nearly as helpful! My partner and I wanted to pass on our thanks and just let you know what a pleasure it was to deal with Lydia.

I have held an investment property in Redfern for over 4 years. Lydia Moles looked after the tenancies and was easily contactable. Finding a tenant was never difficult and Lydia was always very proactive and professional with all her dealings/communication with me.

Lydia moles from Raine & Horne Newtown is an absolute pleasure to deal with. I decided to use the same real estate agency to both rent out my investment property and rent a place for myself. Lydia helped me with all this and explained everything to me so it wasn’t as confusing. She is reliable, friendly and knowledgeable about her job. Lydia always returns my calls and sticks to deadlines and terms that we’ve agreed on. I know that if I ask Lydia a question or ask her to help me with something, she will be prompt and efficient with her reply. She has made this whole process hassle free and easy for me. I have since moved and the new place is with a different agency and it’s made me realise just how good Lydia is at her job. I would recommend her highly to anyone in the area. Regards,

I just wanted to drop a quick note about our business relationship with R&H Newtown. Our family owns 4 properties currently managed by Lydia Moles from your office. Two of our properties were only recently completed and leased. We are very pleased with Lydia and the professionalism she has shown not only with the new listings but also in the past 5 years whilst she managed our other properties. Lydia knows and respects how we operate as investors and what we expect from a property manager and we are grateful to have someone like Lydia working with us. We look forward to another 5 years with Lydia and R&H Newtown.

As discussed, Des and I really appreciated all of your support in relation to 55 O’Connell St. In particular: • Managing out the problem tenant; • Assisting with all of the introduction of trades-people and co-ordination of trades people to get the property back in shape; • And finally for marketing it successfully so we can get back to earning some income from our investment; It is a pleasure to work with you and we genuinely appreciate your help and support. Gerard – Lydia is a gem !!! Lydia, We wanted to thank you for your excellent work in assisting us with respect to the management and maintenance of our property at 55 O’Connell St. We have always been happy with the service you have provided us; and wanted to acknowledge your commitment to assisting us through the most recent period where your help with coordinating the broad range of trades-people to deliver the necessary maintenance to bring the property back to rentable standard. Thankfully the result was all worth it. Your assistance in ensure the property was successfully marketed so that it once again became income producing was very timely. In short – thank you for going above the call of duty and assisting us through the entire process.

Now that the management of the apartment has moved from you to Jenna and Ben we wanted to say thank you for all the work you’ve done to manage our flat while we’ve been in London. We weren’t sure how things would turn out when we enlisted Raine and Horne to manage the property in late 2005, but it’s been a great relief to us that the property was in such good hands. We also regretted having to lose great tenants like Liz and Ed. Here’s a short testimonial should you (or R&H) wish to use. As landlords living in London, it has been most reassuring to know that the management of our property has been in safe hands with Lydia at Raine and Horne, Newtown. As well as keeping the property continuously occupied with good tenants, she’s also been responded speedily to any enquiries we’ve had as well as has been quick to resolve any problems. Thanks Lydia!

Hi Matthew

Ben was very pleased when I told him we have a tenant moving in!(Of course). Just want to take the opportunity to thankyou for all your help, co-operation, knowledge and communication over the last couple of months. You have been really great to work with and have helped us keep the ball rolling. Cross the fingers that all goes ahead as planned. Kind Regards