Good service still key in real estate for Warren

WARREN Bultitude thinks the best part of his job in real estate is when he gets to see the excitement when he puts the sold sticker on a property.

He’s done it a few times. In his career, he estimates he’s sold anywhere between 1500-2000 homes in the Clarence Valley.

“People are excited, and they want to get a photo with you doing it — it’s very exciting to see them get that, especially if they’re a first home buyer.

Mr Bultitude has been in the industry for 40 years this year, and his first job came by walking the streets of Grafton and asking for jobs after he finished high school.

“I had two jobs offered in a week, one was at Oldfields Real Estate and the other at M & T Town and Country Realty, which is where I decided to go,” he said.

Mr Bultitude stayed with the agent, which became the Elders franchise until 1993, where he started at Dougherty Bros LJ Hooker.

“I was offered a partnership with Matt Dougherty at a later stage and took that on, and then we sold the business … which has now become Dougherty Property,” he said.

Mr Bultitude specialised in rural sales until “the market got a bit hard in 1991”, and diversified to include residential properties.

A lot has changed in real estate over 40 years Mr Bultitude said, right down to the method.

“When I started, we didn’t have to have an agency agreement, it was a handshake,” he said.

“They told you how much they wanted, you told them how much you would charged, and that was it.”

The biggest change to the industry has been the internet,” he said.

“It’s made it easier as the buyer does their research before contacting the agent.”

Mr Bultitude said the ability for people to browse property from their own home had eliminated the need for the traditional window display.

“We don’t have a display, which I thought was a mistake first, but now I think it’s a big plus,” he said.

“They can find the property and send me a message to inspect a property.

“Once upon a time we might have shown a client 10 properties in a day, where now you showed them one they’ve selected.”

Mr Bultitude said the role of the agent was more crucial than ever.

“They still need the agent as we’re the negotiator. We negotiate all the terms and conditions — it’s very important,” he said.

“Some people may try to do it themselves, but many will come back to the agent.”

Over forty years, Mr Bultitude has sold a wide range of properties and had sold some three or four times.

“Whether it’s a mother and father, or son and daughter and it’s a second-generation it’s great they come back.”

With 40 years of clients to draw on, he said you knew you’d done the right thing when people came back.

“Today’s market is very demanding, but I still enjoy dealing with the general public, they’ve been good to me, and I’ve tried to be good to them,” he said.

“It comes back to service. If the people are happy with the service, they’ll come back to you. It’s as simple as that.”

After 40 years, Mr Bultitude said he had no plans of giving up the game just yet.

“I’m still here, and I’m still working,” he said. “I’ve got a farm to look after, which keeps me busy too.”