Real Estate Agent – NSW

Travelling through Europe may not be the traditional path for working in real estate yet it was on Alexandra Stamatiou-Buda’s return from overseas that she was pitched into hot property.

“I’d been in Europe for seven years and a girlfriend’s mother owned a real estate agency. She said: ‘Come and do some Saturdays’. Then it was Thursdays and then it was full time,” says Stamatiou-Buda, who works at the McGrath Inner West office in Leichhardt.

“I got poached by McGrath as an assistant and then started all my training through the company.”

After doing a Bachelor of Business at the University of Technology Sydney, Stamatiou-Buda travelled and worked in Switzerland, Athens and London.

“I’ve been with McGrath nine years now and all my training has been through them. I started my licensing course with McGrath and finished it off with Kaplan Professional. I have studied the auction process and completed courses in effective business units and in the McGrath ‘way’, plus attended conferences and seminars,” Stamatiou-Buda says.

Helping people find their dream homes, meeting new people and walking into interesting properties are the things that keep her excited about the industry.

According to Stamatiou-Buda, working in real estate means being committed to honesty and integrity. “You need to tell vendors the truth otherwise you don’t want their business. You have to do the ethical thing,” she says.

“If you don’t tell your sellers the right thing from the beginning, then it won’t work. You have to have the hard conversations up front.

“People are trusting us with their largest asset and you have to treat them with respect.”

It is not the way to a “fast buck” she says and you have to put in the hours to make a success.

“Frankly, I thought it was going to be a lot easier. I’m off to work at 7.30 and in the office by eight or 8.30. I start the morning with my team Lisa and Martine and we catch up on market appraisals.

“I have a very supportive husband and family and sometimes I have to work back to nine or 10 o’clock at night.”

Her career has come at a stage of her life when Stamatiou-Buda can appreciate the value of the amount of money vendors have spent on their home or that buyers want to invest in their new home.

HOW TO BE A … REAL ESTATE AGENT

Qualifications:
Alexandra Stamatiou-Buda (pictured) has a business degree from the University of Technology Sydney.

Course:
NSW Real Estate Training College offers courses in getting a licence, auctioneering and individual licensing plus the minimum training for working in the industry — the course in property practice. TAFE offers courses for training in real estate to attain a licence.

Assumed knowledge:
Completion of the NSW school certificate or equivalent for TAFE.

Cost:
NSW Real Estate Training College course in property practice costs $590 with a full licence costing up to $4225. TAFE annual fee is $670.