Estate agent’s deja vu
Seals deal on same home 28 years later
IN AN age where virtually no one stays in the same job for life, one Cairns estate agent has sold a property for a couple who bought the same home from him 28 years ago.
Ray White Cairns Beaches principal Paul Stirling has an old-fashioned style of doing business. It includes visiting Frank and Wendy Brace with champagne in hand on the 25th anniversary of their purchase of their home at 1 Dove Court, Bayview Heights.
Mr Stirling remembered well selling them their family home back in 1990 and, after “maintaining a distant contact”, was approached last month by the couple to sell the property.
“In this day and age it’s easy to keep contact,” Mr Stirling said. “When Mr and Mrs Brace bought the property, Mr Brace made the prediction and said when it came time to sell he’d get me to sell it.
“In the current world, keeping in touch is very important and it’s something I’m trying to get my head around more strongly. The connection is really strong when you sell the property and you unfortunately tend to gravitate away from each other.
“Our industry is just so busy, you don’t get to maintain that relationship.
“I take a lot of pride in that appointment. Any appointment is a show of faith in your ability to sell the property.”
Mr Stirling said the Braces’ property was as easy to sell this year as it was all those years ago.
“The location was very important and after that it came down to the features and the attractiveness of the house.
“And the owners have always updated the home. It sold in 26 days,” he said.
Mr Brace, who will move with his wife to a unit in Mooroobool’s House on the Hill development, said he admired Mr Stirling’s “calm, quiet, gentlemanly manner”.
“He’s very good at what he does,” he said.
“We were a little bit nervous about going to auction but it worked.”
Find your next home in today’s real estate liftout