Ray White offices across south east Queensland are all operational, despite the extreme weather in the wake of ex tropical cyclone Alfred.
The Gold Coast offices were largely unaffected, with only some localised flooding but our businesses in Nambour and Hervey Bay have been inundated.
Tenants in Coomera have reported some ceiling collapses, and Robina has around 12 major issues requiring SES assistance.
Further north, Narangba, Woody Point and Redcliffe have experienced minor damage, including fallen trees, fences and gutter damage.
AKG at Marsden received about 30 reports of roof leaks and backyard flooding, while Asset Management Shailer Park is handling around 20 damage reports amid staffing challenges.
While many areas remain without power and some properties have sustained damage, overall, SEQ has been fortunate considering the intensity of the rain and what was predicted.
“We consider ourselves very fortunate,” said Jason Andrew, Ray White Queensland CEO.
“All our open homes were cancelled on the weekend, and our auctions had been moved to online or this week given the dire warnings. We are incredibly lucky considering what was predicted.
“It’s terrible what’s happened in Nambour and Hervey Bay but I know they will recover and keep servicing their local communities through this.
“We expect all our auctions and open homes to return as normal from later this week.”
Ray White Concierge CEO Kelly Tatlow said her experienced team managed to help more than 300 buyers across SEQ and Northern NSW last week to secure insurance for the purchase of a new property through Ray White Insurance, despite the insurance embargo.
“We assisted 306 customers last week and we are still assisting customers today,” said Ms Tatlow from her home that has also lost power.
“The insurance embargo is still in place for floods but the embargo is being gradually removed for cyclone – it is still a case by case situation.
“Last week our team received 685 calls from customers, and we made 1665 outbound calls to customers. These conversations offered support to existing Ray White Insurance policy holders.”
Ray White Nambour selling principal Matt O’Grady couldn’t sleep last night as the rain was hammering down on the roof at his home.
“I couldn’t sleep so I got to the office at 3:30am to check and it was completely destroyed and underwater,” he said.
“Petrie Creek behind the main street we are on had risen 8m. We had 325mm of rain yesterday and now Currie Street is completely underwater and I expect it will flood again tonight.
“Everything in the office is ruined, nothing could be saved.”
“I have never seen anything like that in my life. The last time the creek flooded was 33 years ago in 1992.”
Luckily his 10 staff are all safe and they have checked on their tenants, especially those who live in low lying areas, and they are all safe too.
The Ray White Nambour team are all working remotely from home, and it will be some time before they are back in the office.
“Two cars literally washed up onto the footpath outside our shop. I don’t know how long it will be before the shop itself is up and running again. Could be days or weeks but the main thing is no one was hurt and for that I am extremely thankful,” Mr O’Grady said.
Principal, owner and managing director Glenn Fallon, said the “super cell” that pummelled his town was “extraordinary”.
He’s been the sole proprietor of Ray White Hervey Bay since 1983 which is positioned right on the beachfront esplanade at Torquay.
“I have lived in Hervey Bay my whole life and I have never seen anything like this. It was extraordinary. We had 330mm of rain in three hours yesterday. It was a super cell,” Mr Fallon said.
Ray White Hervey Bay team at work cleaning up
“My house is ok but the business was flooded and everyone has lost power. Places that have never ever flooded before have flooded. We had water coming in from the rain and the creek was swollen. We have a lot of tenants who have been flooded too,” he said.
“My staff are all ok and working remotely. We all got to the office at 7am to do what we could to help clean up. It could be days before power is back.”
“I have been in business here for almost 42 years and I have never seen anything like it.
“The strange thing is the rain has now eased, it’s all gone but the clean up is just getting underway.”
Ray White Hervey Bay property management team leader Morgan Scrivens said the coastal town experienced some severe flash flooding.
“Our office had about 15cms of water all the way through and the power has been cut in the Scarness / Torquay area, so we are all working from home via emails for now. We have lost a lot of equipment and files.
“Unfortunately many of our rental properties have been affected, some of our tenants had to evacuate their homes.
“The SES have been working tirelessly and have attended some of our properties to assist. “We have been completely inundated with emails of concerns from both owners and tenants, which we are slowly working our way through by triaging those that are most urgent.
“There will be many repairs and insurance claims to come, we are hoping and praying that yesterday was the last of the heavy rain.”
On the Gold Coast, Tiger Malan of Ray White Malan & Co said he was still assessing the damage.
“Our basement in Miami (pictured above) went under water but that is the main extent. Lots of tenants have leaky roofs but nothing enormously problematic at this stage. The flooding across the Gold Coast is now a bigger problem than the cyclone itself.”
Elsewhere, Ray White Shore Group principal Andrew McCulloch said his Paradise Point business was closed as it had no power. “The other offices are ok, and we have some tenants with leaky roofs and there’s still a lot of people without power.”
Ray White Redcliffe business owner and property management team leader Tim Gordon said the aftermath was surprisingly not as bad as expected, so far.
“The main thing we are dealing with is the power issues, which we can’t help because Energex are working hard to try and restore it.” he said.
“We have had issues with water coming into properties; not flooding but with the extreme wind on Saturday night, it pushed water through windows.
“We are working closely with the tenants and the owners to get everything fixed up. We are going through and letting owners know if anything has happened at their properties.
“I live in Clontarf and I don’t have power, wifi or very good phone signal. Everyone is understanding that a lot of us are in the same boat. Our Margate office is closed, we have no power there, but the Redcliffe office is open. We are here charging up our tech and working as best we can.
“It is not safe for most of our property managers to come in at the moment, but they are all working remotely if they can. Schools are closed too, so there are a lot of people multitasking at the moment,” he said.
Nick McSweeny, business development and property manager at Ray White Paddington, said the recent weather events have brought an array of issues to the inner Brisbane area. “We’ve had leaking roofs, water ingress inside homes, fallen trees, collapsing fences, erosion causing safety concerns; just a few things to keep our seasoned team busy at Ray White Paddington.
“My colleagues and I are quite an experienced group and have been dealing with our trades people for a number of years. We’ve all been working together to help get things back on track. Most of us here have been through the 2022 floods and prior, which has helped during these current times.
“It’s important to acknowledge under guidance from our principal, the planning before TC Alfred hit. We offered, like most agencies and body corporates, information and tips pending the storms. Planning is great but there is always some last minute rushing around. Cutting down signboards in the rain and winds was a bit tricky but necessary.
“We’ve been fortunate compared to others and as the days move forward, less items are arising and we’re getting through the list that the recent storms bought. One day at a time and before you know it’ll be business as usual.”
RWC Southwest lead asset manager Nichole Brown said that she had a few late night calls over the weekend from concerned commercial tenants, largely due to high winds, with one tenant losing both a section of their roof, and their roller door being blown from its tracks.
“We have a number of tenants with newly identified leaks, including one where the leak has occurred directly over their server causing a complete shutdown for their business.
“Overall, the damage reported so far is much less than we had anticipated and prepared for, but our focus remains on flood affected areas and rising creek levels in those areas.
“We took pre-emptive measures early last week and provided both tenants and landlords with a list of ways to mitigate flood and wind damage, emergency contact details and processes, and links to key council and emergency websites. Because of the relationships we have built with our clients over the years, we received an overwhelming response from both landlords and tenants checking in to make sure our management team and families were safe, which was really appreciated.
“The key for us has been early action and preparation, clear communication and processes for tenants, and setting realistic and achievable expectations for our team,” she said.
Ray White Waterford business owner Lisa Knowles said while their office hadn’t flooded yet, the community had seen quite a bit of damage.
“A lot of the roads are blocked and there are quite a few power outages and even some cell service disruptions,” she said.
“All of our staff are working from home because when we flooded in 2022 there wasn’t a lot of notice about the flood water coming through, and there is still a warning for the Albert River.
“Last week we packed up the entire office and took everything upstairs to safety as our office did flood in 2022. The road in front of the office is flooded but it hasn’t gotten up to the carpark yet.
“We learnt a lot from the 2022 floods. We are a lot more prepared this time. I’ve had other real estate agents reach out to me and everyone has been checking in on us.”
Ms Knowles said their staff were busy checking in on clients.
“Last week we notified everyone with all of the contact numbers they might need. Then this morning we sent another update to all our tenants, landlords, and clients,” she said.
“A lot of our tenants lost reception as well, so we’re trying to make contact with all of them. “There’s been a few issues like ceilings leaking and broken windows which need to be fixed quickly.
“We’ve been keeping in touch with our emergency tradies making sure they can get out as well.”
Ray White AKG installed this artwork to its billboard in Springfield Lakes
Ray White AKG business owner Avi Khan said his Marsden office remained on flood watch, with many of his staff unable to get into the office.
“Our community has been hit hard by the floods and a lot of people have been displaced. Our local businesses are struggling as well,” Mr Khan said.
“Some neighbourhoods face the daunting task of rebuilding, but there’s incredible community spirit. I’ve seen signs with people saying ‘we have power, come recharge’.
“Our local government was very strong in warning people, but we need all levels of government to work together for the rebuild. This is not a new thing for the Logan area, but every time this becomes a little harder for the community.
“We’re super proud of our property management team who swiftly transitioned to working from home and have the goal of making more than 4000 calls this week to our tenants and landlords to make sure everyone is being looked after.
“Everyone with power has been working around the clock to make sure everyone is okay and being looked after.”
Ray White Bribie Island principal Bryce Hawkins said the team are back at work and looking forward to some sunshine in the coming days. Meanwhile, in northern New South Wales, offices in Bangalow, Yamba and Grafton are well prepared to support their community. Fortunately, they have not had any staff or clients heavily affected but will continue to monitor the situation and are ready to lend a hand where needed.
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