Lj Hooker

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LJ Hooker has appointed KPMG to help restructure the group via a voluntary administration process.
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LJ Hooker chairman Janusz Hooker has sought out three KPMG accountants as administrators to five known LJ Hooker entities.
The appointments included LJX Pty Ltd which is the shareholder in the Lower North Shore AVNU agency, LJHA (LNS) Pty Ltd, which is not in administration, nor the LJHA (LNS) ultimate holding company, Austral Pty Ltd.
The appointments were made on Thursday.
It comes as LJ Hooker Group's directors reportedly seek to recapitalise the wider business with fresh funds, along with a wish to simplify it's operations and carry less debt.
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The AFR reported the goal of chairman and founding family member (Leslie) Janusz Hooker - who bought back into the family business in 2009 - and former Macquarie dealmaker Bryan Weir was to emerge from the process with a simpler corporate structure.
"Sources close to the group" advised the administration would not impact the real estate agent's core LJ Hooker franchise business, or its employees.
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It was revealed by the AFR Street Talk column on Sunday.
Each of the entities was said to be a holding company - and not operating companies.
The five sit among 40 entities in the wider LJ Hooker Group.
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Documents filed with ASIC show Ryan Eagle, Philip Quinlan and Amanda Coneyworth were appointed administrators to entities including LJHRES which was set up in 2015 and LJHRES HOLDINGS which was set up in 2017.
LJX Labs and LJX Holdings have also had an administrator appointed.
After dumping plans for a $400m stockmarket float, Janusz Hooker, unveiled the LJX Lab in 2017.
The digital research and development vehicle was set to look to foster innovation by identifying, incubating and commercialising products in the prop-tech sector.
AVNU LNS chief performance officer Christine Mikhael resigned her directorship last Thursday from AVNU LNS.
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Janusz Hooker calls in KMPG administrators to restructure LJ Hooker

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LJ Hooker today announced its new brand tagline ‘When you know, you know’.
The tagline is a modern evolution of the brand’s well-known tagline from the 1980s ‘nobody does it better’. 
LJ Hooker Chief Operating Officer Ruth Trewhella said extensive research underpinned the philosophy of the new brand tagline, with the capability of leading the company into its century celebrations.  
She said, “we felt it was time to move on from what has been a very effective brand expression on our experience to something that’s far more reflective of what we stand for today, but that’s also consistent with our heritage. 
"Our new brand tagline is an all-encompassing statement that reinforces our customer-first approach to the market. 
“It also represents LJ Hooker’s values and capabilities while allowing our offices to customise it to their local market,” said Mrs Trewhella. 
They have launched their brand new tagline via an outdoor marketing campaign, with digital screens across more than 250+ shopping centres nation-wide.
LJ Hooker Head of Marketing James McGregor said the new creative centres on key customer moments and emotional drivers supported by instinctual decision-making in real estate.
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LJ Hooker reveal new brand tagline

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A foundation director of Stone Real Estate Double Bay, Daniel Baran has departed to join LJ Hooker.
He leaves Reece Coleman and Paul Wigan as the Stone principals.
<a href="https://www.stonerealestate.com.au/stone-double-bay/meet-team/daniel-baran/" target="_blank">Baran's </a>prior office, The Agency, was selected to be the first office in Sydney's east for the new Stone brand from January 2017.
Stone had offices in Dee Why, Lane Cove, Lindfield, Manly, McMahons Point, Mona Vale, Neutral Bay, Seaforth and Turramurra and globally more than 550 member firms of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
Having lived in the eastern suburbs all his life, Baran is a well-known local real estate agent.
Since starting his career in the mid-80s, he has achieved numerous record-breaking results.
In the 1990s, he was as Nationwide Realty Double Bay during which he took space in the local paper to tell readers that his life as a salesman was like that of a doctor on duty 24 hours a day. 
The ad has a shot of the mobile phone-toting Baran alongside a photo of a doctor in gown, mask and gloves nursing a newborn baby.
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Daniel Baran quits Stone for LJ Hooker

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LJ Hooker Avnu is set to expand into Sydney’s northern districts with the appointment of Ben Mulae and his team of two associates.
His previous agency was First National which had "archaic" systems for marketing, compliance and client reporting, he suggested.
“I’m excited to have joined Avnu, with its cutting-edge platform that now streamlines and automates much of this so that I can really nurture my client relationships and execute on our sales strategies.”
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<div id="google_ads_iframe_/50807330/REB_PremiumNewsTile_800x250_0__container__">The Hunters Hill=based Mulae joined LJ Hooker Avnu with his associate agents Angie Wong and Martika Whitfield.</div>
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He said they have been a team for more than four years.
While they will lead the expansion into the Northern Districts, they advise they will be continuing to service clients in Putney, Gladesville, Ryde, Tennyson Point and surrounding suburbs.
Benjamin has been consistently ranked in the top two percent of First National Real Estate Agents across NSW. 
First National is the largest independent real estate network in Australia.
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LJ Hooker Avnu expand further into Sydney’s northern districts

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LJ Hooker took down the video marketing of a luxury Padstow home after its raunchy marketing trended on Twitter last month.
The video was marketing a newly built home by its agent Sam Nader, who claimed the video had 60,000 views in its first 24 hours.
But it has paid off having sold for $1.72 million prior to this weekend's auction.
The luxury <a href="https://www.realestate.com.au/property-house-nsw-padstow-130990534" target="_blank" title="www.realestate.com.au">Padstow home at 42 Chamberlain Road</a> sold to a 23-year-old first homebuyer.
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The Daily Telegraph reported the buyer saw the home after his brother told him about the property’s video.
It shows a man in a white Jaguar arrive and park in the driveway of the four bedroom, two bathroom home.
The cinematic offering then turned 50 shades of grey film-style as he's met inside by the blond female occupant, then dancing through the property's loungeroom, prowling across the kitchen benchtop, taking a swim, and then settling into bed as they tuned out the lights.
All cut to a thudding dirty dancing R&amp;B beat.
No simple walkthrough that most estate agency videos offer they vendors.
LJ Hooker apologised for the sexy two minute video saying it "missed the mark".
“LJ Hooker Bankstown is always looking for new ways to market our listings; however, this time we missed the mark,” it said in a statement.
“We live and we learn," adding the video had been "taken out of context by some".
Nader had earlier indicated marketed needed something different “in this property market to make it stand out.”
The home in south-western Sydney home replaced a 1950s fibre home following its $875,000 sale in 2016 to the vendor, Adam Ibrahim.
It was produced by the Sydney photography studio Opticool Studios. 
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The ultra contemporary home comes with striking marble flooring and chandelier entry.
The rear of of the 550 square metre holding has a "glistening L-shaped saltwater swimming pool".
Padstow's four bedroom median house price has slipped over the past year for $1.1 million to $975,000.
 
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LJ Hooker Padstow sale after raunchy house video trended on Twitter 

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Jason Georges, has become the latest sales agent to join the LJ Hooker Avnu team as it continues to make its mark in the blue chip Lower North Shore. 
LJ Hooker Avnu now claims to have the largest market share in arguably Australia’s most valuable suburb, Mosman.  
Georges was previously with Ray White Willoughby, where he was recognised as one of their top 10 agents in the Sydney region.
Despite slowing market conditions in Sydney, since joining LJ Hooker Avnu Georges has already signed seven listings totalling over $13 million. 
“We’re thrilled to welcome Jason to the team at LJ Hooker Avnu," Christine Mikhael, LJ Hooker Avnu chief performance officer said,” said Mikhael.
“His intimate knowledge of the Willoughby and surrounds second to none and his track record is impressive.”
LJ Hooker Avnu hopes to supercharge its sales agents’ abilities to serve their clients, by creating a technology enhanced full-service agency.
By streamlining much of the administration demands of their day-to-day activities and utilising platforms and tools which create much greater efficiencies, sales agents are freed-up to spend more time on client facing activities.  
“I grew up in the Lower North Shore, so I feel very connected to the area,” Georges said.  
“The area has evolved in that time, and so has real estate. How real estate was transacted 10 years ago, even two years ago, has changed.  
“My clients now want to know what’s happening in their sales journey in real time.”
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LJ Hooker Avnu expand with Jason Georges joining in Willoughby

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The former McGrath agent, Michael Coombs has confirmed to Nine Entertainment that he will join LJ Hooker's Avnu, a little-known, newly launched, technology-based full-service agency operating on the lower North Shore of Sydney.
The move was <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/93594-what-is-lj-hooker-s-avnu-the-new-avenue-in-real-estate" target="_blank">foreshadowed last month</a> on Property Observer.
Avnu markets itself as allowing agents and their clients to manage their sales and properties in real time through enhanced digital online software.
Avnu is based in Neutral Bay, on the lower north shore, not far from the Mosman McGrath office which Coombs departed late last year.
Coombs anticipates the current "proptech" revolution in the residential market paved the way for how homes would be sold in the future.
Coombs <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/93549-leading-lns-michael-coombs-departs-mcgrath" target="_blank">departed McGrath</a> late last year, after two years of speculation on his future amid a fractured franchise operating within the besieged McGrath Group.
LJ Hooker picked the lower north shore - where is has operated since the 1950s - to launch the Avnu brand with its rather odd name.
With fewer than 20 sales since its office launch, Coombs could be expected to possibly turbo-charge the office which has the branding: a new avenue in real estate.
Coombs joined the agency with $100 million in unsold listings.
Avnu took over the gap left by the LJ Hooker flop, <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/70855-settl-lj-hooker-s-diy-hybrid-property-sales-platform-to-take-on-disruptors" target="_blank">Settl</a>, a thwarted part of LJ Hooker’s envisaged $100 million digital transformation.
Avnu, run by former Google, Twitter and LinkedIn execs, aims to reshape the homebuyer experience by smoothing the process where there's an estimated 200 steps involved in buying a property, between appraisal and settlement.
It’s a separate entity to the LJ Hooker franchise model and will have its own agents.
There will be a shop front despite its cloud-based technology approach.
With little fanfare, its chairman and local resident L. Janusz Hooker launch the app mid-last year.
“It’s your normal LJ Hooker, but it’s a place where technology is driving the process for both agents and consumers," said the grandson of the company’s founder, Sir Leslie Joseph Hooker.
Jason Chuck, the chief executive of LJ Hooker Avnu, was a former local founder and managing director of eHarmony and Houzz, and before that head of marketing for Google.
Christine Mikhael, the former general manager of sales and training at McGrath LNS, has been the director of sales and performance since March.
Mr Chuck said the LJ Hooker Avnu platform is the first of its kind and offers the "next frontier of customer service in what is a very fragmented industry".
"If someone was to start a real estate agency today, this is the model they would use. It's a clean slate for what is effectively an industry start-up for the next century," Mr Chuck told Nine Entertainment.
Its customers pay the usual industry-based fees for marketing and agent costs.
LJ Hooker Avnu's early recruits include Adrian Bridges.
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"I believe Avnu is a company that is going to pioneer the way real estate is done in over the next few years and I wanted to be apart of it," Coombs told Nine Entertainment.
While he anticipates the agency will be helpful to millennials, Coombs stresses he can still service clients who prefer a traditional method.
Coombs also advised the sales commission at Avnu will be at the standard market rate.
LJ Hooker says the LJ Hooker Avnu company is owned by private shareholders while Coombs will owns shares in its flagship office.
Coombs had previously held equity in the McGrath Mosman franchise but sold it back to the principals around 20 months ago.
He was among the few McGrath agents not to take shares when the McGrath Group floated in late 2015 on the ASX.
When he left school he did landscaping for a while.
The median Mosman sale in the last six months of 2018 was $1.58 million with Ray White indicating today its office secured an office median sale price $2.15 million higher than the market after a $25 million sale.
The three McGrath LNS offices had 350 sales in 2018 with 10 above $10 million.
The McGrath business acquired Laing &amp; Simmons Milsons Point last year, taking total properties under management to 2,600 properties, the largest rent roll on the lower north shore.
The Dean Mackie-led franchise lost its McGrath operations late last year when McGrath Estate Agents provided the stockmarket with an update regarding the April 2019 renewal of its Sydney Lower North Shore franchise office arrangement.
McGrath formally announced it had withdrawn its offer to extend the franchise agreement beyond April.
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“We have a clear plan to rejuvenate our presence in the region," McGrath chief, Geoff Lucas said.
The shareholders were told by Lucas the LNS profitability had "fallen below expectations in recent years.”
The Mackie-led team, who have had the LNS operation since 2005 and have privately disputed the portrayal by Lucas, quickly formalised plans to instead open a Di Jones office this year.
The former Lower North Shore McGrath franchisees Dean Mackie and Piers van Hamburg will do so without David Howe who is retiring from real estate, with a shift into restaurants mooted.
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Michael Coombs confirmed as LJ Hooker Avnu recruit

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One of McGrath's top selling Sydney agents, Michael Coombs is tipped to join LJ Hooker's Avnu, a little-known, newly launched, technology-based full-service agency.
Avnu allows agents and customers to manage their sales and properties in real time through digital online software.
Avnu is based in Neutral Bay, on the lower north shore, not far from the Mosman McGrath office which Coombs departed mid-week.
Coombs has privately acknowledge the current "proptech" revolution in the residential market paved the way for how homes would be sold in the future.
Coombs <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/93549-leading-lns-michael-coombs-departs-mcgrath" target="_blank">departed McGrath</a> earlier this week.
LJ Hooker picked the lower north shore - where is has operated since the 1950s - to launch the Avnu brand.
With little fanfare, its chairman and local resident L. Janusz Hooker launch the app mid-year.
“It’s your normal LJ Hooker, but it’s a place where technology is driving the process for both agents and consumers," said the grandson of the company’s founder, Sir Leslie Joseph Hooker.
With fewer than 20 sales since its office launch, Coombs could be expected to turbo-charge the office which has the banding: a new avenue in real estate.
One of Avnu's recently listings was an East Killara mid-century design trophy home.
The Harold R. McCauley-designed modernist house was offered through with $1.8 million hopes through LJ Hooker Avnu agent Vanessa Coles, who was previously with Belle Property.
Avnu, run by former Google, Twitter and LinkedIn execs, aims to reshape the homebuyer experience by smoothing the process where there's an estimated 200 steps involved in buying a property, between appraisal and settlement.
It’s a separate entity to the LJ Hooker franchise model and will have its own agents and shop front despite its cloud-based technology approach.
Jason Chuck, the chief executive of LJ Hooker Avnu, was a former local founder and managing director of eHarmony and Houzz, and before that head of marketing for Google.
Ajeya Vempati, former Google Engineering lead, consultant for LinkedIn and Twitter, came on as LJ Hooker Avnu's chief technology officer.
Head of product at LJ Hooker Avnu is James Piskorz.
Christine Mikhael, the former general manager of sales and training at McGrath LNS, has been the director of sales and performance since March. At age 23, Mikhael became the youngest woman in Australia to establish and solely own a real estate agency.
Mr Chuck said the LJ Hooker Avnu platform is the first of its kind and offers the "next frontier of customer service in what is a very fragmented industry".
"If someone was to start a real estate agency today, this is the model they would use. It's a clean slate for what is effectively an industry start-up for the next century," Mr Chuck told Nine Entertainment.
Its customers pay the usual industry-based fees for marketing and agent costs.
Avnu's company registration was preceded by <a href="https://www.urban.com.au/news/70855-settl-lj-hooker-s-diy-hybrid-property-sales-platform-to-take-on-disruptors" target="_blank">Settl</a>, a thwarted part of LJ Hooker’s $100 million digital transformation. 
LJ Hooker Avnu's early recruits include Adrian Bridges who was ranked in Australia's REB Top 100 agents and recorded more than $120 million in sales last year.
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What is LJ Hooker's Avnu? the much hyped new avenue in real estate

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A former LJ Hooker real estate agent with a resumed drug habit has been jailed for five years. 
Ngo will be eligible to apply for parole after he has served at least three years.
The sentencing judge described his financial mismanagement akin to a Ponzi scheme.
Joseph Ngo, 37, also known as Tri Duc Ngo, managed accounts of six LJ Hooker franchises in Melbourne’s south-east, including Glen Waverley and Mount Waverley.
Between January 2015 and March 2016, just over $6 million was misappropriated from trust accounts linked to the six offices.
Ngo used just over $2 million of that on clothing, jewellery and drugs, including ice.
The alarm was only raised in April 2016 when Consumer Affairs Victoria was told that the business’ trust accounts were overdrawn.
In sentencing on Thursday, County Court judge Michael Bourke said Ngo’s behaviour was dishonest, harmful and prolonged.
He ruled Ngo needed to be condemned for what he had done as it breached the trust of the victims and their faith in the property system.
Ngo was addicted to heroin and cannabis earlier in life, the judge said, but despite his attempts at abstinence, he spent $300,000 on ice during his offending. 
After the sale of Ngo's property, the victims were needing to be repaid $2.1 million from the Victorian Property Fund at Victorian tax payer expense.
Judge Bourke ordered that Ngo repay that money while noting the chances of that compensation occurring were remote.
Ngo pleaded guilty to 48 charges under the estate agents act and two summary offences relating to taking a direct interest in the sales of property.
Defence counsel Erol Cinar had argued that Ngo had shown remorse, had no intention to return to real estate and had a severe mental condition, exacerbated by drug use.
Fairfax Media reported Ngo had been convicted in 2001 of armed robbery and attempted armed robbery, as well as heroin trafficking before that.
Judge Bourke said if not for an early guilty plea, Ngo would have been jailed for seven years.
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Former armed robber turned LJ Hooker Glen Waverley agent sentenced to three years jail 

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A former real estate agent who misappropriated more than $6 million from clients to fund his lavish lifestyle has asked a Melbourne judge to spare him from prison.
But Tri Duc Ngo, also known as Joseph Ngo, who has pleaded guilty to misusing $6.49 million from trust account funds of 46 clients linked to six LJ Hooker offices in Melbourne, was advised he should serve some time in jail for his crime.
Ngo co-operated six LJ Hooke branches at Glen Waverley, Box Hill, Burwood, Doncaster, Keysborough and Mount Waverley.
County Court Judge Michael Bourke said Ngo, who was reported to suffer psychosis and a schizoaffective disorder, should serve some time in jail.
He spent some of the money on drugs such as ice.
The court heard at a plea hearing in November that Mr Ngo had splashed stolen cash at high-end jewellery stores including Swarovski and Tiffany &amp; Co.
Six LJ Hooker offices in Melbourne's outer east were closed when Consumer Affairs Victoria was alerted.
Defence lawyer Erol Cinar said the father-of-four should be spared jail because his four-year-old had not yet made lasting memories of his father.
He also argued Ngo was active in his church community.
The court was advised the remorseful Ngo had no intention to return to real estate.
Judge Michael Bourke released Ngo on bail for one day to collect his medications, with plans to remand him in custody on Tuesday before sentencing at a later date.
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The judge declared a lesser punishment would be “disproportionate.”
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"The offending occurred over a protracted period between January 2015 and March 2016," crown prosecutor Robyn Harper.
"The offending occurred over a protracted period between January 2015 and March 2016," she said.
"The scale is massive ... (and) there's been no evidence he's repaid the money."
 
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