Superbrand Raine & Horne has launched an office in Oatley as it continues to expand its reach in Sydney’s St George region. 

 Raine & Horne’s established network in the St George region includes offices at Kogarah, San Souci, Hurstville, South Hurstville, Bexley/Beverly Hills, Bardwell Park/Kingsgrove.

 Raine & Horne has had a long history in Oatley, having sold some of the suburb’s first waterfront subdivisions back in 1908. Almost 100 years later, Raine & Horne operated a physical office in the suburb in the 1990s and early 2000s. In the lead up to the brand’s 140 years, the new Raine & Horne Oatley office is a full-circle moment for the team.

 Raine & Horne Oatley is led by experienced agents and long-term St George locals John Pucak and Christian Lagarez. Mr Pucak grew up in Bardwell Park and attended local schools and colleges before moving to Oatley, where he has lived since 1997. Mr Lagarez has lived locally for over 20 years. 

 After stints with an independent office in Hurstville, the dynamic duo has launched Raine & Horne Oatley. 

 Mr Lagarez also has over 20 years of real estate sales and property management experience and was a business owner in Australia and overseas. In contrast, Mr Pucak, who has always been fascinated with real estate most of his life, started in property in 2015 after an extensive career in small business.

 Mr Pucak began in the building industry before shifting to hospitality, where he owned and operated two successful restaurants.

 Travis Wentriro, Network Manager, Raine & Horne, said, “John and Christian’s experience as business owners has taught them the importance of loyalty and building long term relationships with people. This knowledge has translated brilliantly to real estate. 

 “John and Christian understand the power of positive word of mouth referrals and that when people are happy, they come back and tell their clients and friends.

 “They have a reputation for exceeding their client’s expectations, which has been key to their successful careers in real estate sales and will translate brilliantly to owning a real estate office.”

 Why launch another small business?

 The freedom and control to run their own show at Raine & Horne Oatley and the financial benefits proved too strong for long-term SME owners. 

 “We were happy to work as part of a team initially, but we also didn’t want to be left behind. We also wanted to be part of a network leading the way with technology and systems,” Mr Pucak said. 

 “We also wanted to be reimbursed for bringing in listings which is hard work. We have both had extensive stints as business owners and are looking forward to working again without restrictions. 

 Fluent in Croatian, Serbian and Macedonian, Mr Pucak adds, “Apart from the business and financial freedoms, we love working with our vendors and buyers to complete a property transaction. I personally love the chit chat involved in selling real estate.”

 Why Raine & Horne? 

 After five months of extensive due diligence that included evaluating several real estate platforms and several groups, the business partners concluded that Raine & Horne was the standout.

“We even looked at several white-label options that would have allowed us to operate as John & Christian Realty. But then we looked harder at the prominent groups in our area and realised nobody had a physical presence in Oatley.

 “Then we decided we needed a big brand backing us, and we looked at a few options, but Raine & Horne has significant more firepower.

 “It’s a Superbrand that everyone knows. Going with a household name such as Raine & Horne makes it much easier for us to get into the loungerooms of vendors in Oatley faster than if we chose to operate as an independent.”

 Mr Pucak said that while Raine & Horne’s ecosystem of digital marketing products, such as social media marketing platform Amplify and appraisal listing tool, Digikit, were very attractive, the duet would wear out some shoe leather in their endeavours to promote themselves. 

 “We will be doing letter drops of the entire Oatley postcode during our launch phase.”

 Already Mr Pucak said he’d been delighted by the service he received from Raine & Horne and his Network Manager Mr Wentriro. 

 For all your residential sales and property management needs in Oatley and surrounding suburbs contact Raine & Horne Oatley 0410 402 478 or at Shop 1, 15 Letitia St, Oatley