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.”
