Businesses in Southbank

Investing in advice

It’s widely known that investing in the property market is a great way to secure and build wealth, but far less known is exactly how you do it.  

That’s why Ray White in Southbank has initiated Learn to Invest seminars right here in Southbank at their Clarendon St address.

As Ray White’s Andrew Salvo explained to Southbank Local News his company is perfectly placed to advise anyone on the property market.

“We decided this year that we wanted to provide another aspect to our real estate business. As we are part of the largest real estate brand in the country, we have access to a lot of information surrounding property,” Mr Salvo said.

 “We also have a core property investment team working within the business,” he added.

He also explained that the reputation and standing with which Ray White is held within the property industry helps back up the advice.

“Ray White is 111 years old and has over 1000 offices world wide,” Mr Salvo said.

“From this vast network, we can leverage off some vital property information and investor experiences,” he added.

Combining this knowledge with an intimate understanding of the local area further strengthens Ray White’s advice.

“We deal with Southbank locals everyday and know the questions that we get asked on a daily basis. We designed our presentation to cater to what we commonly get asked,” Mr Salvo said.

The first of these events was held during November and was a great success. About 50 people listened to the advice and 40 of these have chosen to look a bit deeper, booking a follow up appointment with Ray White.

“The purpose of this appointment is for people to ask any further questions to gain further info based on the parts of the presentation that they want to delve further into,” Mr Salvo said.

As Mr Salvo explained, it boils down to one thing: “Buying a property is easy, however making a sound investment choice is not.”

The next Learn to Invest event will be on Thursday, November 28 at Ray White Southbank, 111 Clarendon St Southbank. You can book in for the event by calling 9385 7429 and quoting “SLN” or via SMS on 0418 128 784 and quoting “SLN” plus your name and email address.

You couldn't get more local than Lee

Lee Tambouras has been working in South Melbourne and Southbank his entire working life. At 16 he was an apprentice motor mechanic at Smith’s in South Melbourne, opened his own garage in 1987 and then moved it to Southbank.

Triple S Motors has been operating in the area since and has its home, along with BC Car Rentals, nestled in between high-rise apartment complexes on Whiteman St.

To further illustrate his affinity with the area Lee and his wife Angie also bought an apartment in Southbank Towers in 1997, becoming some of the first residents to call postcode 3006 home.

“I do love the area. I’ve been here most of my life now, so it’s pretty obvious I love it,” Lee explains.

“After we settled down to have kids we moved to a family home in Bundoora, but we really missed the city living. We moved back to Albert Park, have extended and we’re still there. And the best part? I can walk to work!”

It was this unparalleled insight of both the area and his industry that helped Lee expand his business.

“From the mechanics I opened up a detailing arm, then a sales arm and then we moved into rentals.”

Lee said the rental side of the business, BC Rentals, was the perfect fit for Southbank.

“Because of the move to residential housing in the city we saw a lot of our customers selling their cars and not needing them anymore,” Lee explained.

“Now I have customers who come in every two weeks and rent the same car, and to them it’s their car, we just house it.”

Lee also said the obvious connection between the two businesses gave the rentals extra credibility.

“I service the rental cars in the same way I’d service a customer’s car. This ensures the cars always get from service to service without a hiccup, which is particularly important when you rent a car.

Even after all these years, clearly Lee is still passionate about his work.

“I love the work. When I was at school I loved puzzles and problem solving and that’s always been the way, I love diagnosing cars. I love the challenge.”

If you’re looking for a mechanic or hire car, make sure you check out Triple S Motors and BC Rentals. As an added bonus BC rentals offers discounts for Southbank residents, all you have to do is quote “neighbours” when you call. Call on 1800 085 282 or check out the website www.bcrentals.com.au