THE MESSAGE. BRINGING INTO FOCUS FILIPINO PRESENCE IN AUSTRALIA
www.kalatas.com.au | Volume 6 Number 4 | JANUARY 2016
PROPERTY MARKET
13
Business with a heart
RPN: Ten years and on
in your limit. I still get excited even if it’s not me buying a
house, because it really is exciting to buy a house. But it helps
not to be too 'emotional' about
it when you are in the process.
You have a team of bank, solicitor and real estate agent to help
you make things happen. Do
your research and listen to these
team of professionals.”
2016 is a milestone year for this group
of realty professionals. Celebrating their
10th year, RPN – an all-Pinoy enterprise
– is setting its sights to bigger ventures in
a manner that’s uniquely Filipino: that
means lots of care and compassion.
AFTER all, theirs is a business
with a heart. The real estate
business can be one cutthroat
industry but for people behind
RPN, the pursuit of business
is about helping people pursue
their dreams and find their place
in Australia.
They started small ten years
ago in a manner that’s quite unfashionable for keen starters in
the real estate industry. No fanfare. No glossy business cards.
No frills. Not even a full office
with big desks.
“RPN was founded in 2005
at our garage in Mount Druitt
between me and Ruben (Ruben Rosales, Sales Manager) in
partnership,” recalls Tes Casin,
RPN Licensee in Charge in a recent interview with AK.
Her first brush with real estate started a couple of years before when she went to a Filipino
fiesta somewhere in Bankstown.
That's where she got invited to
attend property and investment
seminars.
“They showed us figures
on how you can make money
through property investments.
Thinking of the children that I
wanted to send to school back
home, I put the seminar to heart
so I can start my property portfolio.” At the back of her mind, she
had a lifetime mission to help
impoverished children in the
Philippines to attain education.
The business was primarily
put up to support Tes’s vision of
sending children to school from
the proceeds of every sales.
RPN was born and the business picked up; the team slowly
learning, slowly growing as the
years went by. A decade passed
and they had escaped and beaten the odds. According to statistics, 8 out 10 small businesses fail for one reason or another within ten years, 9 out 10 fail
within five (Forbes.com). RPN
passed the mark.
“RPN people are not the
bleacher seat type of people.
Hindi yan uupo lang and watch
what is happening, we are all involved in every sale, every deal,
every finance hurdle,” she says.
“We care, we study continuously. You don't get to 10
years if you just sit down and
watch things happen. You have
to roll up your sleeves and be
there.”
With a base in Rooty Hill,
they remain a 100 per cent Pinoy enterprise. Does that give
them an edge in reaching out to
the growing Filipino-Australian
market?
“Maybe, primarily, we
speak the same language? Para
sa akin, madali pa rin makipagusap ng 'puso sa puso' in your
own language, especially when
it comes about that huge amount
of investment, 30 years commitment, halos buong sweldo between husband and wife.
“It's good to talk to someone
who could understand from the
heart. I cannot say that we are
'different' from other players in a
BEYOND A DECADE
Tes says that RPN is definitely here to stay competitive in
the midst of new challenges in
the realty market particularly in
the Sydney West.
As for her mission to help
poor children in the Philippines,
Tes and the RPN team support
advocacies and specific projects to give their share. RPN after all was founded because of
that pledge.
Tes Casin, RPN Licensee in Charge
bigger way. RPN is just always
very happy to help, and we don't
mind going an extra mile like
picking up the client from their
home or the train station if necessary, driving them home after
visiting houses for sale. Small
stuff means a lot. This is our personal touch.”
“For me, it is still all about
attitude.”
ADVICE TO
HOMEBUYERS
T V