Cate Bakos
President (Principal and Founder, Cate Bakos Property)
Cate Bakos completed a degree with honours in Chemistry at Monash University in 1996, but has held a passion for property long before her career in science.
Purchasing her first property at 21, Cate continued to invest in property whilst developing her career in sales and marketing with Orica (formerly ICI). In 2003, Cate won a marketing and busary award, however her passion for real estate saw her make the decision to move into property. Commencing her new career in an office in Sandringham, Cate’s approach towards home-matching and selection guided her clients through the maze of property. Qualifying and working as a mortgage broker after the birth of her daughter and throughout the GFC has become one of the most valuable ‘apprenticeships’ she could have served. Her appreciation of lending policy, loan restrictions, borrowing capacity calculation, and cashflow analysis is what sets her apart from her competitors.
Cate studied Property Services in 2010 at Swinburne University and obtained her real estate license. She founded Empower Wealth Property Advisory P/L as a director in 2011 and guided over 700 clients through their various property journeys over that time. In 2014 she left her directorship to launch Cate Bakos Property a boutique Melbourne business catering to her loyal clients. Cate’s extensive asset-selection experience not only in Melbourne metro suburbs but also in Victorian regional markets including Ballarat and Geelong has given her a valuable point of difference to offer her cashflow-driven clients.
Cate is a regular commentator in the media, and contributes monthly to publications including Your Investment Property, Australian Property Investor, Smart Property and property Observer. She features in Domain and regularly enjoys interview opportunities on Real Estate Talk with Kevin Turner. Cate shares her knowledge and experience regularly at seminars, volunteers her bidding skills often, and enjoys mentoring young people in the industry she so loves.
Cate Bakos Property was proudly awarded Sterling Publishing’s “high commendation” in 2015, and Cate was a finalist in 2013 for the Telstra Business Woman of the Year, the REIV Buyer’s Agent of the Year, and the National Winner of the Buyer’s Agent of the Year for Sterling Publishing in 2013
Ramon Mitchell
Vice President (Principal and Founder, Gault & Co Property Advisory)
With more than 20 years of experience in the Real Estate industry, Ramon has enjoyed a versatile career and worked through numerous cycles in the property market. It’s this level of experience that puts him in an ideal position to give a personalised, unbiased and authentic service to his property buying and management clients at Gault & Co Property Advisory.
Over the years, Ramon has developed a natural intuition for sourcing quality, investment-grade properties that have exceeded clients’ expectations and investment potential; backed by a strategic and systematic approach. His whole process is very transparent while staying agile to quickly adapt to the changing market to get the best results for his clients.
Working closely with intermediary affiliates, such as financial advisers, accountants, solicitors and mortgage brokers on a day-to-day basis, he has worked hard to grow partnerships that last. From de-risking the ‘advice’ selling agents can give their clients to adding a new tactical dimension to the client’s overall adviser ‘team’.
Instilling his own personal values into his work led to the creation of Gault & Co Property Advisory, his own independent Buyers Advocacy and Property Management firm. The team prides itself on the strong relationships they build as they locate and negotiate to secure dream homes as well as identify, acquire and manage investment-grade residential assets for clients.
Richard Evans
Secretary (Principal, Fortune Property Finder)
Richard is a licensed real estate agent and brings strong contract negotiation skills from 33 years of local and international experience with both a multi national company and local government combined with personal history of over 20 years’ property renovation and investing. Rich is the founder and principal of Fortune Property Finder – a Newcastle-based real estate buyers agency, exclusively representing buyers in the Newcastle area.
Bryan Loughnan
Treasurer (Propertyology)
Bryan is an integral part of Propertyology’s leadership team with a career in property spanning 15 years. With an initial interest in becoming a skilled property valuer, Bryan graduated from the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in 2004 with a Bachelor of Applied Science, majoring in property economics.
Bryan refined his property knowledge during a 10-year banking career, including invaluable exposure to high-end property finance and portfolio management with both Suncorp Metway and ANZ Bank. Over the years, Brian has been actively involved with the development of portfolios and has overseen growth strategies for numerous property and business clients.
Bryan was runner-up in the 2016 REIQ Buyer’s Agent of the Year Awards for Excellence and an integral part of Propertyology winning the category for 2016 REIQ Small Residential Agency of the Year.
Jennifer Smith
Governance and Strategic Planning Co-ordinator (NQ Buyers Agent)
Founder and licensee of NQ Buyers Agent, Jennifer Smith, is both a fully licensed real estate agent, and an experienced investor in the Australian property market. She has a deep understanding of the nature and dynamics of property markets, as well as the strategy and psychology of investing. Prior to establishing NQ Buyers Agent, Jennifer undertook various roles in diverse locations, where she developed expertise in research and analysis, education, project management, and strategic investment.
Among other things, Jennifer has taught and undertaken research in schools across Queensland, Victoria and London. She holds a Masters degree from the University of Queensland where she was also employed as Lecturer and Research Officer. She served ten years as a Senior Policy and Project Officer within the Victorian Government, providing leadership on commonwealth and state strategic funding investment of over $500M in Victorian schools.
Lisa Parker
Learning and Development Co-ordinator (Founder Parker Buyer Advocates)
As the founder and principal of Parker Buyers Advocates, Lisa is committed to helping clients purchase property with ease and efficiency, saving them both time and money by tailoring solutions to their individual needs.
With a career spanning 16 years in the real estate industry, Lisa also holds formal qualifications in financial planning and has a Certificate in Finance. Her business is all about delivering strategic, practical, investment guidance that is grounded in simple-to-follow steps. She is passionate about educating and inspiring today’s smart investors who demand genuine wealth-building solutions for sustainable financial security.
In her capacity as Learning and Development Co-ordinator for REBAA, she is responsible for scoping the training needs of members, developing training programs and co-facilitating training as required.
Matt Knight
Regional Representative
Since buying his first investment property back in 2003 Matt has been hooked on property.
Seachanging from Sydney to the beautiful NSW South Coast 10 yrs ago, inspired Matt to combine his love of property with the picturesque local area. He is the founding director of Precium – the Illawarra and Shoalhaven’s first genuine local buyer’s agency.
For relocating home buyers and investors alike he loves sharing his passion for regional NSW with his clients. Matt knows first hand what to look for (and avoid) when buying outside the big cities.
For investors Matt is a research nerd who believes property investing is best based on real data not hype or the latest newspaper headline. Precium has helped hundreds of investors get their first property and then go on to 2/3/4 properties quickly and safely. Whether passive buy and hold or active small development strategies are involved, Matt knows that protecting buyer interests is paramount.
It’s unfair that buyers are neglected by the property industry, especially since buying a property is such a big decision. Precium only works for buyers, and we help them get the right house at a great price with no nasty surprises.
We create confident property owners with equity, cash flow and choices who can support their families and impact the community for good.
Property Buyers
If you’re looking to purchase a new home, investment or commercial property, a REBAA accredited buyer’s agent can help.
Find A Local Buyers Agent
REBAA Membership
Join Australia’s leading professional body for property buyer’s agents and stand out from the crowd.
Find Out About Joining