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with Gary Gersbach from Forster Tuncurry Business Chamber
BUSINESS
CHARLES DEGOTARDI Agent from Professionals Forster Tuncurry
A
little bit about Charles Degotardi ... Having grown up in the Great Lakes, Charles has a wealth of local knowledge and coupled with 22 years of real estate industry experience, this gives Charles the edge to selling your property. The Degotardi family is a local family well entrenched in the region. Charles Degotardi Snr, a property developer, first came to the area in the 1950s and developed Smiths Lake, Coomba Park, Green Point and Anglers Paradise Forster. Charles grew up in Pacific Palms and has a passion second to none for promoting the Great Lakes.
Charles moved back to his grass roots in 2015, returning to Smiths Lake, and decided to work for the very reputable agency The Professionals Forster /Tuncurry, where he specialises in all aspects of real estate from Bulahdelah to Hallidays Point. Charles has two beautiful daughters who attend Forster and Tuncurry senior campus. You will often see Charles attending fires or driving the fire truck, as he has been involved with the Rural Fire Service since 1981. This is what some of Charles’s recent clients have to say!
After leaving school, Charles entered the building trade as an apprentice carpenter at Springwood in the Blue Mountains, until he was offered a position with his father selling newly developed land at Pacific Palms. Not satisfied with just selling land for his father, Charles obtained his real estate agent licence and opened Raine & Horne Pacific Palms, later selling the business in 1985 and moving to Forster.
“The entire sale process went as smoothly as we
Charles worked in real estate in Forster/Tuncurry from 1985 to 1989, winning many awards. In 1990 Charles purchased Raine & Horne Springwood and ran a very successful business, taking the office on to becoming one of the top selling offices in the network, before selling the business in 2000.
Forster.
Having a break from real estate, Charles had a fascination with tourism sales and marketing and secured a position representing Jenolan Caves Reserve Trust and Blue Mountains Tourism. Charles won many awards in this field, including the prestigious Ambassador of the Year award
AUTUMN IS HERE
for the Blue Mountains.
could have expected. The Professionals had our property sold very quickly, at a price we were very happy with. We honestly could not have asked for anything more; the communication was great, and the team at Professionals are all very friendly and easy to deal with. We would definitely recommend Charles if you’re looking to buy or sell in the area.” - 40 Divide Street, “Charles was very knowledgeable of the local area and accurate about the market. He assured me the house could be sold within my time frame. Even with what looked like a sale, he kept showing the house and when the expected sale fell through, there were more offers. “In spite of low offers, he respected my expectations and communicated them to the buyers to achieve my desired price. I can’t imagine what more he could have done. Thanks Charles.” - 9 Valley Road, Smiths Lake.
AU T U M N I S OF T E N C I T E D A S T H E B E ST T I M E TO B E ON T H E M I D COA ST, W H ET H E R A S A V I S I TOR OR A S T H E E S PEC I A L LY LUC KY PEOPL E W HO L I V E H E R E .
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he weather over and beyond the Easter break has allowed the delights of the region to be experienced by all and sundry, including our most welcomed tourists and visitors. The recent rains have ensured the countryside is to be seen at its glorious vibrant green best, acting as a backdrop for all the many and varied activities this area is renowned for, but are too often taken for granted. How many times do we hear there is "little to do", "no decent shops", "nowhere to go"? Apart from the concept that people move here to do little but enjoy their well- earned retirement years, I am constantly amazed at the number of activities available. Almost any interest you could name is very likely to have a club, association or group firmly established within the area. The local papers are the first places people seeking company , association, interest or just plain curiosity can begin to seek out their special interest. An example of our community punching above its weight is the recent award to Greg and Tammy Randall, of Beaches International serviced apartments in Forster. They received first place in Australia for National, State and Regional Serviced Apartments category by Star Ratings Australia - a truly prestigious award, and one well-earned by Greg and Tammy's dedication to ensuring our visitors will want to return. A further example of excellence within our area was noted after I recently had enforced stays at the Manning Base Hospital, which made me more aware of the degree of complexity that our community has interwoven throughout the district. Without doubt, the hospital warrants every expense it can squeeze out of both state and federal instrumentalities. The dedicated staff, along with the associated facilities, are again punching above their weight within the mor-
ibund state health system. There is often criticism levelled at the Emergency Ward, but this can only occur within the waiting room, where the triage system selects the most urgent cases and seemingly leave others with undue delays. Hopefully, those left waiting can be mollified by the knowledge that more urgent cases than their own are processed accordingly. It has been my experience the well-oiled procedure past the waiting room is extremely professional and efficient, and the hospital needs all the accolades and support it can muster from within our community. It was with interest that I recently saw a south west Sydney council advertising for a Coordinator Place and Projects. That council recognises that creating places where people feel good will mean they are more likely to want to stay, to return and to tell others about the experience. The role of the Place and Projects team is to engage and mobilise residents, businesses, government and community organisations around place focused initiatives and to give them meaningful input in to decisions around place making. I was struck by what a progressive philosophy that is and how it is doubly important to a town like Forster-Tuncurry, that relies so heavily on tourism. We are blessed with fantastic natural amenities, but could do so much more to connect businesses and civic spaces to those amenities. The recent proposal lodged for the Forster Civic precinct is a case in point. Whilst the uses identified within the development will strengthen the town centre and are therefore supported by the Chamber, the design layout fails to capitalise on the site's location and aspect. By placing the civic components of the development at the furthest point from the water, a great opportunity for “place making” has been lost. It should be noted that the project proponent has a great track record in town, so perhaps there is scope for amendments to the plan that could improve community outcomes. manning-great lakes focus.
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