"I am writing to express my thanks and extreme pleasure at the way in which out auction was conducted in West Melbourne on 2nd April 2011, by Michael Hingston of your firm. Firstly may I say that Michael at all times treated us an older couple with respect and dignity, recognising our reluctance to sell a place where we had made many memories. Michael, although young, is a mature and very professional man, who is very knowledgeable and makes every effort to carefully research the area and target the buyers accordingly.

As we had a difficult tenant for only a brief time, Michael was able to help us to encourage him to leave and as well gave is a time plan and many suggestions for making out place saleable.

He then conducted a short. Sharp, but excellent campaign and in just 4 weeks sold out home at a very good price. At each stage of development he kept us fully informed. And after inspections, informed us of the outcomes of each inspections and who might be in the mix of bidders.

We are very grateful to Michael and also to Monica for their hard work, encouragement and support during this process, and I have told Michael that out opinions of real estate agents have been changed forever"
Marilyn and Douglas McBurnie
West Melbourne

"My husband and I recently sold our family home of thirty-five years, at 7 Albert Street, Surrey Hills, using Michael Hingston as our Auctioneer and contact at Jellis Craig.
Since this was our first attempt at selling at auction we leant very heavily on Michael's advice and expertise and he remained very knowledgeable and informative throughout. He was always calm in his approach to us, instilling us with confidence and holding a steady course.
Michael developed a strong relationship with all the clients who indicated interest when viewing our home. He followed up with each of them supplying them with documentation and incentives to visit and re-visit. This dedication resulted in a very high attendance of interested purchasers who opened the bidding strongly and carried it right through to a fantastic finish. The result was that our auction, under his guidance, achieved a result way beyond our expectations and the total experience was relatively painless.

We cannot recommend Michael highly enough for his focus, professionalism and strong work ethic. We would have no hesitation in encouraging anyone considering selling a property to use Michael as their agent because we couldn't have found anyone better or more able"
Bill & Gael Stach

"We made the decision to put our house on the market and the quest to find the best agent began. We were referred by a friend to talk to Michael Hingston but we were sceptical as his prime area was not Armadale and we were not sure whether he would be able to bring enough potential clients through. We met with two other agencies and then on the same night gave Michael a chance to pitch to us. At the onset we were very impressed with his enthusiasm, his organizational skills and his frankness, the same night he spoke to us he called to ask what do I have to do to get the listing" What a great question if you can ask this and do what is required then you are already ahead. We signed with Michael that night.

During our campaign Michael kept us informed with progress, every week we got a list of inspections and he had qualified all of them to gauge genuine interest. Michael always took our phone calls, followed up and called us back and we really believed that he was working for us and in our interests. When it came to negotiations he was fair and honest and made the process as stress free as possible.

We have no hesitation in recommending Michael Hingston as a potential agent as we will definitely use him again and have referred him to others"
Dale & Sonia Manton.
60 Kooyong Road.
Armadale VIC.

"The total transaction was managed efficiently by Michael Hingston of Jellis Craig from their Hawthorn Office, in my absence. The twist in the tale was that the total transaction was finalized whilst I was recuperating from major surgery within 45 days. Michael's ability to manage my expectation during that difficult time was outstanding. We achieved the price set, settlement requirements were as agreed in our initial discussion and the level of 'real' communication during the transaction was ideal.
My decision to appoint Michael to sell my property were based on his follow up and interest in selling my home over the previous five years and his capacity to provide me with a realistic plan that would achieve my goal. Selling a property at any time has it's challenged but Michael's care, concern and attention to detail ensured that the transaction went smoothly.

I would not hesitate to recommend Michael and will continue to seek his advice on property matters in the future."
Lyn Cox

"In late 2009 we decided to sell our property on Bowen Street in Camberwell. We researched the services of a number of real estate firms and interviewed several agents before deciding to engage Mr Michael Hingston from the Jellis Craig Hawthorn office to handle the sale. Michael was by far the most knowledgeable, personable, conversational and professional agent we interviewed. He patiently and carefully assessed our situation, walked us through a number of scenarios on how best to establish the value of our property on the market. He also provided us a detailed accounting of the costs we were likely to incur if we selected Jellis Craig as our Sales agent which allowed us to make an accurate comparison of the costs for the professional services of competing agencies.

Once we engaged Michael as our agent, he, in consultation with the Jellis Craig team, conducted a detailed evaluation of our property relative to the existing market and helped us develop a winning sales campaign. He was also extremely helpful in suggesting measures that he would enhance.the property's attractiveness during the scheduled open house inspections. Michael's easy going yet very professional style was very effective throughout the time our property was on the market. Potential buyers were always kept well informed and at the end f the day; it was his keen sense of awareness and negotiating skills that closed the sale at the preferred price.

We highly recommend Michael to you if you are considering the sale of your property. We were very satisfied with his performance and that of the Jellis Craig team"
Pete Peterson

"I recently sold my investment property in Camberwell through Jellis Craig with Michael Hingston as the selling agent and auctioneer.

The circumstances for managing the sale were not ideal. I was travelling overseas during much of the period the property was on the market and it quickly became cear that the property market in Melbourne was changing, potentially to a seller's disadvantage.

I have nothing but praise for the communication and effort Michael put into the sale of my property. I found his briefing on how he proposed to market the property to be both informative and sensible. He provided regular updates on inquiries about the property and the market in general while I was travelling, he fully answered any questions I had from afar about what was happening in the Melbourne market, and he gave me the benefit of his considerable knowledge and experience in the Camberwell area market when he analysed the potential buyers he had identified.
On the day of the auction I was impressed with his skills as an auctioneer at helping to maintain a competitive bidding process to achieve a very good price for me the vendor.

At all times I felt Michael dealt with me and sale process professionally. His analysis of the market, his estimates of potential sale price, and his views on the likely buyers were all provided clearly and proved to be accurate.

Overall I found Michael was excellent to deal with and I would not hesitate in recommending him as an agent for the sale of a property in the broad Boroondara area."
Ian Heath.

"Thank you so much for the enthusiastic, aggressive and positive energy you applied to the sale of our property mentioned above.

We appreciate the task at hand was an arduous one given the state of the economy and in particular, the fact our home had been previously listed with another agency.

We understand the difficulty in taking on a property once it has gone "stale". With this in mind, we were extremely impressed with our first meeting. To get me to sign the agency agreement then and there and the pressure you put on me to put pen to paper gave Alison and myself the utmost confidence you guys could achieve a great sale for us come auction day.

Michael, your constant, honest feedback, including a comprehensive email report every Monday post our Thursday and Saturday opens was very much appreciated. The communication to both of us via phone, SMS message and email was outstanding. You left no stone unturned and at no stage were Alison and I left guessing. We never had to ring you. We never wondered what was happening.
Your strategy of re auctioning out home proved to be the masterstroke. In fact this was exactly what was needed given our previous listing with another agency. We were also impressed by the numbers coming through the door each Saturday. Those numbers were in fact 3-4 times greater that our previous agency. The greater the numbers through the door, the greater the chance of finding a purchaser. We couldn't wait to hear how many came through each Saturday.

Thank you for the impressive way in which you conducted our auction. You were extremely enthusiastic, aggressive and had the bidders in frenzy. We had 4 genuine bidders on the day and the way you had them performing was brilliant. Our previous auctioneer could do well to watch a few of your auctions.

Finally, we wished we had engaged you guys from the beginning and we have definitely found our agents for any future real estate transaction we may have, We will definitely recommend you to anyone we know looking to sell their home. Thanks again"
Stacy and Alison Visser.

"Firstly I cannot image what I can say to fully particularise the service I received from Michael Hingston. The stress of selling a property particularly when your friends' family and the media are placing pressure on you by reporting as to the market volatility was appeased by the professional nature that Michael demonstrated.

The auction result was beyond my families' expectations and was handled with a sense of humour, professionalism and integrity. At all material times, I was provided with honest feedback and my expectations were never raised in order for Michael to ingratiate himself to our family.

He earned our business through well managed team work and by keeping us appraised of his views as to both market expectations versus vendor interest.

I cannot recommend with higher expressions of thanks for his hard work and solution orientated approach. What makes his professionalism first class in all of the circumstances, is that the office is not even in the Brighton area yet the result they achieved was greater that the quotes I received from other agents in the Brighton area who showed little or no interest in the management and sale of my property.

My biggest compliment is that at all time during the campaign Michael made every effort to keep me informed and to provide me with support and encouragement. I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Michael to look after your sale and or purchase needs albeit that I acknowledge that my legal practioners made the job somewhat easier by preparing first class Section 32's which are a rarity these days when most vendors choose to use Conveyancing clerks whose Section 32's are not as comprehensive nor do they provide the complete overview of what the property has to offer.

In closing, I wish to thank you for all that was accomplished, I believe you to be a young astute man with an absolute passion for your position, together with the passion of looking after the vendor as if it was his own family. As a retired police officer, I have to commend without question the class with which the sale of my family's property was managed.

I have absolutely no hesitation in recommending Michael as a first class professional and if you require additional information please do not hesitate to contact me."
Yours sincerely
Julie McAlister & Mark Bolzon

"Your remarkable teamwork plus an impeccably presented campaign have resulted in a most satisfactory auction result for us.

Michael, we are so appreciative of your communication and sales technique, which kept us fully informed and part of the process. Steve we loved your auctioneering expertise; an innate ability to engage the crowd dextrously, keep all the balls in the air simultaneously and focus unerringly.

Monica, the quiet achiever, the organiser, the detail perfectionist and all with no fuss. The behind the scenes staff, unheralded, but so deserving of our gratitude for your contribution.

Our sincere thanks to you all, and our respect for the efficiency and integrity of Jellis Craig." Warm regards,
Edward and Esther Smyth.