The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
NOVAK PROPERTIES CREW and PROPERTY LEGENDS in the industry share their experiences and knowledge. Hacks and tips to make you a smarter property GURU :) Learn with exclusive content, advice, insider info and HOT real estate industry PRO SECRETS. For sale, for lease, residential, commercial, buying off the plan, finance, mortgages, interest rates, first home buyer, investments - all topics covered. The untold real estate info you've been waiting for.
The PROPERTY DOCTORS, Sydney Australia Novak Properties
NOVAK NEWS - WHERE DID NOVAK PROPERTIES START?
Mark and Lisa Novak pull back the curtain on their 23-year journey building Novak Properties from nothing but determination and a vacant pie shop. Their refreshingly candid conversation reveals the blood, sweat and tears behind what is now a Northern Beaches real estate powerhouse.
The duo dispels common myths about their business origins—no, they didn't inherit a family company, and yes, they started without experience at just 23 years old. Their early days featured makeshift operations with three mobile phones daisy-chained together, no signage, and letterheads frantically printed overnight at Officeworks.
What makes this story particularly compelling is their deliberate decision to break industry norms. While competitors displayed property plaques in windows, the Novaks kept theirs empty. They installed Slurpee machines that attracted schoolchildren and a massive shark tank that became legendary in the community. These weren't just quirky marketing tactics—they reflected a fundamental belief that real estate could be done differently.
Perhaps most remarkable is the family they've built along the way. Their team members aren't just employees—many have stayed for over a decade, with some leaving only to return after missing the Novak culture. Today, they're selling homes to the children of their original clients while managing $4 billion in assets with 50 staff members.
Whether you're fascinated by entrepreneurship, real estate, or simply love hearing about local success stories, this candid conversation offers genuine insights into building something extraordinary from nothing. The Novak journey proves that with vision and persistence, unconventional thinking can transform industries and communities.
Where did Novak Properties come from? We're going to tell you about where it started. We are Stay tuned the building of a real estate company. Yeah, we're going to give some tips and tricks and tell you about the highs and the lows.
Speaker 2:We are and how it all started. So a lot of people honestly say they think Mark and I are brother and sister. Mark got asked that the other day. He said and your sister, she works in sales. And Mark was like it's not my sister, it's my wife.
Speaker 1:I can't understand why it makes me feel like that. It's just the feeling it makes it's an eek, it's an eek, it's like, oh, but someone once said your dad to me so we're going to get all this up today.
Speaker 1:We're going to get it when we started, how we started, why we started, what we've been up to the highs, the lows, the milestones. I've been told not to talk for too long. So when we do this show together, alicia and I, she talks the whole time and she says that I talk for too long when I tell stories I know I said mark needs to learn how to fly the plane sometimes.
Speaker 2:Land the plane, land the plane, fly the plane, no problems. So, guys, um, we mark and I did start novak properties. A lot of people think that it was a family business that maybe we inherited along the way. That is definitely not the case. You need to start a business. Okay, mark, you tell the story. Mark's going to tell the story. How did you start? A business Over to you.
Speaker 1:Over to you. Well, you had a week. Where's week?
Speaker 2:Over to you, over to you.
Speaker 1:So when we started we was, we was we. I was in sales in real estate. And a myth also is my father was a real estate agent but we never worked together. We never were in real estate at the same time. Dad was. Dad was an old daddy, had me when he was just short of 50. So there was not a lot of, not a lot of years left when he retired short of 50. So there's not a lot of not a lot of years left when he retired. And it was just me at 17 in sales a couple of different real estate agencies.
Speaker 1:I worked with stacy first nationals, my first job in monoval yeah, just land the plane mark, is that what you're thinking? And then after that I went to nick fake op real estate, the internationals in DY, went as a property management assistant, started as a receptionist, then went to be a property management assistant, but then they ended up getting into sales jobs. Then I went to Harbour Real Estate, the professionals. That's when it really started my sales career. It did yeah, it really started and got in the group. At the time there was 700 sales people, including principals, and at the ripe a young age of 20, I was number one in the country in dollar value and in transactions in the group.
Speaker 1:True story. Then lisa said lisa, I met this girl called lisa and um we she said to me, this young, young, I won't know. This young lady said to me you should start your own real estate agency. And I was like what would I do that for? Like I'd have to worry about tax and stuff and like you know, sales was great, no ambition. Then something happened, something bad, and then we're like wait, hang on, wait, wait, wait.
Speaker 2:What do you mean? Something bad.
Speaker 1:You need to define that mark I was trying to do a short story. So then the I the principle I was with terminated me out of nowhere, um, on a property transaction that him and I were doing together. We were buying some, buying and selling some, some, and there was buying and selling of assets. We had a disagreement. So he said there's the door, um, and really didn't know what to do at that time because I was doing a lot of volume in sales, having a lot of fun buying property. I'd even bought part of that business where I was working and I was only sort of 22, you know, 19, 20, 22, 20, getting on to 23 and was forced to go out into the wilderness.
Speaker 2:This is true and I remember saying to Mark you know, just open your own agency, open your own agency agency. I said have you ever managed people before mark goes? No, I said, have you ever um?
Speaker 2:property management done property management, looked after rentals no, a license. So it was like, okay, this is a great idea. So at 23 um, mark was 23 we decided it'd be a really good idea to open up our own agency. Really, with absolutely no experience and at the time I was actually oh, money, that's right. And at the time I was actually working in my family business, we were in private education. But long, long story short, mark actually owned a portion of the rent roll at the agency where he was working, and so we went and sought premises. It was the old Shepherd Pie shop. Is it Shepherd's Pie, shepherd Pie shop in?
Speaker 1:What's the pie shop called anyway.
Speaker 2:I'm sure it was called Shepherd's in DY, so it was an old pie shop, but it was in this great location in DY. There wasn't too many real estate offices there at the time and we thought this is a great location, which it really was. It was a big, prominent corner location, very elevated right in the heart of DY, and they had literally gone in and just ripped out this pie shop and there was a hole in the ceiling and the whole place smelt. We thought, oh, this would be a great place, but we had no money at the time to actually do any sort of renovations whatsoever.
Speaker 1:So Lise and I had only met about 18 months before that, two years before that. So we met in 2000. I met my sister in 2000. Definitely not. And then you worked for about seven years in your family business.
Speaker 2:No, I did yes, correct.
Speaker 1:So I was running Novak property management without any experience, a lot of moral support from lease um, and then we made uh babies. And then you always said lisa said from day one I always wanted, I've always wanted to be a real estate agent. From the first day I met her, I've always wanted to be a real estate agent. I'd be a great real estate agent. True, story.
Speaker 2:well, I actually, I actually studied real estate when I left school. I've always wanted to do it. Yeah, always.
Speaker 1:Saturdays was the thing that was not possible with the kids, yep. So then you started doing a day a week in marketing.
Speaker 2:I did, yes, so I was doing marketing in the background.
Speaker 1:Your parents sold the family business. Correct, that was sort of the start.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and then I started to merge more and more into the business as the kids got a bit older and the business started to really grow. But you know it's funny I think we'll just rewind for a moment, mark because moving into our office in DY it sort of remained as a pie shop with some chairs and tables in it for quite some time, because you know Tables all over the floor 23 years ago we were young guys. You know who starts a business when they're 23 years of age.
Speaker 1:And we didn't have signage for a long time. Yeah, we didn't have a lot of stuff for a long time. Actually, when we started the office, we had three mobile phones as the office phones and one phone diverted when that phone was ringing, the other it diverted to the second mobile and when that phone was ringing it diverted to the third mobile. So it was pretty basic for a lot of years and I think that's. I think that's cool because you see the business today and for people who aren't aware, it's a you know 50 seat office where we are. It's a massive, it's a bit like an apple store and I'm really proud of you know the the start of that business, because it was we were basic for, but not a short time.
Speaker 2:Well, and I tell you guys, you know, if you want to see blood, sweat and tears around an office, that was that, that was that office. And you know, we certainly don't work any less in the business when you fast forward 23 years. We're not working any less, that's for sure. In fact, we're probably working harder than we ever have before. But you know, to anyone that sort of looks at a brand like ours or any other brand that they may admire, you know, nothing good ever comes easy. And you know the reality is is that there's probably a lot of people out there that would tell very, very similar stories about literally the blood, sweat and tears that went into building the business and so many things that we had learned along the way. We really did and in many respects, mark, we just grew up with the business yep, I remember my first sale, my first listing yeah, so it was.
Speaker 1:His name was, um, what's greg's surname? Greg, right, jeff ryan. He had this really cool seleka, toyota sleeker and he's pulling out of the driveway next door to the office. So we had not had a listing, nothing, and and I saw greg in the driveway I'm sorry, jeff, like jeff, how are you? He's like good, what are you doing? I said, oh, just open up an office around the corner so I want to sell my place. I said, yeah, he goes up here. First listing, first sale jeff ryan isn't it unbelievable?
Speaker 2:it really is. And you know when, when we were opening up novak guys and this is now 23 years ago, like I actually cannot believe it 23 years ago when we opened up the office, um, we were looking around and going, okay, should we like join McGrath, or you know, should we go with, you know, ray White, or you know? There was quite a variety. And you know, honestly, mark and I were always like naughty school kids. We're like we're not going to be able to conform to the colours and the brand and everything that we're going to want us to do?
Speaker 1:No chance. You're going to join a franchise. There's no chance. How did we come up with the name Novak?
Speaker 2:Well, to become an independent. This was the Novak agency it was called the Novak agency. But to become an independent on your own, you know, 23 years ago, and to be doing things so differently as we always were, even right from the beginning, was just unheard of. And you know, when we started to renovate the office, and you know, we'd always realise that we just didn't want to look or feel like a real estate agency. And I remember, mark, people would walk in. They'd be like excuse me, what is this shop?
Speaker 1:Well, I was always like.
Speaker 2:What is it? And we'd be like oh, we're a real estate shop.
Speaker 1:No shop. Well, I was always like, what is it? And we'd be like, oh, we're a real estate shop. No, you're not. You don't have any photos on the windows. Everyone had placards in the window, stuff in the window, and for some reason I just had a b in my bonnet.
Speaker 1:There's nothing in the other window, nothing in the window and I used to go to rain and horn double bay and they had this screen, this projector, that's right and I was like, and every time I would pass this office it was a new office, and every time I went past it went like this, and so I was like that's what I want. That is cool. So we never put anything in the window. And boy, did we cop it. Yeah, yeah, we really popped it. People like, why don't you have anything in the window? You should have something in the window. We're like not my parents, my parents, yeah, yeah, everyone.
Speaker 2:And then it really started to evolve. And then there was the Slurpee machine. Yes, so you know, we, just again, we always wanted to and listen guys, even our office today I mean anyone that's ever seen our office, which is not in the same place now? It's across the road. We bought an office about eight years ago and we purpose built it and it is absolutely spectacular. You know it's got a six metre antipasto bar as a reception area. That might you a little bit of an idea as to as to how it looks. But you know we were always doing crazy things. We had the slurpee machine and all the school kids would come off the school bus and they'd come in. And what would they do?
Speaker 1:they'd line up outside um and they'd come in to make them like that because I was so noisy inside so we had to end up saying the kids yeah, we could have a free slurpee. You're not allowed to all be inside the office and make noise. One person at a time line up outside. So they used to line up as a group at school finishes.
Speaker 2:Then we had the shark tank. So Mark had gone to a client's house and they were set. How big was the fish tank, Mark? Five tonne oh it was a five tonne fish tank. I think it took like 10 people to come and install it. No exaggeration.
Speaker 1:But they worked out how much it cost to put a motor into the tank and the lights into the tank.
Speaker 2:And then we put an octopus Two metre octopus. Which ate better than we did. It was getting prawns every day.
Speaker 1:And then we had the big shark in there with the octopus. They liked each other. Yeah, yeah, yeah, but people loved it.
Speaker 2:Loved it. It was cool. But you know, we always always decided that we wanted to do things differently. So that's kind of the fast-forward version as to where Novak started. But yes, it was started by Mark. It is our agency. You know. Certainly, mark's dad was in real estate many, many, many years ago, but you know we were never handed down a business. Everything we did we did ourselves. And you know we were never handed down a business. Everything we did.
Speaker 1:we did ourselves, and you know we've never had partners either.
Speaker 1:Oh, I do have to talk about the partners we have had. Yes, so and I do, you have to I think we've got to pay homage to these people. We do Clive Crookshanks, ray Padmore, these guys because what happened is we in the old office we bought the part of the rent roll rent roll side of the business and there were silent partners in the business and they agreed to support me into the new venture. They actually cut a check for like 120 grand back then, which was equivalent to probably 300 grand today, 400 grand today. And, uh, the business paid them back and those guys, and then it was probably about three or four years later I paid them out. So there was no more partners in the business. But you know, if it wasn't for those guys we probably those guys support we couldn't have started, wouldn't have started wouldn't have been able to.
Speaker 1:So it's, it's um those people there was a jason martin in there, there was a couple of other people Took hostage of a couple of other partners as well. So it was yeah, it was cool.
Speaker 2:But as the years went on, we actually we paid out the silent shareholders. Yes, but you know it's Mark and I, and there's a lot to be said about just two people that run the business and not having any partners how do we work together?
Speaker 1:everyone goes. How do a lot of people?
Speaker 2:ask that. That is, how is it back?
Speaker 1:well, during the business hours we sort of don't come across each other, but we do do a lot out of business hours as well, but a lot there's a lot of talking about work Deals.
Speaker 2:There is a lot of talking about work.
Speaker 1:I think we like our business, we like what we do, so we like sharing the stories.
Speaker 2:We definitely do. And, you know, would we change it? Definitely not. We never, ever argue about it. In fact, we hardly argue at all, but we certainly don't ever argue about business. You know, I love that mark runs the business. I, I work in the business, but I'm not involved in the day-to-day runnings um, and I don't really want to be. I think this is where you can get a lot of um. That's probably where you, you know, come to loggerheads. I think you know where you've got two people that are running the business. Mark runs the business, mark looks after you know where you've got two people that are running the business. Mark runs the business, mark looks after you know the day-to-day dealings of the business, and that's great and it works really well that way, doesn't it?
Speaker 1:Most memorable moment.
Speaker 2:Most memorable oh, there's been so many, I would have to say it was when we got our. Oh, there's actually two. So one was when we moved into the office that very, very first night. We were so young, oh my goodness, we didn't know what we were calling the agency and we had no letterheads, no, nothing. It was like such a knee-jerk reaction. My brother went down to Officeworks and bought a printer Four yeah, and we were printing off Four printers, printing off letterhead all night long.
Speaker 1:Four yeah, and that was and we were printing off Four printers, printing off Flathead all night long.
Speaker 2:That moment, yeah, the other moment is when we actually purpose built our own office, which is diagonally across the road. It sits on a massive corner frontage. It's a spectacular office and we had put so much time, money and effort into building this office. And I remember you were sitting in the gutter smoking a cigar and the guys were inside peeling all the paper off the windows for the unveiling of the office. That would put so much time and effort into that moment. I love that. Yours, yours, what's yours?
Speaker 1:most memorable moment? Yeah, I think I should. You know, it sounds awful, I can't even. I can't put it down to a event or a moment. Um, I'd say the new office building the office. I'd say that walking through that new office when opening the business for operation was just, it was magic. It was like a kid in a candy shop, yeah, and it was just like you know, we were all that. It was just like it was a milestone for the hard work. Okay.
Speaker 2:I have a question If you knew everything that would was going to be involved up until this date, would you still have done it?
Speaker 1:Yeah, yeah, now other things that go into our business people.
Speaker 2:Okay, I definitely, definitely. This is without a doubt. This is a very important topic, this is an emotional one.
Speaker 1:Yep, these guys we have been. It's an emotional one. Yep, these guys we have been, we've been, it's been. You know I want to use the word intimate but it sounds weird, but you're with someone for like 40, 50, 60 hours a week, sometimes for 10 or 12 years, like some of the people that we've worked with with in our business and they brought us to, you know, through thick and thin with us. Still some not with us Pretty amazing, pretty amazing, incredible. The crew you know your Stevan Bublos, your Branka Stankovic, milo. You know people Cleo Cleo Tina, tina stankovich um mila. You know people cleo um tina, tina. Some, some, the a team you know that are that are just spectacular these guys have been with us forever long term, like and people that have not been with us.
Speaker 1:Like we get that? That? You know you. You know we were part of their journey and they were part of our journey. You know, like Antonios Kanis and Tulo and Amanda Delghetti and Angelo, and there was just Jordan, so many and then there were people like Burge.
Speaker 2:You know, michael Berccio Oi. Burge was with us for almost 10 years. Yeah, left for three years. I call it a sabbatical Left for three years, I call it a sabbatical left for three years and came back. Like you know, you cannot, as a business owner, you cannot get a bigger compliment, you know. Then then someone who left, and then they miss us, they miss Novak, they miss us and the team and all the craziness that goes on behind the scenes, you know, and they want to come back. They work so hard, they work so hard, they work so hard. When I was on the phone two minutes ago to my team, you know, and they want to come back.
Speaker 1:They work so hard they work so hard.
Speaker 2:When I was on the phone two minutes ago to my team, you know like yeah they work so hard.
Speaker 1:Yeah, and the best our community like far out um.
Speaker 2:One of the things when lee god, mark, haven't we got clients that have been with us right from the beginning?
Speaker 1:yep, but before we get to that, one of the things I remember uh, when we, when you started within marketing, we came up with you came up with the front window in the office. So our old office we used to put, we used to be searching, we used to put in the front of our offices a big billboard. Yeah, we printed it out on the photocopy and stick, stuck all the pieces of paper together and we came up with this one where lj hooker dy moved from dy beach, pitwater Road, the main road in our suburb, and we put a big Vegas sign in our like Las Vegas strip, you know, like all the like. We printed it out, put it in our window and we said we would like to welcome Novak Properties, would like to welcome hookers to the strip. People lost their minds.
Speaker 2:Then we got a phone call, I think from the head office at hookers saying remove the signage please. We're like we're just having a bit of fun, but you know we were young and that you know that was part young and cheeky and that was really part of the craziness and you can still feel that that undercurrent still comes through in all of our marketing. Now we're older.
Speaker 1:We've got social media now.
Speaker 2:But yeah, that's right, and we still like to have a lot of fun. We still like to have a lot of fun. Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 1:Back to our community, lise, like so good, so amazing. And the Northern Beaches is weird, even Merriton says it to me. You know, when they went to warriorwood at dy, it's an insular peninsula, a little bit like cronella, a little bit like avalon, with the azpats. Our community is, uh, you know, and I went to cromer high school, um, and I went to colorado plateau public school, it bedded into the community, our serbian community, because I'm Serbian.
Speaker 1:Background, the support that they have given us and we have given them in return has been unbelievable, you know. For that we've given them all honesty and hard work. But you know our community, like those customers that you mentioned that have been there since day one, like over 20 years, we're dealing with their kids now, um, and we've sold over and over and rented and over as landlords, as tenants and things like that you know it is an amazing community than all the beaches community of sydney and, uh, we've, I think you know, I think we're gonna say we've been a big part of d while how much has changed. How much has changed so much Since we've been like far out yeah yeah, it's been wicked.
Speaker 2:It's been incredible and it's funny. Mark and I often say, like you know, how long are we going to do this for? Like, at what stage do you start to look at winding down? I mean, I feel like I'm just getting started, but you know, at what stage do you start to wind down? It's like I don't know. There's never.
Speaker 2:I just can't imagine a day when we're not doing novak, yeah, properties like I just can't even imagine that. I just can't. Yeah, so you know, we're proud, we're really proud of everything that we've achieved. Um, there is, as I said, there's, an enormous amount of blood, sweat and tears that has gone into it. Um, you know, we are very, very ingrained in the business. Uh, we're there every day, we turn up with the staff, we work hard with them. These guys are our extended family. They really, really are and, um, you know, as I said, we're just, you know, we are, we are super proud we've lost our dads yeah, we did along the way along the way they were huge supporters, massive um.
Speaker 1:Dad was like you definitely shouldn't do that, so that made me support the business further. And your dad was like go, go, go my dad was like the massive advisor.
Speaker 2:He was like the head of the committee, almost your mum was always like go, go, go.
Speaker 1:Yeah, mum was always like go, go, go, um. So our, our brothers and sisters and our family have been have been a huge part Massive. They've worked, my sister's worked and my nephew's worked in the business. You know there's been yeah, it's been a. I think that support from your family is totally critical in what you do.
Speaker 2:I wonder if our kids will come work in the business. Jade, our youngest daughter did for a little bit before she went on to do nursing. But who knows?
Speaker 1:Who knows?
Speaker 2:Who knows?
Speaker 1:Whatever makes them happy. Their decision, yeah, but thank you very much for watching tonight. I hope you enjoyed the story. Thank you so much to our community, our family. That's a bit of a couple of cheeky stories from when we started and it's been a wild ride and from going from where we started to give you an idea where we now are.
Speaker 1:We're employing 50 people in the business full time. We're managing over $2,000 assets, over $4 billion in assets we're managing for clients. We've built a commercial business as well as a residential business in sales and rentals and we've built an amazing family. When a client comes to us, they through that family that we've built within oh yeah, within the crew. Um, they know they're getting really, really well looked after and loved and also we've built a nice um like how do I say? I want to sound like a tosser, but uh, you know like I've always been a firm believer of property and everyone that's worked with us that's really been part of our ethos. So everyone who's come into our business has not only been paid, but they've also made some nice money out of properties A lot of people in our business and customers and landlords and things like that.
Speaker 1:So it's wealth creation that we've done for our community and our crew.
Speaker 2:That's it, guys. That's the word. That's in 25 minutes. That is the story of the evolution of Novak Properties. That's exactly how it is. So, yes, we're proud. You know I always get up every day and just say we're just doing the best that we can do. You know I always get up every day and just say we're just doing the best that we can do. You know that's it, and we will continue to evolve, without a doubt. You know, the social media thing took everything really to the next level over the last five years. It definitely, definitely did, and you know, we'll keep turning up for as long as you guys will have us.
Speaker 1:What's next for Novak Properties?
Speaker 2:God, I don't know. You know what the sky's the limit, the reality is. Look, what a lot of people don't know about mark is he's like walt disney, he's just like this crazy dreamer, and he comes up with these ideas and everyone goes no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no. You can't do that At the next minute. What do you know? It's being done. So you know, stay tuned, because there is, there is always the evolution of Novak, that's for sure. I don't know. I don't know what the next few years looks like, but no doubt it will continue to be the crazy rollercoaster ride that it has been for the last 23 years, and I'm all up for that.
Speaker 1:I'll tell you what. I think. We've built a platform for amazing people and I think you're going to see some amazing people join Novak and very quickly you'll see even more signboards up. So I'm really excited. For I think you know to buy or to sell or to rent, it's a pretty incredible platform for landlords and buyers and sellers and staff. So I think I think you know to buy or to sell or to rent, it's a pretty incredible platform for landlords and buyers and sellers and staff. So I think growing the team's fun and then you know growing wealth within that, you know, through the team. Then you know buying their family homes and landlords doing better and we do a lot of projects where clients make really good money from. So it's fun. It's fun seeing that. There you go, guys. Love ya, that's it from.
Speaker 1:Know a lot of projects where clients make really good money from, so it's fun. It's fun seeing that there you go guys love ya that's it from us. Thanks for watching. See ya, bye. Thank you so much for your support everyone. Thank you guys.