First National Real Estate

I engaged First National Mackay Sarina & Nebo to manage my rental property. While the tenants themselves were satisfactory and the internal condition of the home was well maintained, I was very disappointed with how matters were handled toward the… Read more

end of the tenancy.

A maintenance issue involving a tree overgrowing into the guttering was not escalated to me in a timely manner, and by the time it was identified the work had become more significant than it likely would have been with earlier attention.

The rental bond was also released by the RTA due to a lack of response from the agency, resulting in the bond being refunded by default before a valid dispute was in place. I was subsequently advised that the bond had not been released, which was incorrect. This meant I lost my statutory right to reconciliation and the opportunity to formally present my position regarding end-of-tenancy matters.

Although outstanding rent was eventually paid, this occurred after the bond had already been released and did not restore the security the bond is intended to provide.

Throughout the management period there appeared to be high turnover of property managers, and the level of service varied depending on who was handling the property at the time. Consistency and communication were not always what I would expect from a professional agency.

I hope processes improve moving forward, however based on my experience I would not engage this agency again.

I had my property First National Aveley for several years, and in my opinion they have been unprofessional, defensive, and non-responsive to requests. I’ve repeatedly requested information only to be ignored; they’ll respond to the same email but completely skip over my questions. They incorrectly paid a Strata bill, and when I raised it, they… Read more

insisted they had done nothing wrong and told me to call the strata myself. Only after I pushed further did they resolve it—without ever apologising.

They’ve gone ahead with repairs that differed from the approved quote, later justifying it by saying, “the tenant approved it, so we don’t need your permission.” I’ve also had ongoing issues with [Name Removed], who refuses information requests, dismisses valid concerns, and tells me I’m wrong—even when I provide sections of the lease agreement that clearly support my position.

To make matters worse, they submitted a bond disposal with an inflated amount and then told me I had only 24 hours to respond or they would release it without my approval. Despite me disputing the incorrect figure, they went ahead and released the bond anyway.

I escalated to the director, [Name Removed], but never received a response. Eventually, I had no choice but to lodge a formal complaint with Consumer Protection as they completely stopped responding to my emails.

Do yourself a favour and choose another property manager. Completely unprofessional and untrustworthy.

I rented through First National Druitt Saunders in Doubleview, WA for 5+ years and would strongly recommend avoiding them at all costs. In my experience, their practices were unprofessional and, at times, felt dishonest. Maintenance requests I raised were not actioned, and when I vacated I was charged bond deductions without being provided… Read more

quotes or invoices. Their documentation process cannot be trusted — reports and records simply “couldn’t be found” when questioned.

Tenants deserve transparency and fair dealing. If you do rent through them, document everything yourself and do not rely on the agency’s record-keeping.

I had until recently been a tenant with First National for 20 years. That’s a very long time at the same property. I can quite honestly say I have never had any unresolvable issues during those years. If I ever had to approach them about anything the communication was always 100% and I think that also relates to having a wonderful owner. As you… Read more

can imagine over that period of time the property managers changed a few times and I had a wonderful relationship with all of them. I always felt I was in good hands with First National they are a wonderful family to be a part of and I will surely miss being a part of that family at the Augustine Heights office.

Great First National Riverside – EXCELLENT service. Sold my home and bought my new home with Jason. Very personable (no clichéd real estate speak). Thoroughly recommend First National Riverside if you are buying, selling or renting on the Sunny Coast.

Not only First but BEST Real Estate – I would like to express my sincere appreciation to Frances Sofra for managing my property so exceptionally well over the past two years. Her dedication as a property manager ensured that I received my property back in the same clean and well-organized condition as when it was handed over. Her regular three-monthly inspections and timely updates… Read more

gave me complete peace of mind. Not only was I satisfied as the property owner, but my tenants were equally pleased with her professionalism and support.

I would love to appoint her as my property manager again in the future.

Absolutely disgraceful. A tenant passed away in their unit and was left there for two weeks before First National even noticed. No welfare checks. No care. No humanity. They continued collecting rent while the person lay deceased in the apartment. This isn’t just unprofessional it’s inhumane. If you're looking for a property manager that values human life, look elsewhere.

We did not read the reviews early , we wished we did. This agents are money grabbers and nothing else.. they stole from us $ 2600 dollars. Terrible heartless agents ready to ripped your heart out just for them to get the commission. Please, please read the reviews before you contact them or get involved with them.

First National Rochedale in Brisbane is totally hopeless on their property manager side. We had a property managed by Frances, and well, there was no management. The tenant vacated in Feb, they only started advertising by April and by then we had enough and wanted to move to another manager, however they wanted to hold our property hostage until… Read more

they got the bond from the tenant back to cover the costs, which we would have happily paid out of pocket, but no - only until we had persistantly followed up we got all the information for us to resolve the situation - keywords: FOR US TO RESOLVE THE SITUATION!!! You pay these guys each week to manage the property, but when it gets a little hard they buckle. Useless, avoid at all costs.

First National West End (Brisbane) are the potentially the worst Real Estate if you are a renter. Ignores emails, minimum housing standards never followed, we had a sewer line that was broken and never fixed. So after 6 months of being ignored and having breached them multiple times we left due to unremedied breaches. YES Breaches, not a singular… Read more

breach. This scummy real estate then tried to claim that we owed rent for leaving early and "advertising fees" after begging them to take us to QCAT so we could counterclaim their nonsense claims they got the hint that they wouldn't win. The landlords under this real estate also accessed the property without a form 9 and late at night! Thankfully we have evidence of the fact including recorded phone calls where the real estate angent admits he knew they were on the property!

Should be Shut Down as a Service to Community – There's a reason why First National is disappearing throughout the nation and the second most recent review is from 4 years ago. This is an agency that services slumlords. Had the bad luck to deal with First National Wyong. Property is badly maintained and the agency kept trying to make me pay to fix things that were broken/dirty to start with. Nothing good to say at all.

Bond is just an extra fee to them – Criminal organisation that is perfectly happy to behave fraudulently at the expense of their tenants. When I first got the keys and went to the house it was all wet. Everything inside the house was wet, I mean everything! The floors, the walls the ceilings, the bench tops, even inside all the cupboards and draws! I don't even know what could… Read more

cause that! I had to delay my moving in and make other arrangements for a couple of nights. And of course when I called them and told them about it they didn't have any sort of solution or answer about it. Several times during my tenancy there, there were unexpected "inspections" and "viewings" without prior notice given. Sometimes there were very judgemental and personally insulting messages left by the "inspector". During the viewings, some of the prospective tenants were very intrusive, with no effort made by the agent to protect my privacy. When I left the rental I made sure to leave it in at least as good a condition as when I came to it. This includes cleaning inside the shed, cleaning inside all the cupboards, cleaning the shower, cleaning the bugs out of the fluorescent light shades - something that hadn't been done before my arrival, not leaving it all wet everywhere! I even took pictures to prove how clean everything was. But was this good enough for "First National"? No of course it wasn't, they claimed it wasn't clean enough for the next tenant to move in (even though it was cleaner than when I moved in) and so they took my entire bond and charged me nearly $500 for the place to be "cleaned" even though it was already clean. Then they made up this definition of what "clean" is which they hadn't bothered to tell me before I left the property at all, let alone in the lease agreement. And of course, I never got any evidence or proof that the place ever got professionally cleaned, after all, why would it need to be? It was already clean. So it seems a lot like they did not get the house cleaned - there was no need to, and just kept the money under false pretences. This is of course fraud, and a blatant money-grab from their powerless tenants. They seem perfectly happy to treat their tenants as worthless sub-humans and wrench every dollar out of them however they possibly can without any ethical considerations.

Unprofessional – Highly unprofessional conduct from Deb peters in handling a co tenant household. Poor communication by her to all parties involved. Unfair and unjust accusations by Deb without validating any details extremely unprofessional. Followed up by threats to contact workplaces and supervisors before validating accusations she has made. Accusations of no… Read more

rent being paid when I had clear proof of rent, amount of rent and when rent was paid. Telling me rent was only paid up until a certain date when rental receipts she sent out said otherwise. Asked me to remove all of my belongings prior despite me having paid rent up to a certain date. Encouraging behaviour towards a housemate who was abusive and threatening. Deb Peters got herself involved in a civil dispute between co tenants and aggressively emailed me with points that I needed to address, once addressed Deb peters decided she didn’t want to get involved anymore once proof was shown. She has displayed her ability to treat others unequal and unfairly depending on who she is dealing with. I simply asked for a fair and equal response but Deb Peters will only pick and choose what points suit her and other co tenants and refuse to address points where she was proven to be incorrect despite accusing myself without validating any information factually this is highly unprofessional by Deb Peters

First National Broken Hill : avoid this agency – I selected FNBH agents to list my house for sale as they responded to communications promptly...others didn't. During the 3 month listing contract they took 3 people through the house for an inspection, no open house as they later told me the package for $950 did not include this option. They said I should reduce my price which I did....then said… Read more

reduce it again to which I declined as I have over $40K worth of furnishings in the house. I asked them to market to investors...they didn't. They left my sheds unlocked after an inspection then ghosted me when I asked who was responsible. Apparently it is not there concern to let me know ( I was overseas) that the lawn was out of control and over 30cm tall...how can a house be presentable if the yard needs attention. It's not that hard to email and let me know they had a bit of rain! I asked about putting my property up for lease as I needed the income and was told emphatic NO, so when an opportunity a few days later came for a 6 month lease I made a private arrangement with the tenant. I was disgusted to learn that this tenant had made at least 3 applications with FNBH for a rental property, been rejected for all and then told not to apply for any further properties as they would automatically be rejected! The level of discrimination against my new tenant was appalling...this is the reality for minority groups, which is a disgrace.

Disgrace of an organisation - not even 1 star! – Multiple failures to complete property sale process & paperwork. Caught out lying when saying the form 1, addendum, & deposit details had been sent. Rude staff to the puchaser Answering the phone to their customers - Whats wrong now! Absolute zero communication with being prompted by us the seller & also the purchaser. Cant update realeastate.com… Read more

with under contract & sold. Keeping commissions payment and not forwarding it to the employees who sold the property - Fair Work Australia now investigating

The worst experience ever & their body corporate is exactly the same, hence why the have a complaints department. CEO is useless and flicked it to complaints.

DO NOT USE THIS GROUP "EVER"

Ray White & Harris real estate, have been awesome in the past and with our current purchase.

CON MAN AGENT THE FOREST FIRST NATIONAL FRENCHS FOREST!!! – Please, from one home owner to the next, DO NOT TRUST YOUR MOST VALUABLE ASSET WITH THIS AUTISTIC CON MAN!!! Save yourself alot of heart ache and pain and go with another agent!!! Failures and incompetence combined with down right rude and arrogant behaviour. Absolutely no regard for any DUTY OF CARE. Ask the Department of Fair Trading if you are still not convinced.

Unwanted cold call – Cold call from First National Connect-, no explanation as to who they were -a lady with a heavy accent to my PRIVATE number (where did they get this from?) about my property (address). Next door recently sold by another agent. Touting for business? I hung up.

First National Real Estate The Forest has proven to be a nightmare for landlords – Their consistent failure to pay bills, lacklustre performance with only one inspection in the past 12 months and attempts to force unwanted services and subcontractors onto landlords are unacceptable. The imposition of unapproved expenses, met with stubborn refusal to refund, reflects their disregard for fair and transparent dealings. The use of… Read more

fear tactics for their benefit, coupled with the irresponsible loss of spare keys, demonstrates a blatant lack of consideration for landlords' concerns. Beware, as their customer service falls far short of expectations. When you are told “we put you first” or “we never lost an unsatisfied customer” consider it your introduction to deception.

First National Real Estate Belmont – First National Real Estate in Belmont NSW, lacks any professionalism, morals, or ethics. With many agents in the area to choose from, it is not worth taking a risk with this company.

Absolutely unprofessional and incredibly sabotaged me and lost me tens of thousands – This agency actively sabotaged my interest, losing me over 20K and will end up costing me over 4OK in repair & replacement of the work. I had made contact tell them that I wanted them to arrange access for a painter who I had selected, to externally paint the house. The receptionist answered and said I should use her husband, instead, stating he… Read more

was the best in the business. He was not registered or insured, he lied that both of these were in place. He put in a bid for the job, and commenced work.

[Name Removed] kept asking for more & more money, 90% of it, but doing very little of the house. He kept saying paint was being washed off by rain. He would leave a terrible mess everywhere, and the tenants were in tears.

[Name Removed] got fined by WorkSafe for not following lead abatement measures, and the tenants picked up that he was doing a terrible job, but property manager [Name Removed] convince me that they were crazy & lying. [Name Removed] sent around a so-called “independent painter” [Name Removed] to claim the job was going fine. [Name Removed] worked for the agency as an agent - they never wants to declared this conflict of interest. My tenants discovered it

[Name Removed] THEN injured his leg playing football, decided after it healed (6 weeks) that he didn't want to finish the job, due to mental health - his wife sent a follow up email 4 March 2022 saying she didn't want him to attend the property to drop off the leftover paint - confirming that they were the ones that were breaking contract.

After painting only one wall plus deck, his wife dropped around one pot of leftover paint. Tenants told me multiple pots of paint were taken away. 8 March 2022, I called & asked about the paint was left over, [Name Removed] hung up on me. I sent an email - that CONFIRMED that the painter ended the contract, and asked about the paint.

[Name Removed] & property manager [Name Removed] then claimed they would get someone to finish the job with the 10% of the outstanding money, for the contract. That painter [Name Removed] turned up and immediately raised the alarm. He explained the part of the job [Name Removed] had completed had been done extremely poorly and there was no way that painting was able to be completed with the monies left over. [Name Removed] asked to NOT be put on the job as he didn’t want to jeopardise his relationship with the agency, who gave him plenty of work. [Name Removed] asked to me get another painter. [Name Removed] flagged that he had seen photos of the state [Name Removed] had left the place in at the end of each work day. [Name Removed] walked around with the tenants and expressed shock at the substandard work.

I got a second quote and the original people who were going to quote it, agreed that it was an atrocious job, for example no primer, thin paint, poor preparation. They would have to undo all his work and redo it, and now the job is double what it would’ve been if they have done in the first place. Turns out that the tenants have been Gaslighted all this time, and there has been nothing wrong with their concerns.

I involved QBCC. They had lost my initial application for review “staff on leave” and never picked it up. I prompted them months later - & had to start all over again. Finally almost 10 months after my application, they do an inspection. I nominate my tenants as my agents as I am in Victoria and the house is in Queensland. Uninvited, [Name Removed] the property manager turned up - & actively sabotaged me. She stated to QBCC that I had terminated the contract- this is demonstrably a lie, as per emails I’ve described, above. QBCC then dismissed my complaint based on this lie that [Name Removed] told them, they also said the quote was ambiguous. What it covered. It literally says “full paint of exterior with paint included”. QBCC also lied that I had done some remedial work which is completely untrue, no painter would touch it until QBCC had been.

[Name Removed] supervisor had contacted me a couple years ago and asked me to put in a complaint about her because of ongoing issues with her screaming at tenants and landlords. I said I didn’t want her job sabotaged. And she’s turned around and sabotaged me.

FN BUNDABERG TERRIBLE – unprofessional as they get. The guys at FN BUNDABERG are as janky as they get. No actual knowledge of legalisation or sales. The agents are slow and slack.

Property Manager Amy Gilfillan FNL – My shout out goes to Amy Gilfillan at First national Realestate.. From the bottom of my heart, I just want to thank you for all the hard work you put in for us over these past few years / months, and the care you took during our tenancy with all that we have been through.. You made searching for another home a breeze, given how tough the rental… Read more

market is.. You encouraged us to keep searching / trying.. Even when I felt like giving up and we couldn’t have done it without your expertise and guidance..

Those who work with you or ever get the chance in dealing with you.. I am sure will benefit from your phenomenal skills. You are a pleasure to deal with and I would even call you a friend..

Thank you again for all you’ve done for us. We’ll never forget it!

Sincerely,

Christina XX

The ideal estate agents – Special thanks to Alex Haggarty who was most helpful and went above and beyond. It was definitely a most enjoyable experience. Also thanks to the entire team at first national. Always friendly, happy and nothing was too hard, even if the question seemed silly. Would recommend this firm in a heartbeat.

Very helpful and reliable agent in Newtown – Agent Eva is always around here to look after the place clean and if have any issues came up, she always came to right away and solve those issues we had.

Absolutely Awful – We rent a flat from FNDK. From the day we moved in there has been a noisy, sleep disrupting grey water pump in the garage, and a fairly serious leak in the ceiling that causes the entire joined garage to flood with 2 inches of water whenever it rains. As you can imagine, living in a constantly damp and musty smelling house has taken a toll on our… Read more

health and sanity.

There is black mould growing up the walls in the garage, and anything that is stored on the floor has been ruined.

We first contacted FNDK about these problems in October 2022, and have wasted untold hours phoning, emailing, threatening, sending breach notices, and otherwise chasing them about repairs.

It is now March 2023 and we have lost the will to fight with these absolutely useless people. We will not be remaining in the flat for another winter of flooding. But we will be sure to pass a copy of all of our correspondence with FNDK on to the new tenants so that they can haul them in front of VCAT the moment they dodge a repair request.

Update:

FNDK disputed the return of our bond over damage that was caused by their own negligence. We refused to allow them to keep any portion of the our bond, and waited the 12 months that it took to have a hearing at VCAT. The VCAT hearing didn’t last 10 minutes before their meritless claim was dismissed and they were ordered to pay back the bond in full.

Lesson learned: if you just hold to you principles, the bad guys will eventually lose.

Pathetic and hopeless service – On one end you are rushed to get into a contract and on the other they do not get it signed as the seller is suddenly in hospital. Wanted more professional excuse honestly. All they want to do is keep getting higher value, even the valuation is less haha. And then you end up paying all solicitors fees. Interesting ..good to keep away!