An open
letter from Rob Southwell, Southwell Land & Water
Southwell Land & Water is a leading
independent agency that specialises in selling rural property and
irrigation water assets. After 15 years of
operating a leading NSW real estate franchise, we designed a business model to
better suit the future needs of our clients. We saw an opportunity to do more for our
clients by being independent and specialist. We sell land and we sell water assets, nothing
else. Specialising allows us to spend maximum time
on the sale of each property with zero conflict of interest.
We understand that over the lifetime of a farm investment, which might
be five years or even one hundred years, about 30% of income from that
investment is generated from the activity of farming, be it raising livestock
or growing crops. The
remaining 70% is generated by the capital appreciation of the land asset.
Most farmers
have little experience when it comes to realising that capital appreciation. They are great at growing crops and
generating profit however they rarely get a chance to work in the capital
realisation space.
I have seen
plenty of growers with experience in buying farms but little or none when it
comes to selling. Their initial approach is based around their buying
experience.
Selling the farm requires an entirely different approach – a whole
different kettle of fish as it were.
Also selling the farm is nothing like selling a commodity.
When we
decided to specialise we looked closely at the product we were selling and
decided that a lifetime of effort by our clients needed somebody who was a
specialist and dedicated to the sale of that asset - be it water, land, or
somebody to tidy up the farm machinery at the end of the job with a clearing sale.
Unlike typical agencies we are not
trying to be a pastoral house, or trying to be your banker. We don't want to
sell your livestock, and we won't take your listing just to fill up our shop
window or internet page to make ourselves look good.
When we're talking
about farms, it's sometimes a one-in-a-100 year transaction that requires
absolute dedication and full-time commitment.
Most importantly, we are a family
business that understands family farms. Our
name is highly recognisable and synonymous with gaining superior results with
integrity.
We have a quality rural contact database
built up over 35 years of doing business throughout the eastern states and we come
with a reputation for hard work and attention to detail.
We are a small company producing big
results. Marketing is our forté and is what
attracted me to selling properties after many years in the farm machinery
business. I get a big buzz out of
presenting a farm to its absolute best.
Right from the start I was drawn to irrigation properties with all their
complexities and uncertainties. I think they frighten a lot of agents but I
love the challenge. Let's face it, selling an irrigation property is a complex business.
You really need to
understand water, water licensing, works approvals, when you can water, when
you can't water.
Over my
lifetime I've witnessed sheep farms turn into wheat farms and then into irrigation
fields. There's a lot at stake. To be able to
present any farm and get the best results for the people who have developed that
property is very satisfying indeed.
I spend a
week each month in our Sydney office maintaining contacts within the corporate
world including agricultural advisory specialists, super fund managers and
overseas investment representatives – and we aim to keep these contacts in
order to provide a full service.
We work
throughout NSW and southern Qld.
When you dig
right to the bottom of it, what we sell is trust. When someone has worked at
building an asset over generations they need to be able to hand the sale to
someone they can trust.
Do I trust
somebody who has been selling my cattle for the past thirty years and doing a
great job or do I need to find a specialist?
We do
nothing else. We're not in the business of
listing, when we're engaged to sell a property we explain the process so that
vendors can make informed decisions.
We gather
market intelligence for our clients and then work out a marketing plan. Marketing is our strong point.
We've won so
many awards we don't keep them anymore.
Narrabri is at
the cutting edge of agriculture in Australia which is why we moved our family
here in 1983.
If you take a four hour drive radius around Narrabri you'll find the
best farming in Australia – Toowoomba and the Darling Downs, St George and
Roma, Walgett, Coonamble, Warren the Liverpool Plains.
Narrabri as a town boasts a very high level of agricultural research
that includes the University of Sydney and the Australian Cotton Research
Institute. It's a very educated
community and I’ve been told we have more PHD's per head of population than
anywhere.
A great
cross section of people from all over the world come here for research. It's
been a great place to bring up our children, all of whom achieved tertiary education
at the University of New England.
I have a
passion for fly fishing and clay target shooting (cast and blast) but
tragically I’m not very good at either. Selling
Land and Water is what I am good at!