From refugee to real estate star: Teza Fruzande’s courageous journey

In far flung corners of the world, Australia is often referred to as “The Lucky Country”, and that’s certainly proven true for Teza Fruzande.

As a naive but determined 16-year-old, Teza left his home country of Iran for Australia, leaving behind his family, but bringing with him a lot of courage and a healthy dose of gumption.

The year was 2010, and Iran faced widespread political repression following the 2009 election protests, with the government cracking down on opposition leaders and activists.

At the same time, the country struggled under harsh international sanctions over its nuclear program, leading to economic strain and increased tensions with the West.

“The country wasn’t safe,” Teza recalls. “There were a lot of protests going on and, although I was young at the time, I could see that I would not have a future.”

Heading down under

With his siblings living in the US and the Netherlands, Teza knew he didn’t want to be the only one to not change the course of his life for, what he hoped would be, the better.

“I didn’t have a lot of knowledge about Australia, but I knew I needed to get out (of Iran) and I needed to go to a country where I could be successful.”

But Teza didn’t arrive on Australian soil via plane, like you would on a holiday – he came as a refugee, smuggled by boat.

“I was so innocent, being just 16,” Teza recalls. “In my mind there would be a big boat – Titanic size – and I was going to get on it and maybe find a girlfriend on board.”

But, after three months waiting for the boat in Indonesia, Teza’s journey turned out to be vastly, horrifyingly, different to what he’d imagined.

“On day 90 they pick you up from a place, kind of like a robbery, where they blindfold you and put you in a mini bus, and then in this small, tiny boat that is so scary.

“There were so many people that you barely get a chance to lay down, and everyone is crying and vomiting from seasickness. I was on that journey for four or five days until we were arrested by the Australian authorities.”

A struggle at the start

What followed was a three month stint at the Christmas Island Detention Centre, followed by a year-long stay in immigration detention in Darwin.

Eventually, Teza received his visa and was placed in Logan, just south of Brisbane.

Today he refers to it as his “birthplace”, but when he first arrived he struggled with what was a vastly smaller city than his native Tehran.

“I was really sad, I had no friends and I was crying for about a week.”

But, Teza also believes in the saying “Life is what you make it”, and he set about building his new life with as much effort and positive energy as he could.

While he now owns his own McGrath real estate office in Springwood, the then plucky teenager worked job after job and saved his pennies, with the goal of one day buying his own house.

“I wasn’t picky with what I did, I just did any job I could. I would wake up at 3.30am and go and wash dishes and when I finished that job, I’d go to another job and then to another job,” he says.

“There’s two things I want people to know: if you have an opportunity, take it and don’t be picky.  Also, it’s about discipline, how you spend your money, what you do with it and what dream you have.”

Unbeknownst to Teza at the time, it was that very work ethic that would eventually see him sell more than 100 homes a year.

It’s also the attitude that saw him use his skills as a wrestler to secure a job at a gym, working for a security company and his first official sales job – flipping cars.

“I bought a car, I cleaned it up and I made it look beautiful. I spent $1800 and I sold it for $3000.  Then I went back to the car salesman with the whole $3000 and asked ‘How many cars can you give me for this?’ Within about three months, I was selling five or six cars and eventually it got to the point where I was selling 40 and 50 cars.”

$650,000 - $670,000

61 Jean Street, Woodridge QLD 4114

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Real estate beckons

With the goal of buying his own home once again on his mind, Teza started to house hunt with more vigour but quickly found himself lamenting the lack of service some agents showed buyers.

“They wouldn’t call me back or even reply to a text message. I thought it shouldn’t be that hard to take a call and sell the property when I’ve got the money. So, I decided I was going to get my own real estate license.”

Teza says he spent about six months working for a friend’s father in real estate before making the move to a major national franchise.

That was in 2018, and he notes that the market was tough. He had to overcome his naturally shy nature and apply the right energy and discipline to overcome those market forces.

Teza took the opportunity to become a sponge, soaking up all the knowledge he could from those in his office and coupling it with a tireless work ethic.

He’d help out at his colleagues’ opens, attend their auctions and do anything that needed doing.

He said endless prospecting, with cold calls and letter box drops, was what finally saw him garner traction.

“I’d finish work at 8pm, go home to eat something and then go back walking, doing letterbox drops, until 11pm. Fast forward about six months, and I was like, ‘Holy moly, I’ve sold 25 properties’.

“After that I wasn’t chasing money, I was interested to see how far I could take it, how many more I could sell. If I did seven one month, then the next I wanted to sell nine and then 11. That was my mindset.”

SOLD - $880,000

1056 Gympie Road, Chermside QLD 4032

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Success built on service

As well as zeroing in on securing listings, Teza was determined to flip the switch and ensure he always communicated well with potential buyers.

“My goal has always been to return every single call, every single text and email. You never know when that buyer will turn into a seller, so I never want to leave anyone unattended.”

With his career on the rise, Teza was recognised with several accolades, including one that saw him cross paths with top Queensland agent Alex Jordan.

“He rang me to congratulate me and, I must be honest, I didn’t know who Alex was,” he notes. “But when I researched him I was impressed and I called him back to ask if he’d have a coffee with me. A week later I said to Alex, ‘I want to move to McGrath’.”

A move to McGrath

And that’s exactly what he did, moving to work alongside Alex at McGrath Paddington before opening his own office about nine months later.

That was earlier this year, and Teza says his office already has 140 rental properties under management and four independent sales agents, along with himself, bringing in listings.

He says at the moment he is focusing on remaining grateful for all that he has achieved and setting up his office with the right people in the right positions.

“I want to create a dream team, practice world-class real estate and see everything running smoothly,” Teza says.

For those looking to emulate what he has achieved, Teza says the secret is to back yourself, embrace your strengths, trust your gut and make quick decisions.

After all, Teza’s story isn’t just one about landing in the lucky country – it’s about tackling life head-on and forging your own path.

“Don’t overthink it, just do it,” he says. “You’ve got nothing to lose.”