About

Ian Comyns, licensee and director, who still indulges his childhood passion for playing the bagpipes. Read more »

Kris Wardecki, director and Polish businessman who’s still the fastest veteran over 100m in NSW. Read more »

Ian Comyns

“There are three important beliefs I bring to this business: honesty really is the best policy; get the price wrong and there’s a world of pain for you and the vendor, and research, research, research.” Ian Comyns, licensee and director, who still indulges his childhood passion for playing the bagpipes.

Comyns joined the Australian real estate industry after seventeen years in the New Zealand commercial floor covering industry, doing everything from retail sales management to running a large commercial contracting team.

He says that his first real estate experience taught him how not to do it.

“I was working for an old-style agent who felt you had to lie and cheat and deceive and I hated it,” he says. “It all turned around when I stopped listening to him. People aren’t stupid and telling the truth is a lot easier than trying to remember the lie you told!”

Key lessons

His time with a local developer taught him how to assess the drivers of property value and to look for the “something extra”. He followed up with a six-year stint with McGrath, which he describes as the most intensive learning he’s done in the real estate industry.

“In those days they really did invest heavily in their people.” Comyn says. “It was very intensive coaching and I really learnt the power of communication there and the importance of being prepared for every situation.”

“This is where I also learnt that you need to accept and embrace the idea that at the end of the day it’s all about price – and if you get it wrong, there’s a world of pain for you and the vendor.”

Comyns says that the answer to knowing price inside and out is to research, research, research. Once you’ve got price right then of course all those other things come into play – how the property’s presented, building relationships with buyers and the art of negotiation.

The 10,000 hour rule

“Researchers have settled on what they believe is the magic number for true expertise: ten thousand hours.” Outliers, The Story of Success. Malcolm Gladwell.

Practice does make perfect and with the long hours at McGrath and the years at Exchange since, Comyns has long ago passed the magic 10,000 hour benchmark.

He now has a chance to really apply that expertise in running Exchange Property Sales and Management.

“I joined Exchange in the first place because it was more boutique and more personal,” he says. “Now Kris and I have this great cornerstone on which we can build, because Exchange has been going for around 30 years. We now also get to do things our way though. And part of that will be making our processes even more efficient and really ramping up client communication.”

Bagpipes and Muy Thai

All the energetic attention to detail needed for good property management can be draining. To relax, Comyns will be hitting the mat for Muy Thai and indulging a lifelong passion – playing the bagpipes. As a boy Comyns played the bagpipes for one of New Zealand’s premier bands and he still plays today.

“It’s one of my consuming passions,” Comyns says. “I’ve always loved it. The sound when it’s good is the most stirring and wonderful sound – I just have such an emotional response to it.”

Kris Wardecki

“If I keep my body in good shape, and I present well, then I think clients will see that I’ll care for their assets in the way I care for myself.” Kris Wardecki, property manager and director, who’s still winning world records 20 years on.

Wardecki joined the real estate industry just a few years ago, but he’s always loved the building industry. In fact, he’s always dreamed of being a property developer.

It’s not an idea he’s given up on – but instead of buying houses, renovating and selling himself he’s running the Exchange property management services.

“I really like doing what I do,” he says. “You meet a lot of different people and I find it really interesting to go and research a property. Every day is different and you’re always busy.”

Early success

Wardecki, who moved to Australia from Poland in 2005, was a successful businessman at just 20 years old.

“I was at uni doing physical education, and training all the time; seven times a week doing all different things,” he says. “I realised my body needed special supplements to recover quicker, so I started to search for different products that I could import to Poland to survive university!”

Wardecki’s sports supplement business has been going now for 20 years. When it began it was only one of three companies that had these kinds of products on the market – so it was a Polish pioneer.

“Because there were only three of us, I was very successful,” Wardecki says. “There I was, a 20 year old guy, with maybe $300 in my wallet and after a year I already had my first car and my first house and after a couple of years I built a 2500 sqare metre warehouse – all without taking any mortgage.”

Wardecki says that with all the advertising they were doing and the business growth that was the result, they had a 40 foot container arriving every month. And in a uniquely Polish-English expression, “everything was selling like bread and butter,” he says.

Still winning

Wardecki is still involved in sport today. He’s competed over the years at a variety of athletics events – although these days, it’s in the veteran 40 – 44 year old division!

Until 2010 he was competing for Poland where he still holds the record for the 100-metre sprint (in 11.23s) and the 200-metre (in 22.92s).

He’s been competing for Australia since 2010. “I’m living here, I will be a resident soon,” Wardecki says, “so I thought it was time I started to compete for Australia.”

He now holds the Australian record for the 60-metre sprint indoors and the NSW record for the 60-metre outdoors (in 7.40s and 7.26s respectively), and during the World Indoor Championships in Canada he won the Australian record for the 4 x 200-metre relay.

In 2009, Wardecki competed in the World Masters Games in Sydney and won gold in the 100-metre and 200-metre sprints, and the 4 x 400-metre relay.

“Continuing to train hard as a runner and athlete – 20 years on – is one of the best opportunities to relax at the end of the day, but I believe that it’s also good for my business,” Wardecki says. “If I keep my body in good shape, and I present well, then I think clients will see that I’ll care for their assets in the way I care for myself.”