Geoff had just completed a full years study obtaining dual diplomas in E-Commerce and Multi Media Integration. He knew he could apply the idea by using a facility over the Internet, but he first needed to be sure it passed all the legal hurdles. Next followed a rigorous process to ensure the concept met the standards set by the Queensland Property Agents and Motor Dealers Act,PSAQ,QPIR, and Professional Indemnity Insurers. When the concept passed this test, he spent the better half of 2002 designing and overseeing the development of a “virtual real estate office” that could be accessed via a secure internet connection by suitably qualified On Site managers.RAAS (Resort Accommodation and Sales) was born.

Geoff then explained the concept to a number of existing On Site Managers who eagerly completed their additional training qualifications and successfully applied to the Office of Fair Trading to become the first registered RAAS salespeople. (Referred to internally as RAAS members.) Unlike normal real estate salespeople, RAAS members hold dual qualifications. Their broad knowledge in property management is based on their Resident Letting Agents Licence, while their broad knowledge of sales is based on their Real Estate Sales Certificate. Both qualifications are issued by the Queensland Office of Fair Trading. With the issuing of these registrations RAAS began taking its first baby steps.

RAAS was the first real estate agency in Queensland established specifically to enable On Site Managers to sell units in their own or in adjacent complexes. The unique structure of the business soon drew the attention of two equally experienced real estate licensees in Mike Butler and Rusty Lush who joined the new firm. By combining their near 100 years of real estate industry experience, with the hands on knowledge of On Site Managers, RAAS has quickly become the largest agency of this type in Queensland if not Australia. Approximately 1 in every 8  management rights complexes in Queensland, from Coolangatta in the South to Port Douglas in the Far North, now has a manager as a registered salesperson under the RAAS license and this number grows steadily. These figures also now make RAAS the largest agency in Queensland if ranked by sales staff numbers. With each RAAS member managing an average of 60 units, it means that RAAS has access to some 17,000 potential buyers in these letting pools alone. Adding to this impressive number, are the individual databases of buyers that each RAAS member is creating in their day to day interaction with guests and tenants. This massive buyer database is the reason that RAAS remains one of the few agencies in Australia who do not ask owners for massive advertising budgets at the point of listing. To the contrary we suggest that owners not contribute any money on advertising until the new listing has first washed through the RAAS system against the buyer database.

To support their own efforts each RAAS member has unlimited access to the extensive real estate experience of the RAAS Directors. This real world experience is supported by regular ongoing  training and access to the latest web site support and E-Commerce marketing efforts. The success of the system is reflected in the sales figures. In just the first 7 years of trading alone, since their operational debut in late 2002, RAAS has some contracted some 1200 sales of  units in managed apartment complexes for a total value in excess of $360 million dollars.