Buyers Agents Articles & Tips

17/03/2012
Buyers Agents

Why are people so scared of auctions?

It’s true. Melbournians are scared of auctions. For some, the very idea of an auction sends adrenaline rushing, but for others it throws a great property listing onto the scrapheap before they have even seen it in real life. We constantly field questions about auctions and introduce ideas for clients to combat some of their auction concerns. ...

17/03/2012
Buyers Agents

Cooling Off Changes in Victoria

Recently the Victorian government made changes to the Cooling off legislation regarding purchasing residential property. Prior to this change if you sought legal advice from a solicitor then you couldn’t cool off on your purchase contract within the designated cooling off period. Following the changes you can now seek legal advice and still ha...

17/02/2012
Buyers Agents

What makes a Buyer’s Market become a Seller’s market?

Without doubt, the defining aspect of 2011 for us was the rapid swing of the Melbourne Seller's market to a Buyer's market. To explain this, cast your mind back to 2009 when, after the full impact of the GFC first hit Australia, our government and RBA instigated some immediate moves to aid buoyancy in our market. We had one-off stimulus cheques ...

15/02/2012
Buyers Agents

A Good Conveyancer Pays Dividends

We all acknowledge that buying property is a big financial commitment. And an important professional involved in the purchase process is a Conveyancer. Too often buyers make the mistake of bringing the Conveyancer in after they have purchased the property - BIG MISTAKE. Good conveyancers can add a great amount of advice and values within th...

17/12/2011
Buyers Agents

‘Tis the Season to be Jolly!

Typically over winter, prospective sellers brace themselves for a spring sale and hold their property back from the market until spring starts up. For a buyer, this can feel as though the property supply in winter is very slow and available houses to inspect are limited. All of a sudden, September and October hit and there are multiple suitable pro...

15/12/2011
Buyers Agents

‘Off The Plan’ and New Property as an Investment Asset?

You know the saying “I wish I had a dollar for every time…..” Well in my case this saying rings true for people buying ‘off the plan’ properties and seeing the price they paid come in at a lower valuation once the property is actually built. So for me I wish I had all the dollars that made up the shortfall in valuations from the purcha...

17/11/2011
Buyers Agents

The Value of Enlisting Property Specialist Help

Like other property specialists, much of our work, aside from researching and finding good property, is negotiating and bidding for my clients. We enjoy the task of establishing an estimate of the value, the future prospects based on historical performance and the gross rental yield, but most of all we like the agent-advocate negotiations. So much ...

17/09/2011
Buyers Agents

Reducing the ‘Fear Factor’ in Property Investing (Part Two)

As a Buyer’s Advocate, I get asked all kinds of property related questions. People lean on my expertise and experience for all manner of things. One of the most common questions I get asked is about the value of any given property. People like to know whether they are paying too much, offering too little, considering selling for the right figur...

17/07/2011
Buyers Agents

How can Property Zoning affect a Property?

“Oh. What does that mean?” is the response buyers often have when we make mention of a little piece of information that can have significant negative flow-on effects for a property purchase. So what sorts of pieces of information could adversely affect a property purchase? And even if the buyer never plans to sell, how could their purchase e...

17/07/2011
Buyers Agents

Scarcity Value – Not Just in the Land

Statistical evidence shows us that when it comes to property the land portion is the portion that historically appreciates in value. This is a result of the scarcity of the land combined with the demand for that land, as once a lot of land is allocated and built on , the amount of available land decreases and the lot of land can’t be re-used ...

23/05/2011
Buyers Agents

Property Selection Myth

Location, Location, Location was and still is the catch cry from most Real Estate agents when it comes to which properties outperform and which properties don’t. When a property investor is looking to make a property selection for investment, maybe we should adopt this principal but with a little more creative license. Location One: Id...

19/05/2011
Buyers Agents

Basic Rental Property Obligations

Although this would appear as common sense to all my landlords, it’s still important that one understands their obligations when it comes to letting out a property for rent. Under the act governing the letting of property the landlord has certain obligations, the most important of which is that the property being let is in a condition that would ...

17/04/2011
Buyers Agents

Five Tips for a Happier Rental Property

To ensure your tenants are enjoying renting your property, and looking after it too, it’s important to remember a couple of things so that your relationship with your tenants and property manager is a prosperous one. So I thought I’d pen a few tips to help remind fellow landlords that if they undertake these recommendations then owning their...