Eleanor’s Journey

Two weeks ago our team had a tough decision to make as buyer’s advocates. We had selected and shortlisted two 2BR units for a client’s investment brief and while both were outstanding, one was clearly more popular and definitely a little more spectacular.

Though, we weren’t the only one who thought it was the superior property, it was obvious that a big crowd of buyers felt that way too. Careful assessment of the property attributes led me to believe that the hot favourite would potentially sell for up to $100,000 more than the second preference. Even though agents have suggest that, “it would be a record if it went into the sixes.” Interestingly they were scheduled to go to public auction on the same day with two different agencies, and only half an hour apart. The hot favourite was first in line – which presented a problem for me. We had to be prepared for a runaway auction result on the first property, and then a barrage of under-bidders on the second one.

Not that our second preference wasn’t fantastic. It was well located just moments away from the local train station, cafes and the major shopping stirps. It was in a boutique block and that not only offered a car space on title, but featured an incredible expanse of space on a 99 year leasehold, available for the lucky tenant to enjoy either as outdoor living space, extra car parking, or gated yard for children or pets. This property had a lot going for it and couldn’t be underestimated as a fabulous rental property.

We proposed a tactic to our buyer which he understood and decided to adopt. Knowing that the owner of the second preference was committed to a purchase only 60 days after the auction day, we knew that we had a better chance of having a reasonable pre-auction offer accepted.

We negotiated a purchase prior to auction, noting special conditions which gave us access to advertise and open the property for inspection in an attempt to find the right tenants before settlement day. The vendor kindly agreed to allow us full use of the campaign photos and given the property is so beautifully renovated and presented, we are very optimistic about the chances of our buyer securing the right tenant immediately.

Saturday yielded an interesting result on the first selection property – not only did it break past the $600,000 mark, the hammer fell at $712,000; a figure way past our 2BR unit budget. Our decision to pounce with our offer of $550,000 proved to be the right move and our client can look forward to a wonderful long term performing property in a stunning part of Melbourne’s inner north east.