…buying a Kensington period cottage in February…

Securing a period single-fronted Victorian cottage in a great suburb is a challenge at any time of the year. But in February, when pent-up demand is still strong, buyer numbers still surpass house numbers, and bidders seem to be stretching to levels which surprise everyone, tackling a purchase like this one is a really challenging feat.

This time around, we put ourselves in an advantageous position by submitting a fair offer prior.

We knew the agent well and had built up trust over the years. This element is vital, because a pre-auction offer for a vendor can pose a lot of risk for them. They’ve invested in an auction campaign. They’ve planned for the opens. They’ve often hired a stylist and they have a tight four week window for their agent to track and understand the range of buyers who may bid on the day. A buyer who makes an offer prior can either represent a sure-thing or they can ruin the campaign and it is how the offer and communications are handled which makes the difference. Our pre-auction offers are always carefully coordinated and the agent is usually aware of what is about to happen and is prepared to back the process. Without the agent backing it, the offer could be rejected, or worse still, used to position the vendor and the other buyers. A lot of mutual trust is required.

We loved this cottage in Kensington. It fit within our investor client’s desired budget and it matched our yield requirements. Being a short stroll from both the Kensington village and the Racecourse Rd shops meant that the lifestyle on offer for the lucky tenant would be an array of great cafes and restaurants, and all within easy walk (including not one, but four train stations and a tram route).

The walk score of 82 for this suburb is no surprise; amenity is optimum and distance from CBD is a mere 4km.

Wishing our lovely investors years of out-performance growth and great target tenants with their Kensington cottage.

Photos sourced from REA