Helping our children into property… two year’s on…
Two years ago this month, I collaborated with my (then 21 year old) stepson to help him onto the property ladder. He was still living at home with his Mum, work was an easy commute and he had no reason to consider buying his own home. Having grown up around property investment though, he knew…
Why did THIS one sell for a bargain?
It’s human nature to justify the way we want an outcome to roll out. When buyers prepare for their property search, many look at other past sales in the area in an effort to establish an appropriate ‘spend range’ or budget limit. Most don’t look at the strong sales results though. And many look at the…
Why is zoning and bank policy so important?
When it comes to property selection, it’s often the things we reject that help formulate a good investment decision. Aside from being mindful of tenant appeal and owner-occupier appeal of a property, we must always be mindful of lender appeal. In this competitive environment, particularly now for First Home Buyers who find themselves competing hard against…
How long can a pass-in auction negotiation go for?
I am often asked the question in every pre-auction client meeting. Typically we meet for a cup of tea about an hour before the auction bell rings. The cafe is usually nearby (but not too close… fear of chatting about strategy within earshot of a competing buyer always spells caution for cafe selection). We order…
CMA’s…. helpful or useless?
CMA’s (acronym for Comparative Market Analysis) are often downloaded and referred to as Buyers navigate their way through their due diligence in preparation for bidding on, or negotiating for a property. Frustratingly though, they often steer buyers in the wrong direction when data in the report is insufficient or when the integrity of the data is…
What effect have First Home Buyers had on the Victorian Market of late?
Only four weeks ago the State Government Stamp Duty Concession changes applied for First Home Buyers in Victoria. Increasing the 50% concession to 100% for all purchases sub $600,000 and applying a concession on purchases up to $750,000 was bold and we predicted that sales results in this price bracket would be skewed. A month…
Valuation Shortfalls… what do they mean?
In this tough investor market, the term “valuation shortfall” is dreaded by all. It is a banking term which means that the bank valuation is less than the price paid for a property. This is a particularly rare occurrence for an auction property but nonetheless, it is something that every buyer should be mindful of…
The Sporadic Nature of Auctions
Yesterday we bid on a rare property; a classic single-fronted Victorian cottage in Footscray on just over 300sqm of land with dual street frontage. Many such blocks have since been subdivided and it is no surprise to familiar locals that these streets boast a blend of period cottages and street-frontage townhouses. When our investor clients selected…
What makes an investment property a great one?
Last Saturday a delighful new investor client followed her itinerary through her first weekend of inspections and later that afternoon we received her diligent feedback. One property was a strong ‘green light’ and clearly stood out from the rest. Situations like this can prove to be a real challenge. Quite often we’ll identify a winning property in the first…
Appraising a unique property… science vs art
Yesterday we had an auction bidding assignment in Armadale at a beautifully renovated, substantial family home in a pretty street near the train line. While we knew we’d have tough competition, gauging the interest and appraising the property was indeed a challenge. This is because of the uniqueness of the house. This beautiful brick Federation…
When a property passes in…
Our Melbourne property market has been going strong, particuluarly in the housing market throughout the inner and middle ring suburbs for some time now. Unprecedented low interest rates, strong demand, stock shortage and the rising popularity of inner-ring urban living for young professionals and downsizers alike have been drivers for this growth. When auction stock…
When making an offer can make a mess
In the last two months we have had a surprising number of buyers contact us about assisting with a purchase strategy that has glided off the rails. All have had one thing in common; they have presented offers in the wrong way. From misunderstanding the process to making verbal offers, the outcomes could have been…
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