A Very Special Quest for a Large Family Home

Back in April I had the pleasure of receiving a phone call from a prospective client. He and his fiancee had been searching for months for a suitably sized, long term family home in West Footscray and surrounds. Their search had been drawn-out and painful in part; from being pipped at auction to falling prey to agent under-quoting. Their energy was waning and their patience was being tested. He’d heard about Buyer’s Agents, he’d done some research…. and one morning my phone rang.

We met at Brother Nancy for our introductory meeting; a fabulous local cafe with a waiting list for casual breakfast-goers most Saturday mornings.

My prospective client was clear, realistic, pragmatic and prepared to do some of the legwork with us.

The only catch was that he was on his way to an auction in one final solo attempt to secure their home. The property ended up selling for $1.195M; a seriously stronger figure than budget and quote range.

So our journey began….

The criteria was tough. We had to find a family home with period appeal, four bedrooms, no renovations required, off street car parking and on a minimum block size of 500 sqm. What’s more it needed to be within easy walk of a train station and cycling distance to the city.

Impressively though, he and his fiancee has scoured the market already and knew that their likely new neighbourhood would be West Footscray; just 8 km from CBD and four stops from Southern Cross Station. Boasting some beautiful period Edwardian double fronted houses and Californian Bungalows, I too felt that they’d already nailed the perfect search band.

From our constant nagging of local agents in our quest for off-markets, to our client’s local letterbox dropping attempts, the agressive searching and diligent inspecting did open a few interesting doors. We even commenced negotiations to purchase a partially renovated family home; subject to the completion of the renovations and improvements.

But when negotiations stalled, our clients still kept their chins up.

This beauty hit the market just two weeks ago… and from the mere internet listing photographs our clients knew it could be the one.

It was quite perfect for them in every way. On 550 sqm of land, featuring gorgeous period detail, and yet offering a fantastic open plan ten year old renovation, this four bedroom beauty had it all.

Our only issue was dealing with the competition.

The property had buyers packed in like a nightclub at the first open for inspection. We had our work cut out for us if we wanted to secure it before auction.

Realistic conversations with the listing agent ensured that his vendor could be calmed by our sincerity and seriousness. No agent will get enthusiastic about unreasonable offers prior to auction, nor will they take the change of damaging a strong campaign with a buyer who could have a change of heart. We built trust quickly, had the contracts reviewed promptly and made an opening offer on a contract the very next day.

Unsurprisingly we did face competition. Other offers poured in and when it was clear that three others were prepared to challenge our initial offer, the agent called a boardroom negotiation for all buyers to be present. This open and transparent process suited our client and we proceeded over to Williamsown to fight for this West Footscray prize.

We proudly negotiated firmly and secured the home for our clients on that cold wet Thursday night.

But that’s the thing about Melbourne… rain, hail or shine, buyers will fight for a property if they love it.

The lovely vendor was delighted to know that her much-loved home was going to enjoy a new family’s energy. And now our fabulous clients can turn off the search-engine searches and enjoy planning their wedding.