Dakota Peters
Inspections Officer
In the time it takes to watch an episode of Game of Thrones, cook a lasagne or listen to a podcast, Australians are making one of the biggest decisions of their lives.
According to new research, more than half of Australian house-hunters spend just an hour inside the home they decide to purchase.
The ME Bank survey of 1000 property owners revealed once they found their property, 58 per cent spent less than 60 minutes checking out the property they eventually purchased, despite being one of the biggest purchases of their lifetime.Furthermore, more than a quarter (26 per cent) of home buyers discovered issues with their property after they purchased it.
Around 36 per cent of this group said they missed picking these up issues because they ‘fell in love with the property and overlooked them’, while 32 per cent said they ‘lacked experience and skill in inspecting the property’, and 11 per cent were simply ‘impatient and tired of looking’.
Top post-purchase problems included paintwork, construction quality, gardens and fences, and fittings and chattels.
Universal Buyers Agent director Darren Piper said the research highlights the importance of doing your homework before making a purchase.
“Home buyers are often signing the paperwork to their dream home with rose-coloured glasses on,” he said.
“After spending weeks or months scrolling through listings and inspecting homes, it is common for home buyers to get complacent once they think they have found ‘the one’.
“Unfortunately, this often leads to some oversights which the buyers are then left to deal with after the deal has already been done.”
Among owners who identified issues:
74 per cent spent money fixing, replacing or improving the issues identified, or have plans to do so.
41 per cent would have paid less for the property had they discovered the problems earlier.
23 per cent experienced a degree of ‘buyers regret’ following the purchase.
Mr Piper said emotions can often cloud judgement when it comes to purchasing a home.
“Once a buyer starts making decisions with their hearts instead of their heads, that’s when they can pay too much for a property or overlook important issues,” he said.
“It’s important to spend more time inspecting the property you have your eye on with several return visits at different times of the day.
“Make sure you keep inspecting other properties too, so you can compare and contrast.
“Enlisting the help of a buyers agent will help avoid any of these issues occurring and ensure a buyer makes the best decisions when it comes to purchasing a home.
“Buyers agents are here to guide the buyer and keep a logical mindset and keep the emotion out of the transaction, therefore reducing the risk of anything going wrong.”
According to ME’s survey, around a third failed to arrange a professional building and pest inspection for the last property they purchased.
It is easy to picture a property industry professional sitting in an office, sipping on a latte and counting down the hours until 5pm.
However, a lot more goes on behind the scenes – especially for a buyers agent on a mission to help investors and homebuyers find the ideal property that ticks all the boxes.
From meeting with new clients and bidding at an auction, toinspecting properties andnegotiating with sellers agents, as well as a whole lot of research – the work is endless for a buyers agent.
Universal Buyers Agent director Darren Piper says his commitment to helping clients get closer to their property purchasing dream, means he rarely works a 9-5 day in the office.
Here’s what a typical day in the life of a buyers agent looks like for Darren:
7.30am – Check emails and set up for a busy day ahead
9am – Follow-up with potential clients and prospective buyers
11am – Organise meetings and inspections for the rest of the week
Noon – Attend a private inspection for two properties for a client
3pm – Contact 60 agents by phone seeking stick
4.30pm – Inspect four properties for a local owner-occupier
6pm – Complete client reports and weekly updates
7pm – Head home and rest before another productive day!
To learn more about the benefits of a buyers agent, visit www.universalbuyersagents.com.au.
Australian-owned and operated, Universal Buyers Agents is made up of an experienced and passionate team driven to ensure your future is secured financially by investing in blue chip localities. To us, it’s not about the transaction today but rather, the ten into the future.
The Universal brand was born as a result of increasing market demand for a service that was not only comprehensive but served the buyer, not the seller. In today’s fast paced industry and market competitiveness, making a mistake has increased tenfold, so don’t make one. Working with Universal Buyers Agents takes the pressure, risk, and stress off the purchase so we can focus on uncovering and buying the right property, at the right price, every time. Whether you’re looking for your first property, a development opportunity, commercial or industrial sites, land and house packages, or investments, we can advise, support, manage, or consult on a level that suits or is required.
Despite interest rates tipped to rise and first homebuyer grants about to fall, the local real estate market is booming.
PROPERTY investment, it’s something many people do, but not everyone really understands.
Plenty of new and seasoned investors are happy to offer their unsolicited advise if you mention you are thinking of getting into the market, but how much of it should you listen to?
Buyers agent Darren Piper of Universal Buyers Agents reckons there are four big property investment myths.
“This could not be further from the truth,’’ Mr Piper said.
He said each area is divided into several suburbs and each of those operated with different supply and demand drivers.
“In fact, within each suburb of a city, there are usually a couple of districts with different factors that may impact the value of a property,’’ he said.
An obvious exampled was a house with city views would be worth more than another similar house a street away but without the views.
“I’ve heard people say on more than one occasion that properties double in value every seven to ten years. This is simply not true,’’ Mr Piper said.
While it has happened in some hot markets in Sydney and even Melbourne in the past decade it is by no means across the board in other capital cities.
“You can’t generalise the property market and if you take a closer look, you will find that some properties in Sydney and Melbourne have not performed as well,’’ Mr Piper said.
“You can’t buy just any property and expect the value to skyrocket in a few years. Do your research and find a property that has potential to increase in value.’’
Mr Piper said the property market moved in a seven to ten-year cycles and investors often spent a considerable amount of time working out the best time to buy.
“It may make sense to purchase a property at the bottom of the cycle when prices are low, but it is not guaranteed to really make a difference and it isn’t the only factor to think about when investing,’’ Mr Piper said.
“You may score a bargain, but if the cycle stays sluggish for longer than expected, you may also find yourself waiting years for the market to pick up again.’’
This is a classic fallacy that has been floating around the property industry for a while now,’’ Mr Piper said.
He said houses generally cost more than apartments but it was a common misconception that the majority of a property’s value was in the land.
“It has been proven in bustling city suburbs that apartments can rake in just as much profit as the humble home,’’ he said.
Brisbane is tipped to have the strongest property market in Australia in the next few years.
Recent figures released by the Real Estate Institute of Queensland has revealed the Sunshine State capital has welcomed its first $2 million suburb.
The March quarter saw median house prices in Teneriffe rise to $2.075 million, while a record 15 Brisbane suburbs rose to million-dollar status.
House prices annually have grown 4 per cent in Brisbane, taking the annual median to $650,000.
Darren said the Brisbane house market had once again proven itself to be a solid performer.
“This market consistently performs well for property owners, while maintaining its affordable status,” she said.
“Brisbane now has its first $2 million suburb with Teneriffe, but compare this with Sydney, which has more than a dozen, possibly up to 14 suburbs with a median house price of $2 million or more.”
However, leading real estate industry figure John McGrath said Brisbane would soon start to catch up to its southern rivals, Sydney and Melbourne.
Darren Piper described the Brisbane market as “undervalued”
“We think Southeast Queensland, and Brisbane is a focal point, is going to be one of the strongest markets in Australia,” he said.
“We think it is going to be the strongest market in Australia for the next three to five years.
Universal Buyers Agents director Darren Piper says the Brisbane property market is strong, compared to other major cities.
“One-bedroom units in Sydney are selling for $850,000 to $900,000, you can buy better property with more upside in Brisbane for half that,” he says.
“Brisbane delivers the strongest returns for investors with rental yields of 4.1 per cent for house and 5.2 per cent for units, higher than Sydney, 2.8 per cent and 3.7 per cent and Melbourne, 2.6 per cent and 4.2 per cent.”
NOT every property makes it to market with plenty being transacted without a sign even being hammered into the front lawn.
So how do you snare yourself an off market property?
Buyers agent Darren Piper of Universal Buyers Agents said off-market sales were a way that some savvy home buyers and investors could avoid the pitfalls of buying at auction or with more competition.
Owners sell off market for a number of reasons, he said, including not wanting dozens of people traipsing through your home at open inspections.
Finding the properties was all about networking. Mr Piper said a buyer’s agent could do the hard yards, letterbox drops, cold calls, and doorknocking.
“In my experience the majority of off-market or pre listings are available by having strong relationships in place with agents,’’ he said.
“I firmly believe some of the best buying is off-market,’’ he said.
Mr Piper’s 5 tips for buying off market are:
– Even though it’s off market don’t forget the checks and balances. Do your due diligence such as building and pest inspections and council searches.
– Have your finances ready to go before you start searching.
“This puts you in a very strong position when ready to negotiate,’’ he said.
– Make sure you know the market and what the property is worth as 90 per cent of off market properties don’t have a price on them given they are not “listed”.
– Understand why the seller isn’t putting the property on the market. This could be as they are very private or don’t want open homes.
– Be patient. Given the property isn’t on the market the sellers might need more time to consider where to move to if living in it. Rent back options can work really well in this situation
Inspections Officer
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Buyers Agent
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Searcher and Sourcer – Team Piper
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