There are still great buys to be had in this market. You may think I am joking but seriously, there is. I know people who have brought well in the last 1 – 3 months. It takes a little patience, intuition, dedication and time but it can be done. Below I have highlighted a few things to consider when scouting out your next purchase.
Look for tenanted properties
A tenanted property is advantageous for a purchaser in two ways. If the tenancy is fixed term it potentially knocks out a lot of competition from the get go. People looking to purchase as an owner occupier usually want to move in ASAP. If they are unable to move in for 8 months due to the fact that there is a fixed term tenancy in place, it may just put them off completely.
The second factor is that tenanted properties are usually not as well presented as owner occupied. Someone renting a home will generally not care about immaculate presentation as much as the owner would. This is understandable as it is quite inconvenient for the tenant when a home is on the market. Being tenanted, it can also restrict viewing times. When asked to sell a home I know the process is always smoother and when empty or occupied by the owner.
Look for properties that are either presented terribly or have something disclosed that could put off a large percentage of the population
Consider these two properties. Home number one has been lived in by an elderly couple for 45 years and needs kitchen, bathroom and other more cosmetic upgrades. But it has been immaculately maintained. Property number two again, needs kitchen, bathroom and other more cosmetic upgrades but has not been maintained immaculately (for want of a better term). There are pieces of rot here and there, presentation wise the same care has not been given. Property number two is rough.
Often, both of these properties are needing a similar amount of money spent on them to bring them up to the year 2021. But there will be light years difference in public perception.
A level up from the presentation, is when there is something disclosed that may put it into the too hard basket. This could include something such as a significant consenting situation that hasn’t been resolved. Often purchasers, especially the ones of the first home variety, will turn on their heels when they hear anything to do with the word consent. But these issues can, in many instances, be overcome with a minimum of fuss.
Another example (of many) might be piling work needed. I have often seen numbers thrown around to fix particular issues that are far in excess of what the real cost will be. But more than this, house hunting takes energy, and as soon as a roadblock or hurdle is put up many stumble and fall before the finish line.
Go unconditional
This one is fairly self explanatory. The number of times I have seen an offer accepted because it was unconditional even though it was less than other more conditional offers bears not thinking about. Another consideration is you will often have the chance to “up” your offer if you are not the highest due to your favourable conditions.
Long story short, do your best to be unconditional. I have noticed more “subject to finance” conditions being inserted lately. Which is potentially a follow on from the deluge of requests banks are dealing with at the moment. Plus the stricter protocols. Start talking to the bank early.
Look for a property listed by an out of area agent
Often an agent who doesn’t sell a lot in an area will be called in because they have a close relationship with an owner. This can be disadvantageous to the person selling for a number of reasons.
1 – They probably don’t have a huge database of purchasers looking to buy in your area. Possibly even more important, they don’t have any sort of relationship with purchasers that they meet. I will often meet people for the 5th, 10th or 15th time when running open homes and at appointments. I know what they have been looking at, what they have offered on and in what price range they sit. This is all great information for the agent to know. An out of area agent will not have this advantage.
2 – An out of area agent will not be as familiar with sales in the immediate area. When talking with purchasers, agents often refer to other sales in the area. An out of area agent may not have quite as good of a feel as to what the property should be able to reach. Subsequently the risk of it being undersold is higher.
3 – Unlikely, but if they are not a committed agent, and they have to travel 30/45 minutes or more every time they have an appointment they may not be as accommodating to purchasers. One of the biggest attributes you should look for in an agent is their energy and want to achieve the best result.
I have realised while writing this blog that there is much more to be touched on regarding stacking the chips in your favour when at the coalface of house hunting. I will follow this up with a part two in future. Happy house hunting. I am always only a phone call, txt or email away.
