A Buyer's Agent's Tips on Buying Well
As a buyer’s agent, I help clients purchase homes all the time. I find time and again that the best homes sell quickly – no matter what the market. When you’ve found the home you love, you’ll want to position yourself so that you can make it yours – but be certain that you’re not over-paying. Here, I share some tips to help you along your journey.
Don’t fall in love too quickly. A home may look very different in real life to how it looks online, and building and pest / strata reports may reveal serious and significant faults or challenges about the property that may make you decide not to proceed with the purchase. Investigate the property – and the neighbourhood – thoroughly and always inspect at least twice and bring other people with you to view the home.
Never make an offer in haste – it should always be a considered decision both to make an offer and the amount, but at the same time, if you don’t make an offer before someone else does, you may lose out! Examine the market, work out what comparable homes are selling for and work out what you are willing to pay.
Do request a contract for sale if you’re interested in purchasing the home and have it reviewed by your conveyancer or property lawyer.
Do drive by the home at different times of the day and days of the week. the home could seen very quiet at 11am on Wednesday but be very different at 10pm on Saturday! Speak to the neighbours and ask how they find the area and if there are any issues that they know of.
Keep your options open – just because you love this home, doesn’t mean you should not be exploring other homes that may also be a good fit for your needs.
Never overstretch your budget. Your maximum is your maximum.
Ensure you have finance pre-approved and a deposit before you set out on your search so that you know you have the funds available to proceed as soon as you find something you like that checks out and ticks all of the boxes.
Ensure that you have engaged a conveyancer / property lawyer before you set out and that they will be available to you so that when the right home comes up, they are ready and available to review and negotiate the contract for sale for you.
Be aware of exhaustion. If you have been searching for a long time, you may be inclined to compromise, over-pay or “settle” just so that you can move on with other things in life. But a property purchase is expensive – perhaps the most expensive decision you’ll make. It is expensive to buy property and it is expensive to sell – so the decision to buy needs to be a considered, rational and wise decision.
Buyer’s agents are your friend. Every day, buyer’s agents buy homes for their clients. We relieve buyers of the burden of searching, inspecting, reviewing and evaluating homes as well as adding so much more value: due diligence, knowledge, experienced, negotiation strategy and purchasing know-how. The average search time with a buyer’s agent is generally two to three months for a home due to the efficiencies we’re able to extract, our access to off-market homes and our ability to “cut to the chase”: knowing where to look, how to look, how and what to quickly disregard and where to focus our time.