RMAA wrote:

So Ethan, yes a complaint is looking like our option. I’m the type that would do that and I’m not going down without a fight.

Good on ya. I know of a recent similar case where the borrower went all the way with the ombudsman against a big4 lender and got full satisfaction (short of an apology, you can forget about that 😉).

Will be interested to know how it panned out.

Good luck! 👍😎

Generally speaking, I would prefer an old house rather than a new duplex (or even a new house for that matter) every day of the week.

Why? Because I can renovate an old house. So for an investment of say 10% I can increase its value by 20-30% today instead of waiting how many years for the market to do the same gain?

Totally unacceptable and I wouldn’t stand for it.

Basically, moving forward I see two options:

1. Take your business elsewhere. I’m biased of course but I strongly believe that going through a great broker is the way to go. Poor customer service should be answered by customers leaving. However, if it’s important for you to stay with the current lender, there is option 2:

2. Lodge a complaint to the lender. If they won’t give you the previous fixed rate, lodge a complaint with the ombudsman. That should sort things out.

Would be happy to know how it worked out. I’m sure that with kindness and persistence, you will be happy with the end result 👍😎

Best wishes,
Ethan

Mel wrote:

Also, the prospective buyers are requesting a condition in the contract that the sale is dependent on the sale of their property. This means that I would need to go to the expense of getting the section 32 and a solicitor review the contract when I am not sure if the sale will proceed.

Hi Mel, that’s not an issue. You could stipulate in the contract that a certain flat fee is non refundable in case the buyer fails to sell their PPOR within X months. That fee should at least cover your legal and holding costs.

In regards to the valuation, I seriously doubt anyone here can tell you the value of your property without inspecting it. And even so, different people have different valuations as you saw from the agents. You can get a valuer to come and provide a valuation but again, 3 valuers will probably come with 3 different valuations, and probably will be on the low/safe side.

Auction could get you a higher price but could result with nothing. Ideally, if the buyer is ok with waiting, you could try to eat the cake and have it whole? Setup an auction with a reserve price well above the buyer’s offer + the agent and auction fees. If it passes, great. If not, you turn around and sell it privately to the buyer. Win-win.

That is if selling is the thing you actually want? It is, after all, a very personal and specific decision if to sell and what price to accept.

Hope this helps?

Cheers,
Ethan

Hi Deb,

Multiple applications will get your credit score hurting, yes.

Did you go direct or via a broker? A good broker would pull your credit file before applying and thus you would avoid even applying to BankWest as they would reject the application, as they did.

If your partner can service all by himself, that could work, yes. otherwise there are lenders that would accept you guys, but at a higher rate.

I’m biased of course but if I were you I would definitely go via a broker. More options, less hassle 😉

Hope this helps?

Happy Easter!
Ethan

Generally speaking, properties usually grow in price in this order (from most to least):

House > duplex > townhouse > unit

Can’t see ratios between them changing much but I bet it fluctuates. If I were you I would probably guesstimate them to have the same growth speed with some margin of error to feel safer.

Hope this helps?

Cheers,
Ethan

• This reply was modified 7 years, 7 months ago by  Ethan Timor.

The time between contract date and settlement date is a grey area which is why at least one insurance company offers free insurance to buyers until settlement date. We always go with that. Better safe than sorry 👍😎

I don’t know these guys but this sentence caught my attention:

mliew wrote:

Apparently its Free but we will see.

It reminded me of th saying: “if you’re not paying for it, then you’re the product” 😉

No, not in Sydney, sorry 😕

In our building we got a sparky to install the new ones. Don’t recall the cost but it definitely didn’t seem to be expensive.