Forum Replies Created
got the video from wisecookie a few days ago. excellent info. straight forward video, no waffles. that’s how i like it. would recommend it to newbies and veteran investors.
unfortunately, you don’t get a cookie with the video let alone a wise one [8D]
Hi chandra,
i am assuming the retaining wall is made of timber and not concrete/brick. is the conditoin obvious or it didn’t come across your mind to check it during inspections?
anyhow, agents know retaining walls can be a huge problem form the point of people’s perception and not necessarily costs.
i can tell you right now, if the property is not well priced and has been on the market for over 3 weeks, the guy/girl is sweating.
go to yellowpages.com.au. under “business type” type “retaining wall”. get 4 written quotes with vendor’s permission to acess the property. then ask vendor to reduce the purchase price quote price + $1000k and then negotiate down to the quote price.
i am asusming that you have submitted a written offer and it has been accepted prior to your building inspection.or
ask the seller to fix the retaining wall to “builder’s like workmanship” and if there are no weep holes, get them to put a few in to let wated drain during heavy rainfall.
this is an opportunity…people avoid buying house with problem retaining walls. the agent know this. he/she is hoping you don’t know.
Most people don’t like timber retaining walls unless it is in excellen condition. those little bricks with a design is a great way to go. find out how much to tear out the timber wall and place in brick retaining wall.
if u like, you can email me [email protected]
cheersHI,
I am a real estate agent for Hookers in Gold Coast. I have takena break from listing and sales and became the principal’s assitant so can focus more of my time on generating money partners for wraps
Been in real estae since Feb 2002. my goal is to have 10 wraps by the end of this year. so i can stop working(i have a simple life and wife)[
] and concetrate on my wraps business full time.if you have any questions about the real estate psyche (rare breed), gimme a holler and i’ll be glad to help.
If any of you get a moment of time, please call 07 55 292 553. This is a 24hour 5min recorded message for people who respond to my ad for providing a wrap service. i would appreciate your feedback on the tone of voice, information flow and overall (lack of?) appeal.
cheers
Hi ChoclatE,
WARNING: LONG POST.
As a real estate i know would want athe following for me to take a buyer seriously and to be on their side:
1. know what type of property you want
2. know your price range
3. i don’t mind people telling me “i have to offer $xxx,xxx amount bcos i want to make sure that if am forced to sell in the next 3 months, i will be abale to break even since i have to pay stamp duty wen i buy and your commission when i sell through you + legals”
4. go with the agent in their car. talk to them. ask about their investments or interst in investments. don’t talk about wraps. rent to buy sounds better but when you have bought a couple of properties and are able to explain why wraps just like a knife is tool that can be used or abused.
5.HAVE A PREAPPROVAL LETTER. it makes it easy for the agent.
6. Give them feedback after inspection. tell them what oyu don’t like and what you would like. don’t talk mean about the property. it’s ok to say, it doesn’t suit me becaseu i feel the house looks tired.while i was looking for a property to wrap, i became pretty close to a JENMAN agent (i’m non-jenman). we alked about the difference in systems, etc and then he started talking about how a home is a liability. i tlaked him into having lunch at Macdonald. now he knows what i want. he’s not the only agent. i have 3 on my side. they know i look for the property and purchase in another perosn’s name. they are aware that i ihave to maintain my integrity and don’t mind low offers. you need to understand that they may be apart of another team and therefore you need to prove your worthy.
it takes time but make sure you have small chat with every agent and then you’ll know the right one. heck, he or she will galdly be on your team if you prove to be competent. Rarely do we get a competent buyer (know what they want in a home/ investment, talk intelligently without arrogance) so when one comes along, i appreciate it.
hope this helps
thanks guys.
i was really hoping for a “script” that gets money partners instead of purchasers……..
cheers
Thanks for sharing the flyer. my email address is : [email protected]
regards
Here’s the title i propose (using your words) with the layout of the cover
Right Property
+
Right Strategy
+
Right Price
_________________
Money (or Intant Wealth)
=================“From 0 – 130 properties in 3 years”
When i chose this headline, i shifted my mindset from being someone who is familiar with the concept of making real estate riches by lateral thinking to someone who considers the A”taxman” funding the difference of a negatively geared proeprty as later thinking .
I feel my headline is straight forward and to the point in simple everyday english.
by the way steve, is there a time limit for this contest?
thanks
Gerard,
RP DATA is what most agents use. I also used to use Citec in my former office. However, bear in mind, the info i s3 months old and in a rising market like this, it can be misleading.
HAving said that the mind is the limit for rpdata.
you can search based on almost any variables. e.g. address of owners of investment properties in sunnybank who live in a 4216 postcode(runaway bay in gold coast)or where are the houses and/or units and/or duplexes and/or commercial properteis sold for above/less/equal too $x in a particualr area (eg albert, loga, gold coast, BCC yeerongpilly etc)
or telephone numbers of ionvestors (potential money partners?) the list goes on and on
you also get aerial view and cadastral maps of chosen street or propertythe downside to sharing password is that as soon as someone logs in from another computer, you get kicked out. there is no warning that someone else might be using it.
hope this helps
Hi peter,
best thing to do is have a chat with a couple building inspector of your concerns. they will give you good advice and hope that you will appoint them when u sign the contract. choose the one who explains a lot and i logical. you will learn a great deal from that person.
normally, a gap of less than 1mm is no problem. also, check the grout by runing a pen along and see how easily it comes out.
good lcuk
hey guys,
i know have too much to say but gimme some credit. i alerady wrote down teh george’s number in teh first (or second?) sentence. here it is again:
george from top shot @ 0411 426 982
remember, don’t learn teh tricks of the trade….learn the trade.
cheers
TOm,
so you want simple and effective? it may appear complex but once you’ve got it downpat, it works you’ll be doing this subconsciously.
Farm your area, once a week. very simple &effective. choose an area of roughly 20000-3000 houses. every week, there should be 7-10 min new listings in that area.i just focus on one suburb and one only. i know every listing inside out. this is the steps i take:
every weeek, i go to that area and spend 1-2hrs driving around noting the following info:
1. new listings with descriptions (e.g, lowset, brick, 3brm, ensuite, 1garage + 1carport etc). if u have digital camera, take photos.
2. write down date approx date of new listing and agent
3. write down what’s sold and the date sold(approx)
when you do these 3 things, over time you’ll become the master of your suburb. you’ll know more than the (average) agents. you should know:
1. how long the property has been on the market. if it’s been more than 4 weeks, you have either a motivated seller or unrealistic seller
2. how long did it take to sell. if a property sells within the first week, you know that it sold very clsoe to asking price. this is either a steal (u’ll know) or fair market value.
3. if it took 4+ weeks to sell, then it probably sold for $15k-$25k below asking price on a $280k house.you can always ask teh neighbour then subtract about $5k from the amount they tell you.
4. because you know teh area so well, you’ll autmatically know what’s a steal and what’s not.
5. you should be talking to agents and letting them know you’re in teh market to buy properties on an ongoing basis. make sure you “farm ” agents as well. e-mail them weekly/fortnightly. meet them every 2-4 weeks and talk about market action. when the conversation allows you to mentione recent sales and new listings and properties that have been on the market forever, they will know that they are really dealing with an investor. The right agent will not hesitate to contact you when the right house at the right price comes on the market. don’t give them money for it. buy them lunch at a restaurant (relationship marketing).
5. get onto the following websites and subscribe to new listing (Sale and rental) service:
realestate.com.au & proeprty.com.au
visit propertypage.com.au on a daily basis and check for new listings in your area.(they don’t have free subsrciber service)
Once you do this on a weekly basis, u’ll also have very strong negotiating power when writing offers. the agent won’t be able to challenge. he/she alreadys knows that you are aware of what’s going on in the market.
hope this helps
Hi people,
bear in mind, this pest inspector is in Gold COast (Ashmore). His name is George and can be contacted on 0411 426 982. also, there are many good pest inspectors out there. give him a ring and tell him that the boys from Hookers @ Ashmore recommended him. that way you will put a smile on his face and then ask him for pointers on how to sniff out good inspectors in your relevant area. he may even recommend you if he has a contact in your area.
2 types of pest inspectors:
1. doesn’t do the right job
2. scares the hell out of you with an exagerrated report. e.g, i sold many houses were there was live termiet actiivty in the fence but no activity in the house. the way the inspector conveyed the message verbally and report almost scared the hell out of me. then i advised the buyer to get a second opinion (they really loved the property). the second opnion said that as long as the termites are in the fence,it’s ok bcos the food is the fence and ther eis no reason to attack the house. solution: dust the fence with arsonic dust and give 48 hours for the dust to spread to teh entire colony to kill em off. once termite activity ceases on the fence, replace with new fence and if need, place termie barrier. hey presto, problems gone!the reality is, if u are investing anywhere in queensland, the state is high termite risk bcos of the weather. also, the inspectors want to cover themselves in case of legal action. they are very quick to recomment a “fail” on the inspection. i can understand them. but such a simple approach with the invasive procedure can save thousans of dollars and legal battles. GEorge, will normally cut out the hole, buy a vent from bunnings and install the vent into the section of the wall after the invasive procedure. that helps reduce mositure and it’s a win win for the vendor because at least they know whether the “live activity” were termites or just ants.
hope this helps.
if yoou’re going to spend $100k on property, don’t cheap out on spending $200 for the pest. not worth it.
when u do appoint a pest inspector, ask them if they bring along invasive devices along for the pest inspection. the reason being that if they can see mositure and the radat detects movement, with the seller’s permission, a small hole can be drilled (invasive procedure) and the device (usually a long scope) can be used to see wether termites are visible.
quite a number of pest inspectors do not do the invasive procedure when they suspect termite activity. they just write down “further investigation recommended” on the report. in one, case we (i’m an agent) told the pest inspector to use the invasive procedure. his reply was that they don’t normally carry it with them (like a builder without a toolbox) and it will cost an extra $148 to go back to the station, come back and do the investigation.
the building inspector we recommend carries the invasive device and charges $120 for the whole pest inspection (including use of device if required).
as a real esate agent, it is in our interest to look after the buyer (investors) with the hope of getting the management rights. if the buyer is an owner occupier, then we really look after them so they can tell all their neighbours (after they settle down) what a great job we’ve done and how we’ve made the sale process a smooth and pleasureable experience. This “word of mouth” makes it easy for us to get listings.
cheers
] and concetrate on my wraps business full time.
