Hi there to all you seasoned investors.
My partner and i spent the weekend driving through some country towns to have a look and get a “feel” of the different places we may consider investing in.
We saw a few places with FOR SALE signs and only drove by slowly to check them out.
Anyway, my question is this—-
Is it okay to pull up out the front and knock on the door and speak directly to the owners, or ,just note down the number and deal with the R/E Agent from the start?What would be appropiate?
We are still very green in these matters and i figured ” the only stupid question is the one you don’t ask”
Thank you in advance.
ANITAHi Anita,
my suggestion would be to phone the real estate agent. The homes may be owner-occupied, in which case the owners have “employed” the agents to sell their home. They usually prefer some notice for a viewing of their home.
Or the property may have tennants who may not appreciate you knocking on the door!
Country people are generally hospitable, if you want to know about the area we have done the following: gone for a walk and had a chat to someone who is gardening, bought a coffee in a cafe and chatted to the person serving, bought a local newspaper and chatted to the sales assistant.
We are new also, but have found spending time in a town is invaluable to get the “feel” of the place and find out lots of local info you may not find elsewhere.
Calling the agent shows respect and that you are genuinely interested, and we have found they are usually very helpful. We have learned lots by chatting to locals and agents, and the more we learn the more we realise we have to learn!!All the best with your property investing.
Diane
Hi Diane,
Thanks for your great reply,in fact we did do some of those things you suggested,and yes we did find out some interesting things![cigar]
It would of been good to look at some of the homes on the day as my partner works away a lot of the time.
I guess i’ll have to get out of my comfort zone and follow up and inspect these places on my own.[dazed]Thanks again
ANITADon’t be too shy to knock on the neighbours door for a chat – you can find out all sorts of useful stuff doing that.
Simon Macks
Mortgage Broker
http://www.mortgagehunter.com.au
0425 228 985Comments may not be relevant to individual circumstances. If you intend making any investment, financial or taxation decision you should consult a professional adviser.
Hi Simon,
What would be an appropriate opening question to the neighbour?
I’m just thinking that you couldn’t say that you didn’t want to bother the people next door as they might think “why are you bothering us”
But then again as Diane mentioned,people in country areas are usually friendly.
Anyway,can you think of any good openers?
THANKS
ANITAI just say that I am thinking of buying the house next door and what can you tell me about the neighbourhood. Once people start chatting is hard to stop them. Everyone likes to be an expert on something and the neighbours are always expert on the neighbourhood!
I have found out reasons for selling, problems with the home, future developents etc etc
Cheers,
Simon Macks
Mortgage Broker
http://www.mortgagehunter.com.au
0425 228 985Comments may not be relevant to individual circumstances. If you intend making any investment, financial or taxation decision you should consult a professional adviser.
That’s a good one Simon, i’d feel comfortable doing that.
I suppose it’s just a matter of getting out there and doing it,with all the great advice on this site,hopefully i won’t bloody myself too much!Thanks heaps
ANITAHey the worst that can happen is you will feel stupid! That will pass in a few minutes. Happens to me all the time but I am getting used to it!
I am hearing stories from clients that now the market has changed peple are accepting low offers. My wife’s girlfriend saw an apartment for $370K. The agent rang and beged for an offer as the vendor was OS. She wasn’t serious so said $299K – she got it immediately.
All the best,
Simon Macks
Mortgage Broker
http://www.mortgagehunter.com.au
0425 228 985Comments may not be relevant to individual circumstances. If you intend making any investment, financial or taxation decision you should consult a professional adviser.
Neighbours could (and I have always found) been interested because:
a. you could be new neighbour, good to start off on the right foot.
b. If you are buying, they could get a feel for the value of their own property and neighbourhood.
c. And like simon says, country folk are “experts” on their own area and love to talk.
d. If you do end up buying, they know who to see about going halves in a new fence or cutting down a trees root systems.Mutual benefit in talking to each other.
Anita, break on through that comfort zone, you will go places!!!
Oh, and if the real estate agent is giving you very poor service, I like the idea of a note to the seller detailing the poor service you received as a genuine buyer and a contact number.
Otherwise, I think it is frowned upon as an unethical practice to bypass RE Agent.
Good Luck
lifexperience
Thanks for your votes of confidence guys!
I’m just about ready to take on the world.[crown]I’m going to take the plunge and will be looking at a property on SAT.
If i may pose another question—if i decide to put an offer on the place would i be better off to use the OFFER TO PURCHASE REAL ESTATE from the Buyer Beware templates,or,do i use the standard OFFER AND ACCEPTANCE that i “assume” the R/E agent will provide.
I realize that either one would do but was wondering which would give me the upper hand,if any.THANKS AGAIN—in advance
ANITAI beleive that if you let an agent dictate your offer terms, then it will be biased in THEIR favour. With little chance of leaving
If you are making a genuine offer, then you can afford to be firm and make your own terms.
I would put in -subject to a satisfactory property inspection at a minimum
The RE Agents equivalent is -subject to major structural defects, which is not so good for buyer. ie: what if it needs re-wiring ($5000 +), this is not really a major structural defect is it?, but would be hard to get out of.
Subject to the finance you want (if you intend to loan 95%), don’t use the likely RE Agents 80% finance clause. etc etc.
It is a balance, if you want to buy a lot of properties in a one agent town, then you don’t want to make a series of flippant offers and pull out at last minute. Agent would go cold for future dealings….
I would say use your template offer if it is pro-buyer (you).
lifexperience
When we sold our family home recently, we had four families simply knock on the door and ask to see the property. [cap]
Our agents were OK, but had almost stopped showing the property. I enjoyed playing the R/E agent & showing them through. [buz2]
Each time I explained I was under contract & if interested they needed to contact the agent.
We had a lot of fun. One guy stepped into our home & immediately started to tell me what was wrong with it… them wanted to buy but without the agent (or him paying the agent fees). He left me his number & told me to call him first when I was out of contract..LOL..[angel]. Needless to say, his number went straight into the bin.
My point is if the family is serious about selling, they will not mind you asking to see their home & their home will be reasonably presentable. Don’t be scared to ask, but expect that you will still need to go through the agent.
Personally I prefer not having an agent with me during an inspection. I prefer to make my own mind up about things.
Ultimately the fourth family bought the place.
Generally if its listed by an agent go through them. But have done the direct thing as well and got tennants who were quite open to discussing any problems with the house which is always handy.
I often knock on doors of houses i like that dont have a sign and have bought all 3 of my propertys off market.
Good luck and successful hunting.
Sometimes lost in the forest, needing guidance.
Wanting to be wealthy, not rich.
Hi everyone,
I thought i’d let you all know how i went today,armed with my new found confidence and knowing that you were all rooting for me.[biggrin]I got there early as the agent had told me that the place was vacant so i had a look around the outside.I’d stopped at a newsagent on the way and bought a clip-board and had the PROPERTY ANALYSIS sheets with me,anyhow i’d made some notes and went and waited in the car.
So we meet at the front door and he’s eager to get into the house and i’m asking him about the meter-box and start making notes and he’s looking at my sheet and asking “where the hell do you get one of those?”, i explain that my partner works away a lot of the time and it’s easier for me to keep track and remember all the places i look at.
[
]
So i’m going through and switching lights and fans on and he’s walking behind me switching them off and we come to the kitchen and we can’t seem to get the electric oven to work,so he’s got his head in the oven now and i’m opening and closing cupboard doors and one of the handles comes off into my hand so he’s trying to fix that now.[juggle][juggle]
Meanwhile i continue making notes looking like i know what i’m about and then HE starts pointing out all the things that are wrong with the place!Asking price $77k
Offer $60kHe doesn’t think the vendor will go for it(of course) but he’ll get back to me.I didn’t sign anything anyhow.
Oh, and before he left he told me to make sure i get the wiring on the place checked out!
The best part of my day is knowing that I CAN JUMP PUDDLES!!!
FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY!!!
Thanks to all for your suppport,it made a huge difference for me.And thanks Simon for your e-mail.
ANITA
What a wonderful story!
I hope we haven’t created a monster here [blink]
Simon Macks
Mortgage Broker
http://www.mortgagehunter.com.au
0425 228 985Comments may not be relevant to individual circumstances. If you intend making any investment, financial or taxation decision you should consult a professional adviser.
CHECK THE WIRING
If the agent tells you to check it you can bet your life its crook!
Thanks techa,
The wiring is definately something i will have checked out.A good freind of ours is a sparky and he said that there should be a sticker on the meter-box with the date of the last wiring check,well there wasn’t any there and that’s what i was pointing out to the agent.Also it had the old ceramic type fuse as well as a new looking one,so i would of thought that it might of had a recent sticker-date on it.
I’m learning as i go,i don’t want too many expensive learning curves though.
Also,there was an air-cond mounted in a window,with the cord hanging there on the inside but no plug on the wall to put it into
There’s still a lot more to look into i think.ANITA
p.s SIMON–I’m a [angel] freindly monster.
Hi Kicks
Always good to doorknock, a polite enquiry should receive a polite reply, no harm done.
A tenant would be ill-advised to be rude to a prospective investment buyer. If a tenant was rude to me I would say “Nice tenants are hard to find, would you like to stay on if I bought the place as an investment ? “
The agency agreement might have expired, or the REA may not be the flavour of the month. Doesn’t matter if they’re the owner or tenant, you definately want to speak to both.
The sign is there to attract an enquiry, so why should anyone complain.?
Tenants hope for an investment buyer, owners hope for a buyer of any kind. Fortune favours the brave. [brave][]
cheers
thecrestthecrest | Tony Neale - Statewide Motel Brokers
http://www.statewidemotelbrokers.com.au
Email Me | Phone Meselling motels in NSW
Hi Anita,
It is great to see how the tone of your posts has changed throughout this thread. Your increased confidence is very inspiring. You go girl!!!
Cheers
SonjaPS Although I love the idea of door knocking it scares me to death as well. A fear I’ve yet to conquor.
Hi Sonja,
YOU CAN DO IT!
If i can do it, so can you.
It’s just a fear that can be overcome.
You just have to think whats the worst that can happen? Like Simon said—you’ll feel stupid,but it’ll only last a few minutes.FEAR stands for
False
Evidence
Appearing
RealNo-one has to know that you haven’t done it before.Just “fake it ’till you make it”
You go for it!!ANITA
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