Hey everyone,
Just need to know of some good questions to ask a real estate agent or checklist of sorts, when looking at potential buy and hold deals.
thanks
Why are you looking at buying a property to hold? You should be looking at a property that will ultimately bring you in money. Now if you are looking at holding onto a property because the Local Area Plan (LAP) shows it as being a potential property for subdivision you should still have something that you can either rent out or live in as, I can tell you now, that most Councils will take around 2 years to give subdivision approval now that there are so many reports that have to be submitted along with your application. However, if you are looking at holding onto a property with the though of a straight forward capital gain, stop and think again. With the current changing tide of the property market I would tread very carefully. Perhaps you could give us all a little more idea of what it is you have in mind, that way we can probably give you some value insight into what questions to ask.
Have a good one.
Debbie
My contribution is to suggest that before you ever submit an offer it is wise to try and find out the vendors reason for selling.
Experience has taught me that matching your offer with the vendor’s need for selling helps to get a deal done quickly.
Another question to ask is ‘is the price negotiable?’. Almost always tha answer is ‘yes’ and this gives you the opportunity to submit a lower than full asking price offer.
What other questions do people ask?
All the best,
Steve McKnight | PropertyInvesting.com Pty Ltd | CEO
https://www.propertyinvesting.comSuccess comes from doing things differently
HI Cjay11,
if it helps ive found a Ebook that covers a few areas on different aspects of Realestate investing and i have packaged it up for downloading. Its called Buying a Home When You Have Bad Credit:
12 Ways to Purchase a House When You Can't Get a Home Loan.Its based on American investing but its got a few good ideas in it and not to big to read, so if you or anyone would like a free copy just go to http://www.goneshoppingsites.com/package.exe and a download box will appear instantly.
Cheers Shaun
Hi cjay11,
Here a few good questions for you to ask about Buy and Holds. These are a few I use myself as I am a buy and hold investor, but you need to also establish whether you are in it purely for cap gain, or for cashflow (rent return), or if you need good tax benefits etc, or all of the above. I am in it for all of the above so there are different quiestions to satisfy each strategy.
Keep in mind that agents need to sell properties to make money. They are sales people – not experts. Very few agents are investors and therefore many can't answer investor type questions. They will quite often try to tell you what you want to hear, they tell half-truths and are known to inflate or deflate figures as the need arises. It is a good idea to still do your own research and ask the questions already knowing the real answer. Then you can test the integrity of the agent and you will know how to handle them during a sale.
1. why is the Vendor selling (are they motivated)
2. is the price negotiable (can you put in a low offer)
3. how long has the property been on the market (you should already know this answer from your Due Diligence)
4. what year was the building constructed (for on-paper deductions)
5. how much will this property rent for (already know this answer)
6. is there much demand for this type of property to rent in the area (as above)
7. does your office manage rental properties, and if so, how many do you manage and how many are vacant right now.
8. what is your management fee and would you be interested in managing the property should I buy it.
9. what sort of people are renting properties in this area – singles, families, students etc
10. has the area seen much infrastructure improvements and/or plans for any in the near future.
11. how many sq/m is the building and what size is the land lot. (these should be in the Section 32)
12. are the terms negotiableThere are several more to ask for buying sight unseen, but if you are just starting out this is not a good thing to try until you have some experience.
Hi Steve, Shaun and Marc,
I like all your answers and I love Marc's list, not that it was me that was asking the question but it is a good list to keep around when approaching "salespeople" – very few of them are actually agents. Also thank you Shaun for the ebook which I have downloaded and I will be taking a good read of shortly.
May we all be successful with our properties.
Enjoy
Debbiehey every one
thankyou so much for the reply's they have been very helpful, Marc i'll email you soon thanks againhappy hunting
cheers
juliusL.A Aussie, what other questions would you suggest asking when buying sight unseen?
Cjay, as the others have mentioned it may be a good idea clearly establish the reasons why your buying. Capital Growth/Cashflow? If it's cashflow then you might want to make sure the area has low vacancy rates. Ask what the property could rent for as is. What could be done to gain an extra $10 – $15 per week. I'm no expert but these are just a few things I've come across to help with my own entry into the market. L.A Aussie offers a great list to get you started.
Good luck
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